I don’t know if anyone else saw this but a couple of day ago, there was a 700e and a 1950 version of the 773 on ebay, both engines from the same seller through a “u sell it store”. The seller stated that both engines came from the same owner owner who was now infirmed, and needed to liquidate belongings. Both engines were modified, as an exmaple the 700e had an after market wire running from the cab to the tender, the 773 had something similar added. A slew of questions were asked of the seller about the 773, and clearly the seller did not know the answers. I did not put it on my watch list, and now the auctions are ended or withdrawn. Does anyone know the outcome of this ?? You don’t see a 700e come up that often. Ken
I saw the auctions you are talking about. the same seller had a boxed hiawatha (pre-war) set that I bid on. I got an email this morning that they had cancelled the auction as the account had been hacked. I am sure that is what happened to the 700e and I think there was a 700k to boot.
i was mistaken, the hiawatha was a different seller. is this one of the ones you were reffering to? http://cgi.ebay.com/1937-LIONEL-5344-Hudson-Steam-Engine-NYC-700T-Tender_W0QQitemZ400030178561QQihZ027QQcategoryZ4145QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
That’s it !, yet the 773 they had listed is no longer on. The 700 is a 700t, and you can see form the pictures a white wire running from the cab to tender. The seller also has 2 pre-war switchers listed, and other PW and MPC stock. I have the 700 on my watch list now. Ken
Very Wrong!! Besides the paint and lettering being weak,
TENDER 700W: Whistle Tender has wrong Pickup, should be long lever type. At least one step replaced, A replacement screw on tender step, Wrong tender to locomotive Draw Bar, should be two pivit bars.
LOCOMOTIVE 700EW??? 1937 $75: Tender Connection should be a Drop Pin on a Chain to drop into Pivit Bars, Both Center Drivers are "Blind" should have flanges, The Front Pilot should have a working Scale Coupler with Lift Linkage connected by a Chain, The Lionel Data Plate is missing from the botton of the Ash Pan, The white wire should be Black Cloth Covered and plug into the back of the motor, The Smoke Box Front is a replacement from the 1950s (it has the support under the Headlight Tube and no 5344 Number Plate), The close up of the CAB might indicate Casting Growth (it appears Warped in the photo), The “Cow Catcher” is also a replacement (the Original 700E Pilot is mounted lower, (the 763, 773, and 700 Re-Run in the 80’s was mounted higher to clear electric switches) (you can tell this as the top of the casting is above, nor even, with the locomotive frame as on a Pre-War 700E).
I’m shure if o
When buying on E-Bay or any other On-Line service:
Look at the photos in the add, the seller should supply photos of both sides and the bottom. Does the discription match the photos?
Compare the photos to the Catalog Pictures, does it look original?
Know in advance the max price YOU THINK THIS ITEM IS WORTH, never bid past that price. There are always more of a “mass produced” item.
If it’s a high priced item, ask questions of the seller, any question. Do you get a proper answer or a vague disclaimer? If a vague answer, walk away.
Obviously been cobbled a bit. For a scam job, I would be looking for major reproduction parts like the tender shell or frame. Like you say, the front coupler and cow catcher don’t look right. Lionel did offer a 700EWX with 763 style drivers for use on tubular track (center blind). They do look like 763 drivers. The amount of butchering isn’t real bad. You are not going to get a fully original model with crisp lettering in the 1200 to $1500 range at a train meet or auction. It’s a runner as far as I’m concerned and pretty decent for that for someone who wants vintage and the new $1000 imports are not his cup of tea. No, you’re not going to resell it overnight should you have to sell it. But that’s no different than ordering something new out of the MTH or Lionel catalog.
Still, it has the Full Scale Pilot Trucks that would limit it to O-72 track except the underside of the frame looks like it was cut to clear wheel. Pre and post war Smoke Box Fronts mount different, looks like an original Ring with a replacement, post war, Door and Headlight. If the castings are growing, its life will be short anyway.
Don U. TCA 73- 5735
With a full scale hudson, you’re limited to T rail track such Atlas O. So again, it’s an ideal runner if you’re doing O72. Nobody’s gonna get nuts about the replacement parts at $1200 (1200 is my guess as to the winning bid). I must be missing something because I can’t detect any warpage or “growing” in the cab with the exception of some minor chipping around one corner of the roof. For hi railing, it’s a great looking model with a silky smooth double worm drive that coasts. It got a genuine weathered appearance as well. The whiteish haze resembles spent feedwater chemicals.
All Die-Cast products from before World War II are suspect. Impurities in the Zink metal can cause an expansion and brittleness to develop, over time (5-10 years), in the castings. SOME early Hudson castings did have this problem. With the Hudson, the Boiler/Cab casting is fastened at the Cylinder block in front and to the Frame in the rear, if the Frame or Boiler expans (grows) something has to give. It shows up by the Cat Walk along the side the boiler not being Straight (being warped) or the cab not being Square to the boiler, (tipped back from vertical). If pressure builds high enough and the casting gets brittle enough, the casting can actually explode or the Cab break off. In buying a Hudson or other large cast item, a small level and square is helpfull in checking a castings. Have the seller remove the screws below the cab holding the boiler to the frame, now see if he can get them to line and back in.
Don U. TCA 73-5735
In the rear cab shot there is what appears to be either a shadow line or crack on the lower inside right corner of the cab if that is what you are getting at.
No, it doesn’t take much to destroy a batch of molten alloy.
Take a sheet of paper, hold the edge up against the catwalk on the closeup side view of the boiler. It’s not Straight. Now hold the paper against the closeup photo of the cab, put the corner of the paper where the cab meets the catwalk, it’s not square.
Now it could be the camera lens, but, there is a lot to be said for seeing the piece at a Train Show when big money is envolved. I have bought items on E-Bay after inspecting, even downloading the photographs and enlarging them.
Don, it’s not just prewar stuff that gets zinc pest. I’m looking at a couple of K-Line TOFC trailers in the yard over my computer, with undulating disintegrating roofs. I’ve had a number of K-Line freight-car trucks fall apart too. MTH replaced the boiler of my Rail King Big Boy when about 10 detail appliqués began to crumble. And, speaking of 773s, the zinc part of the motor of my 1960s model is beginning to come apart. It still runs okay; but I have a replacement motor ready for when I will need it.
Yes, zinc pests are still a problem today. A friend has a DD40 where the chassis warped and cracked the plastic shell. All it takes is for someone to throw a handful of left over casting sprues with finger prints and room dust debri on them into the molten alloy.
Some say you can encapsulate the pests by spraying the castings with rust inhibitor sealing out oxygen. But then others say the decay is a chemical reaction that doesn’t need oxygen. Only time will tell I suppose.