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Now that’s a chunky little no-nonsense piece of machinery!
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Taking care of business 
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You know, with those six-coupled engines and the red building in the background this reminds me of photos of the Raritan River Rail Road back in the steam days. The RRRR was a terminal railroad in New Jersey that eventually became part of Conrail.
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Three of my favorites!
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Oh, the"growler"! 
. Right there by the “Kitty”? New York Ontario and Western? Neeeoooww! 
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Love the pictures, @Eric1946!
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Strangely, I’ve always preferred the 773 to the 700EW. Possibly because it fits better with the aesthetics of most postwar designs? Just a hair less detailed and with the solid looking cast wheels of the MagneTraction era? Anyways. If I had the resources I’d go after the 773!
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Interesting you say that. While I admire the 700 for all the detail packed into it I’ve never really considered it “practical,” if you get my meaning. The 773’s and others like it strike me as much more rugged and reliable. In a way a 700 for an O Gauger makes me think it’s like a Luger for a firearms enthusiast, many want one just to say they HAVE one.
And call me a heretic but I don’t consider the REAL NYC Hudson a particularly attractive locomotive, I actually prefer the look of the Mohawk!
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I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford a genuine 773, my hope is to eventually get the “783” MPC-era model. Still wouldn’t be cheap, but I may eventually be able to get ahold of one. Plus it does by default come with the nice, scale tender. Whereas the more common versions of the 773 come with the non-scale streamlined tender.
-El
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Ellie you may want to consider the 2046 and 2056 Hudsons if you haven’t done so already. I own one of each and they’re reliable and excellent pullers. Not quite a 773 by a long shot but pretty darn close. Not scale but not far off either.
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I already have a 2046, 2056, and a 646! I have decided I won’t be holding onto the 2056 in the long-term, but the other two I intend to keep.
I am very happy with them, but I still want to own a ‘scale’ Hudson eventually. I think they’re good looking, mechanically interesting models, and I’d love to have one. The 783, from what I can tell, is a very obtainable piece, and I’m hopeful I’ll run across one at the right time, for the right price, eventually.
-El
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I’m not by any means an expert on these, but casual research on the MTH site seems to indicate when MTH made these, it said MTH on the sign, not Lionel. (cream/orange or white/red) While they apparently did catalog versions with Lionel on the sign at some point (11-90004/5), those items seem to have been cancelled.
My point here just to be cautious if ordering a sign piece from the MTH site, it would most likely be an MTH sign.
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