Cole, let me see here if I can answer some of your questions....John already answered one of them, so let’s recap his correct answer. The older Lionel Hudsons up to 5344 with the Vandy tender are all pullmor power....to make them any kind of performer, a good sized can motor swap is a must. All the CV Hudsons as well are Pullmor powered. Pete (Norton) has a great thread on his CV Pittman swap. The Hudson pictured above is a MTH piece. A J1E model that actually came to me as a 2 rail spoked driver model with 12 wheel tender. I acquired the PT from a Dreyfus, and repainted and re-lettered it. The paint on the locomotive itself is all original save for the smoke box, which I added that coloring. The cab number simply wiped off with a rag dampened with lacquer thinner. The black paint did not get affected by the lacquer thinner. I’m careful not to saturate the area. The white cab numbers don’t like the thinner and are literally wiped away fairly quickly. Done correctly, the black on the cab should be spotless clean, ready for new cab numbers. As far as new numbers go, I have a buddy who makes me super thin vinyl numbers that truly look like pad printed numbers when applied. Same for the tender lettering. I think that J3A you have, coupled to a PT, and numbered to 5429 would be a stunning piece, easy to do and a real head turner. You can shoot me an Email and I’ll put you in touch with my buddy Graham to help you with cab numbering. I’m sure he’d be glad to help.....he’s a railroader at heart....as far as doing a whole bunch of swapping around with the older Lionel Hudsons, 785, 783, and so on, with as many can motored Hudsons on the market today, it really isnt worth the cabbage to swap these guys over to can motors unless you already own some of them, or you get them dirt cheap.....I’ve done that very swap on a 5344 with a vandy, only cause I got the engine for next to nothing and I have the tools and parts on hand to make it happen....
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