@joee posted:just an update i had to pull it out. my curiosity got the best of me. the stack is blue painted black plastic. but what else i found??? the tender was franklin green overpainted blue. the engine and tender have virtually no wheel wear at all like maybe a tiny amount of display run time. the tender trucks are black painted my normal production run loco has gold spray inside the lower cab . also looks like the loco shell was a franklin green one also. it has hints of green inside the cab but that could be dust or dirt. the more i look the more i'm believing it just might be. here are a few more pics
It was not uncommon for Gilbert to repaint shells in order to manufacture an alternate train item (e.g., Silver Comets painted over Santa Fe PAs, repurposed Pullman Bradley cars, etc.). The cabbage stack being blue-painted over black plastic appears to be Gilbert with the blue shades appearing to match in your pictures. It well known that Gilbert originally intended the 21089 to be fitted with a cabbage stack, as can be seen in the 1960 catalog and there is a known 'prototype' (preproduction sample) fitted with such a stack (See, my TM Illustrated Price and Rarity Guide, 2012 Edition, page 24). Your stack is correctly proportioned to the sample on the 1960 catalog cover (which I would go by over an artwork illustration). The set box insert for the 20655 set is cut out for a cabbage stack (my LN/OBs set is). Unfortunately for the forensics, the pieces have been separated from a set box, but it would seem that your 21089 came with a full set of correct rolling stock for a 20655 set.
The evidence you are sharing baring further physical examination suggests to me that your Washington was part of a small first production run. Congratulations on an fascinating find!
Factoid: Being that the 20655 set is a Civil War freight set, did you know that the name originally intended by Gilbert for the 21089 was Grant? Presumably, the name was changed to make the set more saleable both below and above the Mason-Dixon Line.
Enjoy!
Bob
