Hi Mike,
I actually called Pat's three times dating back to January. The first time I talked to Pat himself and he said we would get them when we get them and he would get back to me. Never did. Another time, about a month later I left a message with someone (thought it might have been Pat) said his name was Billy, who said Pat would get back to me. Third time a couple of months later, same thing. I never said anything about an answering machine. I also left 3 email messages on his web site contact page, to which I got no response.
Some guys ordered Pat's Hudson specifically because they really wanted the extra boiler front without the classification lamps. When the Hudson came that way, they were happy and we haven't heard from them. That's okay.
Me, on the other hand, ordered Pat's Hudson because in looking at the variations offered in the catalog the one in the Pacemaker set #5410 with class lights was the one I liked the best. Pat's Hudson was supposed to be a copy #5410 except numbered #5416. Read his advertisement that I posted above. This allowed me to get the locomotive I wanted without having to buy the whole set.
I may have been a very small minority of the 25 who ordered Pat's Hudson, who really wanted the class lights. Interestingly, "TALK TO US" AT LIONEL KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT A SECOND BOILER FRONT, which raised my suspicion. Perhaps Pat felt that because a majority of the guys who ordered his Hudson didn't really want the classification lights, he wouldn't bother to order them. Seemed funny that the locomotive was supposed to come with the class lights installed, and the boiler front without the class lights was supposed to be the extra. Sending the locomotive the way they did made no sense as changing the boiler front will require opening the engine body to plug in the harness. If it had been made as described in the advertisement above, the extra boiler front could have been installed without having to open the engine. This being the "Lionel Forum" I thought there was an outside chance I might get some answers.
Mike, we'll see if we get a response from Pat. Maybe there is a reasonable explanation. Maybe we'll get the second boiler front. Like you said, there are more important things in life.
