Awful lot of questions. I have the 226E (correct tender is 2226W) 225E ( correct tenders are 2225W and the sheet metal 2235W) and 224E (correct tender 2224W) Other tenders are marked T meaning no whistle. 224E also came with the sheet metal tender I think. The 226E may have come with a Vanderbilt tender but I'm not sure.
I found the 226E and 225E on the O Gauge Forum without tenders and eventually found the tenders at York and a local train show. The 224E was my first Lionel locomotive a million years ago.
Of course none of the prewar locos had magnetraction so they won't pull as well as the postwar locos with magnetraction. The 226E is heavy enough to pull better than the other two.
They tend to be a bit noisy compared to other locomotives.
But they are beautiful with their disk drivers and well crafted valve gear. And the 226E has a bulb in the firebox.
Prices vary. Go to Live Auctioneers or Invaluable and check out their price archives as well as the completed Ebay transactions.
Can't comment on the big Hudsons including the 763.
Also none are prototypical with the exception of the big Hudson inasmuch as they are either 2-6-4s or 2-6-2s. Whistles have a charm of their own, but often don't work well without some TLC.
Motors seem to last forever and are relatively easy to lubricate.
Check out the Lionel catalogs or published Lionel history books to see which pulled which trains.
Lew Schneider