7 MAR update:
Bill Lewis (Boxcar Bill) was working on my FEF before he died. His kind son, after some coordination, shipped it to our own GRJ.
When John unboxed it he called me-the FEF had sound!
It's unknown to GRJ and I what Bill fixed or what caused the problem. John checked it, cleaned the pickup rollers, and tested it. He found an issue with one of the tender wheels (GRJ-I installed the new one today) and the FEF arrived home last week. It works perfect.
Thanks Bill and GRJ! I'm very happy.
Here's a few photos-I forgot to video it!