Lionel 224E questions

this could have been a a service station special.

Lionel service stations were notorious for cobbing

together what ever parts they had, just to make sales.

They may have had a pre war tender shell (left over before the war)

 and mounted post war trucks

on it after the war to sale off stock.

Lionel locos didn't have knuckle couplers until after WWII.  I have a 224 that was given me in 1941 for Christmas, and it had the old stule "lift" coupler.  I remmeber Lionel advertising after the war that it now had "real RR knuckle couplers." 

By the way, I replaced the tender rear truck with a knuckle and still run the loco.

Gray prewar steamers always had a black pilot/steamchest assembly. Someone along the line the tender trucks has been swapped for late postwar trucks. The tab on the coupler didn't appear until 1956.

The gray 224E did come with black steam chests & cow catcher, so that is correct. Someone switched the trucks & couplers on the tender to post-war.

Switching the trucks make sense as I didn't have prewar cars when I was a kid and I do remember running this with the couple old cars that I had.  I have seen more photos of the locomotive entirely gray than gray and black so I assume they were made both ways.  I do like the set and I thank you all for the information.

Bum 

Your tender is correct according to Greenberg's guide, however the knuckle coupler is wrong!! I agree with 'eddie g' that somebody switched the truck assembly over to post war.

I have the 224E with diecast tender in black and it has the pre war box & pin coupler on the tender. Also have the 249E engine and tender and it has the box & pin coupler as well.

Lee Fritz