If you look at the other models of the 2618 such as:
http://www.brasstrains.com/images/products/049403/DSC09819-20130822164959-showcase.jpg

and
http://www.brasstrains.com/images/products/040919/DSC07024-showcase.jpg

you'd see they too have vandy tenders. As i said, I believe Bachman put a stock tender on the thing to save some money. Early Bachmann was not exactly know for being all that accurate.

I'd put the vandy on the 4-8-4 if i were you!
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2718/4384982348_e33b202738_b.jpg
just look at the real deal!

Looks like we all found it at the same time, what are the odds! Anyway, that looks closer to a stock model that the actual one.

This is the photo i found

I do not know if they still make it, however i found that bachmann USED to make a model of the CN 4-8-4 6218. It is likely this is what it is from. The most recent version i found had horn hook couplers and looked to be pre bachmann plus if I am not mistaken.

edit: It should be noted that all photos of the real CN 6218 i found had it using a vanderbilt tender with two 6 wheeled trucks so it probably was the stock tender (or even stock 4-8-4) with the CN logo on it.

I agree with rich, it looks to me to be an F7 AB pair. This makes sense actually, the vast majority of Bachmann "Collectors Sets" That i have seen in Gift shops and the like used the F7.

When I hooked the motor to a 9V Battery to test it, I was surprised it ran as well as it did, noisy but smooth. Considering it has been over a decade since it was last run for longer than a minute.

I am still trying to find appropriate parts (it is harder than I thought as many places do not have pictures on their site for some reason) but I will keep looking. The hardest to find seems to be a pilot that looks right on this locomotive. None the less, I shall continue the search. Thank you all for your support and help.

Incidentally, I did notice when it ran a faint metallic smell, I figure this is because the thing hasn't been run or cleaned in so long but on the off chance that this is bad, I figured i would mention it.

Yes, that they do but since i am repairing this for sentimental reasons rather than to have a star runner, I do not intend to get one. Thanks anyway though.

Thanks, for those interested, I have two pictured, one shows the whole disassembled Locomotive (you can see I did a number on it) and the second is of the chassis itself. The original Contacts are spread off to the side. They are to bent to properly push on the wheels and the piece that held them bent but I may try the idea you had, seems straightforward enough.

On this particular locomotive, it was a thin piece of metal, i think it may be copper, that pressed on the wheels. The thing does not mount well in the frame nor does it push well against the wheels. Yes, the tender does indeed have pickups for the rear headlight and i actually have considered using those as the power source but want to see if i can fashion something for the drivers as well. On reason is that one rear truck is not held in well and may not be the most reliable.

I do know that this wont be a star locomotive so it is more for nostalgia. I am sourcing the parts I need (pilot, Smokebox front/headlight , rear headlamp, and smokestack are the main ones) and intend to just make it so it looks alright and can run.

I appreciate all the input and, once I get it running and looking alright, i will definitely post some pictures. The biggest challenge cosmetically will be that a lot of the parts cracked. I know it won't look perfect and will be tough but who knows, maybe with some TLC it can be a half-decent locomotive. I intend to look at pictures of the real life locomotives when finding the parts i will add.

Okay, so i have a question. I am in the process of restoring my grandfathers old IHC USRA Light Pacific. Cosmetically, it is missing a lot of parts but that can be fixed relatively simply with all the customizing parts out there. The harder thing is what I need help with, The Locomotive is obviously very old and the contacts that rub against the wheels are destroyed. What is the best way to replace them? The locomotive runs, roughly but runs none the less, if power goes to the motor. I dont intend to make it DCC or anything, it wont be a main locomotive for me but i wish to restore it. The damage was caused by a 6 year old me after all!

The 0-6-0 (and the 2-6-0 by extension) Is not the easiest to make DCC but it is possible, I have not done it myself as i don't have dcc just yet but the thing to watch out for is that the Frame is two metal pieces and thus must be kept insulated. As for the locomotive, how badly is it disassembled? I may have gotten luck but several years back I sent in a spectrum 2-8-0 in pieces and got a shiny new one in the mail a few weeks later.

As it turns out, a deal i had for another 2-8-0 pulled through so it should be coming this week. If I plug the tender from the one that runs into the one that doesn't and it works, Then I guess that means the Decoder is what is odd. I do not know anyone with a DCC controller and I am not able to do that upgrade just yet (planned for the future). If it does turn out to be the case though, I can just replace the pilot truck and either use the jumper plugs from the new one (assuming it has them), swap in a new decoder, or store it until i do upgrade. The one i just ordered is the new run, that blue box "DCC on board" not spectrum but from what i have seen, it is the same loco just with a different box.

I can't guarantee this as my f40 was purchased before DCC was as widespread, i think i bought mine in 2007 or so so i do not think it had DCC. However, a bachmann GP-40 I purchased a few years back had DCC built into the board if i remember correctly so the f40 may be the same. I remember thinking this was a very odd thing but I Believe that was the case.

I should clarify, it likely did have one but by the time i got it, it was no longer in the set's Box. Since this is a DCC locomotive, wouldn't the decoder be the thing in the tender? I have had another 2-8-0, a 2,8-2 and a 2-10-0 and each time the plugs were separate, in the box but not in the tender.