What I call the tender trap is a deliberate error. A lot of people who aren't familiar with toy trains place the tender backwards because they think it looks better. If it was as simple as that, I wouldn't say anything -- but in order for them to place the tender backwards, they have to deliberately ignore how the train's hooked together.
For example: here's one I found on eBay.
Look closely at the couplers. The engine has a bent pin. On the far end of the tender is a tab -- designed to hold the bent pin. But the seller chose to reverse the tender, forcing the pin into the knuckle coupler.
Notice something else -- the back of the tender has a blank wall. So how was the coal supposed to get from it to the engine cab? Here's the way it's supposed to look.
And here's another view.
Personally, I think having the correct end of the tender connected to the engine "looks right." And all you have to do is just match up the links. How hard is that?
Unbelievable! As I say, I don't go out of my way to find examples of this stuff. But sometimes it just smacks me in the face. Thanks for sharing the link.
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