tcmld

I was speaking with my friend again this afternoon about your 773 wheel problem and he mentioned that if you are lucky, you might have one of the 773's that Lionel drilled completely through the wheel and tapped the entire  hole to use a longer than normal bolt on the blind driver.  Look at the back side of the wheel and look to see if there is any of the bolt protruding.  If there is,  take a pliers/small vise grip and screw the bolt out the back side of the wheel.
Good Luck!

Dave