[Arran]

Marion;
By "newer style" carbon resistors do you mean the molded type with coloured bands rather then the BED or Body-End-Dot code? The molded types with the bands came out in the late 1930s so they are likely original to the radio, or vintage replacements, but give that these sets ran on low voltage, and low currents, they likely would not go bad in service, though they may or may not have drifted by now. One thing that can happen is that there is sometimes a resistor between the B- and the chassis, and if the polarity is reversed that resistor can burn up.
I have a soft spot for tube battery sets, when I was in junior high, and high school back in Alberta they were among the most affordable radios to a teenager without load of money to spend. Unlike the U.S there wasn't really a grand electrification plan by the federal government, it took place piecemeal, and some remote communities were not electrified until the 1960s, so the Eaton's catalogue was still offering table model tube battery sets until 1957-58. Where I am now there are still islands that are not connected to the power grid, and some places on the mainland too, we are just South of Alaska so there is a lot of wilderness the further North you go.
Regards
Arran