This loco actually came with what appears to be a Lionel front pilot in the box, presumably bought as a conversion by the PO.
It doesn’t fit, being about 6mm longer. I did think of swapping the wheels, but decided against breaking the complete assembly and opted for the ones you see.
I did try the front pilot from a semi-scale K Line one; it fit, and looked better, but I need it for the original loco...
I do notice that the front pilot truck on my brass Williams 4-6-2 is longer and would probably accept the Lionel part, but the wheels are rather nice looking and I don’t intend to change it.