I have an affinity for the 0-6-0T that Lionel has produced in various forms over the last two decades. I received an NYC version from the first run as a birthday present when I was a kid. I still remember picking it up from my (now long gone) local hobby shop, and it has remained my favorite locomotive that I own. I've now added a LC Christmas set and a LC+2.0 Pennsy version to my fleet.
Like many others, I often wondered about real world prototypes. I think it's widely acknowledged that the model (as well as the N, HO, and G versions from other manufacturers) is based on a drawing from the Model Railroader Cyclopedia, Vol. 1: Steam Locomotives, depicting a locomotive Alco produced for a coal company. However, it always seemed odd to me that there were no photos of that locomotive, nor were their routinely cited relatives. It seemed odd for Alco to build a one-off version of what were relatively common locomotives (small switching engines).
So, I began hunting online for other Alco 0-6-0Ts, and found several photos of very similar locomotives produced by Alco's Montreal Locomotive Works. It appears that Alco made a small change to the design, swapping the location of the steam dome and the saddle tank fill point. The first two photos at this link show this variation, built for the Algoma Steel company:
It would also appear that there was a variation (including a survivor) with a relocated sand dome, and some other piece of equipment in place of the bell (between the stack and the tank)
Anyways, I found it interesting to go hunting for these, and figured I would share what I found.
