Lionel #681 Locomotive 6-8-6; what is the CORRECT tender number?

Question

Lionel #681 Locomotive 6-8-6; what is the CORRECT tender number?

Answer 1

There was only one class of locomotive with a 6-8-6 wheel arrangement that I'm aware of.  Pennsylvania Railroad class S-2.  It was a steam turbine locomotive, and Lionel did build a model of it.  It was a popular model, from what I've read, and sold very well for Lionel

The Pennsylvania Railroad, on the other hand, only built one S-2.  It was an experimental design, and while highly efficient above 40 mph, it did not perform well at lower speeds.  Both the locomotive and tender were numbered 6200, if you're comparing it to the real engine.

The real thing used a 16 wheel streamlined tender similar to the ones used on the PRR S-1 and T-1 locomotives.   From what I've seen, the Lionel models used either a 12 wheel model 2671W tender lettered "Pennsylvania" , or an 8 wheel model 2046W tender lettered "Lionel Lines".  I've seen Lionel Turbine locomotives numbered both ways - "6200", and "681" on the cab, but I don't recall if they put a road number on the tender.

Answer 2

Hmmmmmmmm

Well, expressed as 6-8-6, this is the common notation for wheel arrangement, although I've never seen or heard of a 6-8-6.  The 'Allegheny' class of steam engines had a six wheel trailing truck under the firebox, however.

As far as any engine numbers are concerned it is dependent on which railroad the engine is modeled after, and even then the numbers can vary as many locomotives were renumbered from time to time.

But, if the locomotive is numbered 681, as in your case. the tender would carry the same number.  Many engines carried the number under the cab windows, and/or on the tender, or on the tender alone.

So, which railroad are we talking about?  If you have that info and can pass it along a better answer to your question can be had.  

By way of example, the IC ran a '600' series of locos, including #638, which was assigned at one time to  one J. L. Jones, aka 'Casey'. This was not the engine he was killed on, although it was the last number in this class on the Water Valley district, a 2-8-0, with this wheel arrangement commonly known as a 'consolidation'.