When RR museums were collecting "one of every wheel arrangement" in the 50s and 60s, here's one type they missed. IC and GTW had these, made from truncated Mikados. An example of the 0-10-2 type and even a rare 0-6-2 were saved, but these were missed.

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?n ... ic3672.jpg

What was the reason for this? Surely the amount of
weight loaded on to the drivers was not a whole lot.
Clean engine though!

Actually, it was a mistake in the boiler shop after a Class 3 overhaul on a Consolidation. Some wag mounted the boiler backwards and sent it out for service. But you can cover a multitude of sins with a good paint job. :-)

I suspect the additional weight placed on the drivers was minimal after removal of the pilot truck. Other roads used Mikados in switching service and they worked fine. Probably just a brainstorm by someone high up in the mechanical department, and a way of keeping the Paducah shop forces working. In steam days, the motive power men were into specialization, not standardization, which is why engines designed for the same service looked so much different on different railroads. While it made for great photographic variety, such egocentricity paved the way for EMD to easily put out the last fires.