In an article on the locomotives of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway in R&LHS Bulletin 84 (published in 1951), Charles E. Fisher recalled his first visit to this road during World War I:

"There was a busy little 'consol' making up the evening train for Salamanca and Pittsburgh, whose bell loudly proclaimed it to be -- Brooks."

This auditory reference is completely lost on the modern reader. What did a Brooks bell sound like, and how was it different from the sound of, say, a Baldwin bell? Were Brooks bells different from those of other Alco components such as Cooke or Richmond or Rhode Island?

-Philip Marshall

Can't answer your primary question, but that far back, it is entirely possible the loco being mentioned predated the formation of Alco, so it indeed did carry a "Brooks bell."

Yes, I assume he was referring to a pre-Alco locomotive.

Steamlocomotive.info lists nine surviving Brooks Locomotive Works (pre-Alco) locomotives, and interestingly, only two of them are standard gauge (Wisconsin Central 2645 at Mid-Continent, and IC 3706 at IRM). I wonder, do any of these nine engines carry their original bells? (From photos, the bell on Colorado & Northwestern 30/C&S 74/RGS 74 at the Colorado Railroad Museum, for example, looks suspiciously like a Baldwin product to me.)

-Philip Marshall

I donno, what does a Brooks bell look like? The two existing Brooks built Wisconsin Central engines still appear to have their original bells:

Soo 2645 at Mid-Continent:
http://www.midcontinent.org/equipment-roster/steam-locomotives/soo-line-2645/soo2645f/

And Soo 2412 on display at Columbus, ND:
http://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocomotive.cfm?Display=23178

The January, 1986 issue of The SOO the magazine of the Soo Line Historical & Technical Society had the article: Nostalgia for the Steam Locomotive Bell by Aurele A. Durocher, which focused on his memories of the bells on Soo and DSS&A engines.

Often wondered what a Brooks bell looks like.

The bell on this Brooks locomotive is a Size #1 H.K. Porter bell.

http://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocomotive.cfm?Display=1974

Who has the full text of that old poem about different bells and their 'sound'? I only remember the four lines for the Blood bell that were quoted in The Iron Horse, with no guarantee that all the words are right:

"But the Blood bell's tone is all its own
Sonorous, mellow and clear
Its stately swing and rhythmic ring
Are music I love to hear"

I don't have any information on this image other than it's a bell and it says at the top that it's from Brooks (It's slightly clearer in the unreduced image.)