You all seemed to be having so much fun I decided to make up a steamer with a front coupler.
I used a 225E that had the cab window broken, but I think the pilot/cowcatcher is the same for a 226E. It turns out a high coupler taken off a beat up 2800 series freight car truck is the right height to mate with a low coupler on a 2224W 2235W or in the video below a 2226WX tender.
The coupler shank is shortened and then drilled with the same size hole as a siderod. The hex head screw is a shouldered driverod screw.
I need to blacken the file marks on the coupler shaft and put a hood on it, but I wanted to see if it would work first.
It does: