Re: Sumpter Valley's Heisler #3

Well Bret, Tom, and Lon, you are all correct up to a point. Actually the Climax trucks were the most flexible, as the journals were sprung as well as the bolsters. The drive shafts rode on the axles themselves, which placed them above the center line of the axle, and necessitated the use of Skew, not hypoid, gears. As mentioned, there were no formulas for these at the time and they were made by hand. There is part of a Climax ring gear in front of the McEwen Depot for those interested.

The Shays side drive did make them less flexible and more prone to derailment, and more likely to loose traction on rough track. The woods boss for English Logging Co. reportedly told the dispatcher to keep the Shays down below and only send Heislers and Climaxes up on the mountain. On the other hand the three cylinder design made Shays easier to start, and they were much easier to maintain. The deep fire box also made them easier to fire. The shallow fire box and over sized cylinders of the Heisler can beat down a fireman, as all of us who have fired the No. 3 can attest.

Unlike the Shay, the class A Climax was entirely different from the class B and C models. It used a two cylinder vertical engine located in the cab, on the center line. While primitive looking it was quite popular with small operators. When Climax decided to close down in 1928 there were ten locomotives on the erecting floor, of which six were far enough along to complete. One of the six was a class A.