Re: NNG: Geared Locomotive Speeds

I was told some years ago by Red McMillion, who was a fireman and engineer for the Meadow River lumber Co. in West Virginia, that Heisler No. 6 (now at Cass) was favored to make the run from the woods to the mill at Rainelle, which involved several miles of trackage rights running on the B&O. He said the Heisler could easily sustain 20 mph. The video "Shays Lumbering and More" features No. 6 in action, and she sure seems to be boogeying right along. By contrast, some of the early Class A Climax engines had a low gear for steep grades. They were said to run at less than 5 mph in low gear.