Climax #5

Let me give a little history about the Climax. The engine started out as Elk River Coal & Lumber #3 in 1928, one of the last Climaxes built, SN 1692. She was sold to the Carrol Park & Western where the first picture was taken. The photographer was a lucky man as there were dangerous problems with the boiler including cracks in the wrapper and illegal repairs to the firebox as well as a hole in the mud ring. It was decided that a new boiler was needed before rebuilding would be started. The boiler problems were only the tip of the iceburg. The engine had been worked hard and was in need of extensive frame rebuilding truck regauging, tender repair, cab repair and replacement of missing parts.When we are done with it we will have worked on all the major parts.
Norman Clark had the boiler sent to Dixon Boiler in 1984 to be copied with the understanding that it would be worked on as workers were available from other jobs. Norman and Mr. Dixon shook hands on it. The next year Norman died and the year after Mr. Dixon died. Dixon's heirs sold the business and we have not gotten a streight answer from the new owner ( if anyone knows where the old boiler is, please let me know). We were fortunate to find the boiler from Sumpter Valley will fit and that we were able to trade the old cofin tankcar and some other unuseable flatcars for it.
At present our plate is rather full with the rebuild of the #7, scedueled maintainance on #2 and track work as well as other projects. Before the Climax can be worked on we need another engine storage facility as we ran out of shop space when #7 came on line. In the mean time, we have been documenting as much about the Climax as we can. If anyone knows of a stash of Climax drawings, please let me know.
Thanks,
Tom