Re: Shays and Universal Joints

I would like to add my two cents worth to the topics of changing the gauge of a Shay, and the universal joint assembly of Climax locomotives.
One cannot simply slide a Shay wheel over 10.25 inches on a Shay axle. It is most likely that the wheels are now seated against a shoulder on the axle (at least this is the way the three truckers at Cass are constructed). The axles would need to be altered in a lathe to change the location of both shoulders, and new keyways milled. If the original wheel bore/axle diameters are retained, this extra 10.25 inch that the wheels will need to be pressed (a tight interferance fit) creates a dilema: will the wheel seize on the axle prior to seating? The original wheel hub width plus 10 more inches is a hell of a long way to press something. To me this seems foolish: too much risk of damaging wheels and axles during the pressing operation.
Furthermore, it is my opinion that shoving the wheels in without bringing the truck side frames in also will only lead to premature axle failure. As built, with the journal brasses right in against the wheel hubs, the axle journals are almost (but not quite) in a shear situation. To lengthen the axle overhang by 10 inches will increase the fiber stress at the wheel hub. As the overhang of a shaft lengthens, its deflection increases when under load. An illustration of this principle is the diving board with the moveable fulcrum: adjust the fulcrum away from the outter end of the board, and it gets REAL springy. If you want to break your axles, move only the wheels in.
Now for more universal joint discussion: The timing of the Universals on a Climax locomotive is very strange. Most universal setups are assembled with the crosses, or horns in the case of shay locomotives, in line from one end of the drive shaft to the other. Climax locomotive rotated their universals 45 degrees from one end of the shaft to the other. Will this not vibrate and raise hell all along the drive line? Maybe this is why Climax always had the reputation as sounding like a noisy bucket of bolts.