The Climax Steam Locomotive, Biggest Rival To The Shay

The Climax steam locomotive, a geared design, was the biggest competition to the famous Shay, designed by Ephraim Shay in the late 1870s. The Climax came about just a few years later in the early 1880s although it was never as popular as the Shay for whatever reason. Today, only a few Climaxes have been preserved in one shape or form and at least one, in West Virginia, is still operational. The Climax steam locomotive has its beginning dating back to 1884 when Charles Scott of the Climax Machinery Company unveiled the first of his own geared steam locomotive design. The significant advantage of the Climax over the Shay was that it was not as complicated to maintain and could accommodate a larger boiler, thus allowing it produce a bit more horsepower and adhesion. These features along with a lower price tag made the Climax an enticing choice over the Shay for many logging companies. However, for whatever reason the Climax was just not as successful in terms of sales as the Shay with only around 1,100 built.

The Climax essentially used the same technology as the Shay but in a different way. According to William E. Warden in his book West Virginia Logging Railroads, the Climax gained adhesion by employing two cylinders, one on each side of the boiler. The cylinders were neither vertical nor horizontal at an angle of approximately 25 degrees and the piston rods were connected to a line shaft centered under the boiler and mid-way between the trucks, which thus powered either two or three trucks.

Like the Shay, the Climax steam locomotive came in a variety of classes. The short table below lists these classes:

· Class A: Two Vertical Cylinders, Two Trucks

· Class B: Two Cylinders Angled at 25 Degrees Permitting An Increase In Length, Two Trucks

· Class C: Two Cylinders Angled at 25 Degrees, Three Trucks

Today, only around 18 Climax steam locomotives survive. Perhaps the best place to catch one still in operation is to visit the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad located in Durbin, West Virginia. Here you can ride behind Climax #3 hauling the Durbin Rocket on seasonal trips (the Climax is a 55-ton model originally owned by the Moore-Keppel Lumber Company of Randolph County in West Virginia). Also, at the famous Cass Scenic Railroad (which was originally the timber operations of the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company and Mower Lumber Company), home to the largest collection of operating Shays in the country, you can ride behind Climax #9, and it is well worth the trip to ride this historic operation if you have the chance.

For more information on not only the operating Climax steam locomotive at Cass but also their Shays and Heisler please click here to visit their website.

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(A deep thanks to the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University for allowing Ron Nixon's historic collection of Climax steam locomotives to be featured here. Please note that the photos featured on this page feature their corresponding image number so that you may quickly and easily find more information about it from their website. To view Ron Nixon's entire collection please click here.)

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