The Climax Locomotive Works --
In 1888 The first Climax was purchased by Imel, Powers & Shank a lumber company in NE Penna. The Climax Locomotive Works was located in Corry, PA. The first Climax had a vertical boiler & had a 2 cylinder engine. It was Manufactured under the name of George D. Gilbert. Most of the frame & the trucks were made of wood. Soon after they were manufactured from steel. When a patent was issued for this new steel configuration, the patent was issued to the Climax Manufacturing Company.
The first Climax, weighed 10 Tons. The steel ones weighed 16 Tons. Many changes took place through the early 20th Century. The firebox went through many changes finally ending up as a straight shell horizontal type. Having been Square, then Tapered shell.
The Climax became popular with most lumber companies. One feature was the 2 speed gear feature shiftable from the engineer’s cab. The locomotive could run at speeds of up to 10 MPH. great for use on mountain grades. In 3 years there were 40 Climax Type A’s built.
But the “buyers” wanted bigger machines, the Climax “B” filled that request. The B’s weighed in at 28 Tons. It eliminated the gear shift, and raised the cylinders to 25 degrees. The new B’s were built between 17 & 20 Tons. But the Climax wasn’t “done” yet… Some of the “Lumber Harvesters” wanted more - The Climax “C” was the answer….
Weighing in between 60 Tons and all the way up to 85 Tons, The C’s were the largest to date, so within 30 years, the Climax evolved from a 2 Wooden Truck-10 Ton Engine, to an 85 Ton-3 Steel Truck Locomotive. But finally the Climax Manufacturing Company, standardized the weights from 70 to 100 Tons.
In 1910 they re-classified the Locos, as an option they added Steel Cabs, and in 1915 The Stephenson valve gear, was replaced by the all to familiar Walschaerts valve gear. This made all the working parts exterior to the engine. Thus easier to maintain.
In it’s 40 years of operation the Climax Manufacturing Company made over 1000 Locomotives for companies in the United States and Canada.
Here is the Prototype Climax:
And here is a pic of the Bachmann Spectrum G - Scale Climax
In 1888 The first Climax was purchased by Imel, Powers & Shank a lumber company in NE Penna. The Climax Locomotive Works was located in Corry, PA. The first Climax had a vertical boiler & had a 2 cylinder engine. It was Manufactured under the name of George D. Gilbert. Most of the frame & the trucks were made of wood. Soon after they were manufactured from steel. When a patent was issued for this new steel configuration, the patent was issued to the Climax Manufacturing Company.
The first Climax, weighed 10 Tons. The steel ones weighed 16 Tons. Many changes took place through the early 20th Century. The firebox went through many changes finally ending up as a straight shell horizontal type. Having been Square, then Tapered shell.
The Climax became popular with most lumber companies. One feature was the 2 speed gear feature shiftable from the engineer’s cab. The locomotive could run at speeds of up to 10 MPH. great for use on mountain grades. In 3 years there were 40 Climax Type A’s built.
But the “buyers” wanted bigger machines, the Climax “B” filled that request. The B’s weighed in at 28 Tons. It eliminated the gear shift, and raised the cylinders to 25 degrees. The new B’s were built between 17 & 20 Tons. But the Climax wasn’t “done” yet… Some of the “Lumber Harvesters” wanted more - The Climax “C” was the answer….
Weighing in between 60 Tons and all the way up to 85 Tons, The C’s were the largest to date, so within 30 years, the Climax evolved from a 2 Wooden Truck-10 Ton Engine, to an 85 Ton-3 Steel Truck Locomotive. But finally the Climax Manufacturing Company, standardized the weights from 70 to 100 Tons.
In 1910 they re-classified the Locos, as an option they added Steel Cabs, and in 1915 The Stephenson valve gear, was replaced by the all to familiar Walschaerts valve gear. This made all the working parts exterior to the engine. Thus easier to maintain.
In it’s 40 years of operation the Climax Manufacturing Company made over 1000 Locomotives for companies in the United States and Canada.
Here is the Prototype Climax:
And here is a pic of the Bachmann Spectrum G - Scale Climax
