A late-design Climax Class C No.4 (built 1923 #1631) operated by the Crown
Willamette Paper Co., Clatsop County, Oregon in this photo from the mid-late 1920s.
Photo: Railroads in the Woods by John T. Labbé & Vernon Goe - Howell-North (1961)
The Climax classes of geared locomotives were designed and built primarily for Logging Railroad work in North America in the days of a seemingly endless supply of timber and unbroken forests. The first Climax C Class locomotive, a wood-burning 50 tonner, entered this working life in 1897. Manufactured until 1928, improvements were added to the C Class' design with every new build. During the class' lfespan, locomotives were available in seventeen sizes ranging from 12 to 100 tons.
Logging railroad locomotive operators loved the C Class for its large roomy cab which provided a shelter from the elements. Interestingly, prior to 1910, all C Class cabs were made of wood, after which steel cabs became the norm (as pictured above), with wooden cabs offered as an optional choice. Drivers were impressed by the C Class' uncomplicated operation, being equipped with a two-speed gear selector. This system offered the engineer a choice of using high or low speeds including a neutral free-wheeling position. Logging Railroad owners were attracted to the Climax C Class' low purchase price, and with most of the crucial working parts accessible from the outside of the locomotive, many repairs could be carried out on location in the field.
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Pictured Left: Caspar Lumber Company's No. 4 Climax C Class locomotive, here featuring its original wooden cab in its by-then derelict state in 1944. the more durable steel cabs were only available with new Class C builds beginning in 1910. Ferdinand appears to be a pre-1910 build of a Climax C Class locomotive. Photo portion from Caspar Lumber Company by Stanley T Borden - The Western Railroader Issues 315-316 (1966) |
| LC Wooden Ferdinand | LC Take-n-Play Ferdinand |
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