Following 10 years under restoration at Belgrave, Climax geared locomotive No. 1694 was officially launched back into service on Sunday 8th September 2013 with a special return trip from Belgrave to Emerald.
Your help is still required
Although No. 1694 is now steaming again, money is still needed to pay off restoration loans. By supporting this project, you are helping to keep operational a unique piece of Victorian narrow gauge railway history.
How you can help
For the price of only a weekly cup of coffee you can join a growing band of Climax locomotive supporters who together are making a big contribution to repaying the cost of the Climax locomotive’s new wheels and axles.
Puffing Billy Preservation Society Membership forms
The membership form contains a separate section regarding donating to the Climax Locomotive Restoration.
861 Footplate Experience
Proceeds from this activity directly support the Climax Locomotive Restoration.
Volunteering
If you like to get your hands dirty, we have a job for you. Volunteer Workdays are held on the 1st Saturday of Each Month.
Cheque/money order
You can also donate by cheque or money order. Contact us for more information.
A Miraculous Survivor
Climax locomotive No.1694 is a miraculous survivor of a rare breed of steam locomotive.
For about 100 years from the mid-1850s sawn timber was carted from Victorian sawmills to the nearest railway station by timber tramway. These tramways were generally very rough, steeply graded, sharply curved, and of narrow gauge. Many had wooden rails, and horses provided haulage.
The better ones used steam locomotives. In all about fifty steam locomotives are known to have worked on Victorian timber tramways. These locomotives were usually somewhat peculiar – made to cope with arduous, rough conditions, rather than speed.
Climax locomotive No.1694 is the only one of these locomotives to survive intact. It was built in 1928 by the Climax Manufacturing Company, Corry, Pennsylvania, USA, for the Forests Commission of Victoria.
The distinctive feature of the Climax locomotive is that the cylinders do not directly connect to the driving wheels. Instead they drive a cross shaft near the centre of the locomotive. From there the drive is transmitted to the small driving wheels through rotating shafts, universal joints, and bevel gears. The driving wheels are mounted in two four-wheel bogies so that they can easily follow sharp curves in the track. None of these features are found in normal steam locomotives.
The result is a locomotive that is extremely powerful for its size, and that will cope with sharp curves and steep grades with ease. But this is at the cost of speed, Climax locomotive No.1694 is just about flat-out at 13 km/h (8 mph).
