My first steam cab ride was in a Heisler. The Bush Tramway museum in New Zealand the the forests. Did not explode of course. A well maintained example.
To be clear: regarding 2:02, you are partly right, and partly wrong. It really depends. Typically however, what made geared locomotives popular wasn't their tractive efforts. It was their ability to easily negotiate over track which conventional (non geared) locomotives couldn't. So tighter curves, and track that was built to a lighter standard. The tractive effort was a side effect of this, but wasn't the main selling point. What set the Heisler and Climax apart from the Shay, however was technical problems that Shays had, which never really got addressed with the Shay design. Specifically, Shays had this very bad tendency to derail on tight right hand curves. This was because the way their drive shafts worked, with slip sections, they would suffer a mechanical lock when their gears and drive shafts would bind, causing them to either not swivel far enough, or just simply not return to straight and walk right off the track. One final note: regarding 2:43, this is true... sorta. There actually was a faster geared locomotive, but only five of them were built. This was the "Davenport Duplex" locomotive, which was able to reach speeds of 50mph, while still being geared. However, it proved to be too difficult to maintain, and didn't really catch on. Davenport did continue producing geared locomotives in a limited quantity, but those were primarily limited to contractor type locomotives.
DtC I have a suggestion: Did you ever cover the Tay Bridge Disaster (Scotland, 1879) ? After the disaster, the locomotive involved (NBR 224) was fished out of the river, dropped and then fished out again. It was then repaired and put back into service.🤷 Engine crews were reluctant to take the locomotive over the replacement bridge in case it fancied another swim! Unfortunately, when it was retired in 1919 the locomotive was scrapped.☹
It's a shame but scrap and build was the policy in the 1910s Like Darkness said in his preservation video, there was a time when railways donating members of their withdrawn classes to museums wasn't a given
I remember my dad telling me about a boiler explosion on the SP. It was an MM2 cab forward. It exploded somewhere out of Roseville and the front truck was rerouted over the WP and wound up in Oroville California!
The last time I rode on a steam engine, it was a Heisler. The heritage rail (Roaring Camp, if you're curious) it was on doesn't normally run it, but both Shays were in the shop (they have a climax, but haven't been able to restore it. The chassis is currently sitting near the entrance and I'm wondering they've given up on restoring it). Because of the relative rarity of Heisler's, I expected a picture of the heisler I rode on to show up. Instead one of Roaring Camp's Shays shows up.
Love them Heisler V-twin engines in the 2 and 3 truck config. This particular engine is the only of it's type I've ever heard of blowing the boiler, so sad😭.
Getting a new boiler or Fixing the old boiler is usually pennies compared to replacing the locomotives. this was a time a Machine's value was determined by the value of it's parts and held gained or lost value based on that notion.
Wow didn't know that not every time a steam locomotive died in a boiler explosion it always went to scrap. This one was unlucky and lucky at the same time!!!!
The Heisler is the pinnacle design of geared locomotives. The shay was popular as it was cheaper to make and the first to show up. The problem for the shays are their limited turning radius capabilities. They are the worst of the 3 types. Due to their offset shaft location, the shafts of the shays can pop out of the slip joints when at a tight left turn. Consequently, during right turn, the shaft will compress themselves to destruction. The heisler and climax had none of that problems. The 2 can even have a 2 speed gearbox. But the heisler is the best at delivering power without expensive gearing. The climax must change its rotation from the piston from lateral to longitudinal. The design of the heisler can be upgraded too. Compounding the pistons can be done, either a double expansion or triple expansion for more efficiency. There is no technical limit of a heisler having more than 3 trucks too. With a modern design, you can use the technology found on road trucks with tandem or tridem axles or use tatras modular chassis design. To solve the firebox issue, just design it to burn liquid fuel.
Hey, I love the channel and this series. I’m actually a car person; is there anything of this nature for steam-powered automobiles? The single example of a Stanley Steamer I’ve seen (it was a bus at the National Automobile Museum in Reno) seemed to have something like a crockpot boiler that would have prevented crown sheet failure, so there may not be. Just an idea.
Shay's, Heisler's and Climax's have all been operated at Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass, Pocahontas County, West Virginia. #6 is the current Heisler in operation.
Lived in the US for a while as a European I traveled a lot during that time And during that time I looked at one or the other railway museum And sometimes have one Heisler. One of the craziest locomotives I've ever seen You have to know, I'm from Germany and we also have some crazy locomotives, but that thing for example The Saxon 1M But that thing that thing is really crazy🚂
We Europeans did more with "gearing" in the trackbed. Cog / rack railways were more commen in Europe then in the US. Also small narrow Feldbahn with small driving wheels were commen for industrial use were tracks could be fast moved around were needed. Such a geared locomotive is really exotic and a special treat for us on this side of the pond.
At about 2:50 you show the #3, I fired her in Oregon in October of this year. Thankfully it went well. You all come see it run the summer of 2023. It is now lettered for the Criag Mountian Lumber, cab side has been fixed and new old headlight bracket among other fixes.
The one I fired is in Freeport, IL. It's in working order, and the boiler was re-tubed a few years ago. Now, if we can do something with the big Plymouth switcher. The poor thing has to sit outside.
I've got a book somewhere with a picture of a Geared loco somewhere in the Pacific NW that had just suffered a catastrophic boiler boom. Pretty sure it was a Heisler type. Might have been a Climax type. Small possibility of a Shay. Needless to say, there was much bent and twisted metal and even some shattered trees.
If you watch the Marx Brothers film "The Marx Brothers Go West" and look very, very closely, you'll see a Heisler in action. Most of the train chase at the end was done on the Sierra, with dear old No 3, but for the barnyard sequence, when they're going round in a tight circle, they had to use a Heisler - "Come on down, there's a lovely fire in the living room." We never had either Climax or Heisler engines in Britain - though we did briefly have a Shay - but there's a miniature live steam Heisler which runs on a passenger hauling layout at the Lucerne Transport Museum.
I'm surprised that more didn't blow up as they were going down 6-9 percent rail a lot and as the smarts know steam locos do not like going down hill even with high water. It was mostly crown sheet failures
I've commented this before but it was on an old video. If I'm not mistaken vertical fire tube boilers would actually be immune to crown sheet explosions because as far as I'm aware they don't have any.
@@rafibausk7071 well, if you ever do want to see Shay's, Heisler's and Climaxes in operation and ride behind, Cass is a beautiful area...a lot like the Black Forest of your Germany. I've been there before.
i thank railroads online for my knowledge of what a heisler is
Yea me too. I am also one of the ro veterans. Got it a week after release
I love Railroads Online lol
Anyone here watches kAN gaming and hyce?
Westside style Heisler my beloved.
Same
My first steam cab ride was in a Heisler.
The Bush Tramway museum in New Zealand the the forests.
Did not explode of course. A well maintained example.
First ride was also behind a Heisler, but it was at the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad
i see heisler
my head automatically corrects it to Hyce-ler
I see, another man of culture in the comment section!
I see the word hyce and I think my favorite RUclipsr
To be clear: regarding 2:02, you are partly right, and partly wrong. It really depends. Typically however, what made geared locomotives popular wasn't their tractive efforts. It was their ability to easily negotiate over track which conventional (non geared) locomotives couldn't. So tighter curves, and track that was built to a lighter standard. The tractive effort was a side effect of this, but wasn't the main selling point.
What set the Heisler and Climax apart from the Shay, however was technical problems that Shays had, which never really got addressed with the Shay design. Specifically, Shays had this very bad tendency to derail on tight right hand curves. This was because the way their drive shafts worked, with slip sections, they would suffer a mechanical lock when their gears and drive shafts would bind, causing them to either not swivel far enough, or just simply not return to straight and walk right off the track.
One final note: regarding 2:43, this is true... sorta. There actually was a faster geared locomotive, but only five of them were built. This was the "Davenport Duplex" locomotive, which was able to reach speeds of 50mph, while still being geared. However, it proved to be too difficult to maintain, and didn't really catch on. Davenport did continue producing geared locomotives in a limited quantity, but those were primarily limited to contractor type locomotives.
DtC I have a suggestion:
Did you ever cover the Tay Bridge Disaster (Scotland, 1879) ?
After the disaster, the locomotive involved (NBR 224) was fished out of the river, dropped and then fished out again. It was then repaired and put back into service.🤷
Engine crews were reluctant to take the locomotive over the replacement bridge in case it fancied another swim!
Unfortunately, when it was retired in 1919 the locomotive was scrapped.☹
It's a shame but scrap and build was the policy in the 1910s Like Darkness said in his preservation video, there was a time when railways donating members of their withdrawn classes to museums wasn't a given
I remember my dad telling me about a boiler explosion on the SP. It was an MM2 cab forward. It exploded somewhere out of Roseville and the front truck was rerouted over the WP and wound up in Oroville California!
The last time I rode on a steam engine, it was a Heisler. The heritage rail (Roaring Camp, if you're curious) it was on doesn't normally run it, but both Shays were in the shop (they have a climax, but haven't been able to restore it. The chassis is currently sitting near the entrance and I'm wondering they've given up on restoring it). Because of the relative rarity of Heisler's, I expected a picture of the heisler I rode on to show up. Instead one of Roaring Camp's Shays shows up.
You are the reason this content remains 💥
Thanks for the video
Love them Heisler V-twin engines in the 2 and 3 truck config. This particular engine is the only of it's type I've ever heard of blowing the boiler, so sad😭.
I wish it was still around to this day 😪
@@fanofeverything30465 Hmm, could have had a V8...lol
@@michaelshook4998 I wish we got that
Getting a new boiler or Fixing the old boiler is usually pennies compared to replacing the locomotives. this was a time a Machine's value was determined by the value of it's parts and held gained or lost value based on that notion.
You are the reason this content remaiiiins *KABOOM*
Wow didn't know that not every time a steam locomotive died in a boiler explosion it always went to scrap. This one was unlucky and lucky at the same time!!!!
The Heisler is the pinnacle design of geared locomotives.
The shay was popular as it was cheaper to make and the first to show up. The problem for the shays are their limited turning radius capabilities. They are the worst of the 3 types. Due to their offset shaft location, the shafts of the shays can pop out of the slip joints when at a tight left turn. Consequently, during right turn, the shaft will compress themselves to destruction.
The heisler and climax had none of that problems. The 2 can even have a 2 speed gearbox. But the heisler is the best at delivering power without expensive gearing. The climax must change its rotation from the piston from lateral to longitudinal.
The design of the heisler can be upgraded too. Compounding the pistons can be done, either a double expansion or triple expansion for more efficiency. There is no technical limit of a heisler having more than 3 trucks too. With a modern design, you can use the technology found on road trucks with tandem or tridem axles or use tatras modular chassis design.
To solve the firebox issue, just design it to burn liquid fuel.
Hey, I love the channel and this series. I’m actually a car person; is there anything of this nature for steam-powered automobiles? The single example of a Stanley Steamer I’ve seen (it was a bus at the National Automobile Museum in Reno) seemed to have something like a crockpot boiler that would have prevented crown sheet failure, so there may not be. Just an idea.
Shay's, Heisler's and Climax's have all been operated at Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass, Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
#6 is the current Heisler in operation.
Lived in the US for a while as a European I traveled a lot during that time And during that time I looked at one or the other railway museum And sometimes have one Heisler. One of the craziest locomotives I've ever seen You have to know, I'm from Germany and we also have some crazy locomotives, but that thing for example The Saxon 1M But that thing that thing is really crazy🚂
We Europeans did more with "gearing" in the trackbed.
Cog / rack railways were more commen in Europe then in the US.
Also small narrow Feldbahn with small driving wheels were commen for industrial use were tracks could be fast moved around were needed.
Such a geared locomotive is really exotic and a special treat for us on this side of the pond.
At about 2:50 you show the #3, I fired her in Oregon in October of this year. Thankfully it went well. You all come see it run the summer of 2023. It is now lettered for the Criag Mountian Lumber, cab side has been fixed and new old headlight bracket among other fixes.
The one I fired is in Freeport, IL. It's in working order, and the boiler was re-tubed a few years ago.
Now, if we can do something with the big Plymouth switcher. The poor thing has to sit outside.
I've got a book somewhere with a picture of a Geared loco somewhere in the Pacific NW that had just suffered a catastrophic boiler boom. Pretty sure it was a Heisler type. Might have been a Climax type. Small possibility of a Shay.
Needless to say, there was much bent and twisted metal and even some shattered trees.
Fun fact: Puffing Billy railway has the smallest climax, Gilpin Tramway has the smallest shay.
If you watch the Marx Brothers film "The Marx Brothers Go West" and look very, very closely, you'll see a Heisler in action. Most of the train chase at the end was done on the Sierra, with dear old No 3, but for the barnyard sequence, when they're going round in a tight circle, they had to use a Heisler - "Come on down, there's a lovely fire in the living room." We never had either Climax or Heisler engines in Britain - though we did briefly have a Shay - but there's a miniature live steam Heisler which runs on a passenger hauling layout at the Lucerne Transport Museum.
WOW, ok this host has a lot of energy.
Oh the hieslers the forgotten childs of logging engines we love our Shays and Climaxs but they are just as good
The Heisler is my favorite American locomotive... Right up there with the Big Boys
I'm surprised that more didn't blow up as they were going down 6-9 percent rail a lot and as the smarts know steam locos do not like going down hill even with high water. It was mostly crown sheet failures
I've commented this before but it was on an old video. If I'm not mistaken vertical fire tube boilers would actually be immune to crown sheet explosions because as far as I'm aware they don't have any.
Did you ever travel to Cass Scenic RR in Pocahontas County, West Virginia?? They operate a Heisler.
@@SMichaelDeHart no I'm mostly in long island.
Am I comment was about general boiler explosions. Nothing really specific to Heislers.
@@rafibausk7071 well, if you ever do want to see Shay's, Heisler's and Climaxes in operation and ride behind, Cass is a beautiful area...a lot like the Black Forest of your Germany. I've been there before.
It's a good thing railroads online doesn't have explosive physics.
Good story
Can someone please tell me the top speed of all 3 geared steam locomotives?
But by how much faster was it because you didn’t say the speed
now i know that the heisler i saw was one of only 35 left
Smh should've been called "Death of a Heisler" as a sick Panic! At the disco refrence
(/j)
I have railroads online but it wouldn't update
i do like the heisler but i like the climax a bit more
Again.. seriously?
@Fake Furry I think he's talking about the crown sheet failing because of low water
Choo choo kaboom
still a disturbing lack of dutch trains
angry dutch noises
Not the best design for an engine, let alone the blueprints.
Chooboom
*Kaboom*
HYCE!!!! 🤣🤣🤣
train goes kaboom epsode 472199#