I have an MTH three truck Climax. I have two questions. What is the running speed and what is the chuff rate for a three truck Climax? Help answering these two questions would be greatly appreciated.
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The running speed for geared locomotives is around 5 to 10 mph.
The chuff rate for a Climax or a Heisler is a bit faster than the rate for a rod [driven] locomotive.
A Shay with 3 cylinders has 16 or 18 exhausts for each revolution of the crankshaft. A Shay sounds as though it is doing 60 mph when it runs around 6 mph.
To compare exhausts, go to YouTube. Search for "Geared Locomotives" and "Cass Scenic Railroad."
I believe there is a recent on-line video of a Climax working. I can't remember if the operating non-SHay on the Cass RR is a Heisler or a Climax.
For a Climax it is 4 chuffs per revolution of the fly wheel. For a Shay it would be 6 chuffs per revolution of the crank shaft (Not to be confused with the revolutions of the wheels). Each cylinder is two chuffs per revolution of whatever component their rods are directly attached to, this is why most rod engines are four chuffs per revolution, each of the two cylinders is causing two of the four chuffs in each revolution of the wheel. This is why when an engine blows a cylinder you will only hear 2 chuffs per revolution as it limps back home. You can find a video of an engine doing just that on YouTube.
I believe the gear ratio of a Shay is about 3 to 1, so at 6 chuffs per revolution of the crank shaft would give about 18 chuffs per revolution of the wheel. Since the wheels have a smaller diameter than a rod engine, there would be another multiplier of the chuff rate for equivalent speed. For the climax, two cylinders instead of three, I think about the same gear ratio, and usually slightly larger wheels than a Shay. So about 12 chuffs per wheel revolution. Still need wheel diameter correction, but correction would be slightly less than a Shay.
Cass has Heisler # 6 working in October 2015. Their climax was being assembled at that time (photos in restoration shop gallery of http:\\clarityphotos.smugmug.com under Trains, Cass WV)
WMRy1108 posted:For a Climax it is 4 chuffs per revolution of the fly wheel. For a Shay it would be 6 chuffs per revolution of the crank shaft (Not to be confused with the revolutions of the wheels). Each cylinder is two chuffs per revolution of whatever component their rods are directly attached to, this is why most rod engines are four chuffs per revolution, each of the two cylinders is causing two of the four chuffs in each revolution of the wheel. This is why when an engine blows a cylinder you will only hear 2 chuffs per revolution as it limps back home. You can find a video of an engine doing just that on YouTube.
The Climax they recorded for the Hillcrest is at Mt. Rainier RR at Mineral, WA. You can find videos of it.
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