V-Twin Power. No, she's not a Harley, but if you talk to the crews, she rides a bit like one. This is the former Meadow River Heisler #6, a 1929-vintage, 3-Trucker which was originally built for the Bostonia Coal & Clay Products Company in Bethlehem, PA. After 10 years of service in PA, she was sold to the Meadow River Lumber Company in Rainelle, WV, where she served for nearly 30 years. Retired in 1967, she was sold to the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, where she took on a new career as a tourist hauler. The only example of a Heisler at Cass, this engine is sometimes used on the railroad's shorter Whittaker runs, but is usually held as a back-up engine. As noted above, Heislers utilize a two-cylinder "V-Twin" arrangement. These spin a central drive shaft, which is geared to one wheel set in each of her three trucks. The other wheel set in each truck is powered by a connecting rod. Oddly enough, this strange arrangement is actually the most efficient drive train of any of the three major types of geared locomotives and it also produces the highest speeds on flat tracks. The downside is that the ride for the crew is a little on the rough side, so she's not a favorite with most of the crews. An Engineer who was assigned to run #6 once told me that this particular day was "Shay Appreciation Day." I could tell he was thrilled with the assignment. Hey, at least he wasn't running a diesel.
Scenes depicting steam operations on the old C&O Greenbrier Division between Cass and Durbin, WV, featuring Moore-Keppel Climax #3 and Meadow River Heisler #6.
For aficianados of geared steam engines, it's "almost heaven." Here are some scenes from the park's annual Railfan Weekends, as well as some private charters.
