The restoration of the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad's 50 ton, Class B Climax (C/N 1692, built 1928) is being undertaken by the newly formed Foundation for the Preservation of Western Heritage and Steam Trains. A clip of the engine set turning over under steam can be seen in the last 5-6 minutes of THIS video. The locomotive was acquired from the Carroll Park and Western (their #3) in the late 1970's and has been sitting in the Roaring Camp engine house yard ever since. Over the years, the engine house employees have kept the engine set and trucks lubricated to ensure they would not further deteriorate. The video clip is proof the efforts were successful.

The boiler had been sent to Dixon Boiler works in the early 1980's to be copied. Work progressed slowly as money became available. Work on the boiler stopped after Roaring Camp founder F. Norman Clark passed in 1985. Dixon Boiler Works president Richard Dixon passed in the mid 1990's and after Dixon changed hands a couple of times the boiler and the newly fabricated components were scrapped. Roaring Camp's Senior Locomotive Engineer Tom Shreve became aware of a Climax boiler at the Sumpter Valley Railroad that was the correct size for a 50 ton Class B engine. Tom brokered a swap of Westside Lumber Company Tank or "Coffin" Car #5 and a flat car for the boiler. The boiler was received in the early 2000's.

The locomotive was out-shopped as standard gauge and converted to 48" gauge for the Carroll Park and Western. The Roaring Camp line is 36" gauge and the sister railroad, Santa Cruz Big Trees and Pacific is standard gauge. Over the years there has been much discussion on the practicality of changing the gauge to 36". It's a heavy locomotive with a long wheel base and high center of gravity. There has been concern expressed the locomotive may have problems with the railroads tight curves. The engine requires so much work that, in my opinion, it could be completely redesigned from the wheels up to overcome some of the railroad's challenges. Either way, 36" or standard gauge, it will be terrific to see another Climax restored.

-Paul