LINCOLN, N.H. — White Mountain Central Railroad, operated by Clark’s Bears (formerly Clark’s Trading Post), announced that front power-truck issues, which sidelined its two-truck Climax No. 6 last season have been repaired. The locomotive is scheduled to operate during July and August 2024. No. 6 is one of only four Climax geared locomotives still operating anywhere in the world, according to White Mountain Central.
Clark’s Bears was founded in 1934 as a roadside attraction by Ed and Florence Clark under the name Ed Clark’s Eskimo Sled Dog Ranch. Sons Ed Jr. and Murray began acquiring surplus standard-gauge steam locomotives in the 1950s as they were set aside by operating railroads. Today, White Mountain Central owns one each of the three major types of geared locomotive: Climax No. 6; two-truck Heisler No. 10 (1929, former International Shoe Company, Marlinton, W.Va.); and Shay No. 5 (1917, former Woodstock Lumber Company and Franconia Paper Company). White Mountain Central’s roster also includes two conventional steam locomotives, H. K. Porter 0-4-0T No. 1 (1931, former Koppers) and Baldwin 2-4-2T No. 5 (1906, former East Branch & Lincoln), along with Vulcan gasoline locomotive No. 2 (build date unknown, former power for a granite quarry in Barre, Vt.), General Electric 65-ton diesel switcher No. 1943 (1943, former Newport Dinner Train), and railbus B1 (1930 by Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad, former Star Bird Lumber).
White Mountain Central operates a 21/2 mile round-trip beginning at the entrance to Clark’s Bears. The line proceeds through the park, crossing what may be the last Howe Truss wooden covered railroad bridge still in use. This bridge was constructed in 1904 to carry the tracks of the Montpelier & Barre Railroad over the Winooski River. The Clark family bought the bridge in the early 1960s. Every piece was numbered as they dismantled the bridge, moved it all to their property in Lincoln, reassembled it on the south bank of the Pemigewasset River and, by 1964, had pulled the 200 ton, 120-foot-long structure across the river with a vintage half-track truck. White Mountain Central runs several half-hour train trips a day between May and October. Climax No. 6 is the preferred motive power. Check the railroad’s schedule for specific dates the Climax will be operating. General Electric 65-ton diesel switcher No. 1943 is the stand-in for the Climax.
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Only about 600 Climaxes were built. They were very powerful but very slow logging and industrial locomotives