The Durbin Rocket-Durbin, West Virginia

The Durbin Rocket is a Climax steam locomotive running out of Durbin, West Virginia. It is part of the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad.

This is the 55-ton number 3, originally built in 1910 for the Moore-Keppel Lumber Co. in nearby Randolph County.

The number 3 is a Climax, gear-driven engine designed by the Climax Manufacturing Company of Corry, Pennsylvania.

The Climax, like the Shay and Heisler, is a gear-driven locomotive. As you can see in these pictures, the Climax has a massive piston on either side of the boiler in a horizontal position. How is this different than the Shay? Can you think of any advantages or disadvantages of this design over the Shay?

The Durbin Rocket's path parallels that of the Greenbrier River.

A traveling option on the Rocket is a 1920's caboose.

Another unique option at Durbin is the availability of caboose that are sleeper cars. These can be rented and are left at various positions on the trains route. Just in case you were wondering, the plural of caboose is caboose!

This is the inside of the caboose above, ready for camping!