around the go away garage if you mention a v/twin most folks picture a motorcycle engine of some sort. here is a different sort of v/twin, the Heisler Geared Steam Locomotive. designed by Charles L. Heisler and patented in 1892 Heisler Locomotives were the latest of the geared steam locomotives. the other three were the Shay, the Climax and the Willamette. Shay's had a vertical engine on the left side. Climax's had an inclined cylinder engine with a cylinder on each side of the locomotive and the Willamette was a close copy of the Shay. these engines were designed to run on sharp curves and steep hills with lots of pulling power for their size. altogether about 625 Heislers were built between 1891 and 1941. only about eight of them are still operable. many were scrapped along the way. the engine powered a central driveshaft under the locomotive which in turn was geared to one axle of each truck. these gear powered axles in turn powered the other axle on the truck with side rods on the wheels. the first picture is of a Heisler locomotive belonging to a lumber company. next is a picture of the Heisler 45 degree v/twin engine. third is a picture of the gears and drive shaft under one of the trucks. fourth a Heisler ad. and last another pic of a Heisler locomotive from the front. in the pictures of the locomotives you can see the cylinders on each side of the boiler a little in front of the cab. these geared locomotives with their articulated trucks and gear drive could climb hills and go around curves a standard type of locomotive could only dream of doing. they were, however, slow and very seldom used for any type of main line work except on logging, mining and industrial railroads. even though slow in it's own right, the Heisler was reputed to be faster than the other three types of geared steam locomotive.
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