The WV Presents "THE LOCUST HEIGHTS & WESTERN RAILROAD" featuring Mason Climax locomotive

SPECIAL PRESENTATION in HD!

In the early 1970s, Clarksburg, West Virginia machinist Keith Mason decided to use his great technical skills to craft his children a playhouse...and not just any playhouse...but a full sized replica of a narrow guage railroad caboose. A couple of years later when his children got a little older, he decided that the caboose was missing something...a locomotive to pull it. It was not long (a year, to be exact) before he had solved this problem...he SCRATCH BUILT a fully operational "Climax" locomotive based on blueprints from that famous type of geared engine's earliest design from the 1880s.

Today, both the engine and caboose (along with a couple of scratchbuilt flatcars to haul additional passengers and equipment) are still fully operational, and are run nearly a mile over Mason's large tract of property, along a grade that he and several friends and volunteers also constructed from scratch, even building a short log-cribbed trestle with railroad-timber bents supporting it.

When standing there in person, it is very impressive to think how a caboose playhouse turned into to full sized narrow guage railroad operation. Sometimes railroad dreams really do come true! 8D

If you would like to catch a ride on the Locust Heights and Western Railroad and will be in the Clarksburg area, the train runs for the public every Wednesday night from May-October, departing at 7:00PM, with additional departures as demand requires. Although the ride is free, donations are accepted and appreciated.

Recorded Wednesday, August 18, 2010

***COPYRIGHT NOTICE: All footage presented in this production is the sole property of MATT WILSON PRODUCTIONS, and any presentation, reproduction, or duplication, for sale or otherwise, in whole or in part, outside of the confines of YouTube is STRICTLY PROHIBITED without written permission from the producer. All music is the property of freshmusic.com, and is used under license agreement by MATT WILSON PRODUCTIONS.**

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Keith
• Mason
• Machine
• Shop
• Clarksburg
• West
• Virginia
• WV
• Locust
• Heights
• Western
• Railroad
• Goldenseal
• Climax
• class
• locomotive
• dunkirk
• area
• Model
• Club
• MRC
• Cass
• Scenic

[97trainman]

What kind of whistle is that?  Is it a Crosby?

[thewvnetwork]

@97trainman I'm not sure actually. I'm going to put out an APB to my network of train friends...hopefully they can answer it! 8D

[thewvnetwork]

@97trainman Per eltonjohnfan100: "I'm just guessing, it looks like a 4 or 5" Crosby....it's defiantly a 3 chime though.."

Hope this helps! 8D

[CintiRailFan]

I just read a one page article about this in Trains Magazine, January 2011 issue, page 60. It has a great picture of the locomotive and an interesting article.

[thewvnetwork]

@CintiRailFan Yes, I saw it, too! It was a great article! 8D

[steamenginesmitty]

@97trainman

The whistle was made by the engineer of the train in the video. He took a Western Maryland whistle blueprint and scaled it to make his whistle the size that he wanted, and he machined it out of brass. I think he made about six of those whistles, but I would have to ask him to verify. He made just the whistles, there are no valves built into the body on his whistles. He used over the counter whistle valves.

[eltonjohnfan100]

nice one matt!