Geared Locomotives

[MountainMan]

Uintah railway did But they had track that was sharp and steep enough that over Baxter Pass, using a rod engine was almost impossible. I think the other NG lines in Colorado weren't steep enough to require geared locos, and since geared locos are slower and probably were more expensive, I would guess a railroad would probably not use geared locos unless they had to. I think RGS had one shay, that was also used on one of the Silverton lines.

Of course, my HOn3 fictional railroad has a shay

Uintah actually used articulated Mallets.

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As for grade, I'm not sure what "steep actually means, but a ruling grade of 4% and a maximum grade of 6% probably qualifies, especially if moving a few cars requires double heading.

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