shayvindex

The Shay arrives at Vindex for trials before the paint shop gets a crack at her.

Stretching the Truth

This is one of the most expensive locomotives I own, so I had to come up with a pretty convincing reason to have it.  I had already built the upper leg of the Chaffee Branch, but figured to use a diesel switcher to access the black diamonds that lurk amid the blue styrofoam hills.  The actual Chaffee line was curtailed in the mid 1950's when the mines there played out.  Several tipples still exist in the area, but they are mostly truck-loading affairs closer to the old main line.  By 1970, the era that I'm modeling, the branch had been all but abandoned, and even the main was being relocated in favor of a dam project on the upper Potomac.

So here's this disembodied mountain out in the garage, and this sweet little steam locomotive.  The logical first step was to look up the WM's 2-truck light Shays.  According to the Blue Mountain Express, the quarterly of the WMRHS, there were several that came from short logging and mining lines that were absorbed into the WM empire.  The closest fit I could find was #3, which actually had belonged to the Chaffee Railroad when it was purchased by the WM in the mid 1930's.

I've had no luck in locating a picture of #3 with WM livery, which is fine with me.  The model by Atlas is a case of "close but no cigar" as far as matching up to the WM prototype.  I had already arbitrarily assigned the number 3 to my little Shay, because she's about half the size of No.6, the giant 3 truck Shay built by Lima to work the Chaffee Branch after WWII.  Now I had to come up with a paint scheme.

In looking up information on the Shays, I came across a number of photos of WM steam from the 1920's, which featured a very simple "W.M." stenciled on the tenders.  I adopted this as the livery for #3, along with some pin striping to spruce her up a bit.

I also cut off the top of the oil bunker and converted her to coal by fashioning a blob of lead weight into the shape of a coal load and gluing coal dust to it.  You can see the difference in the two views at right.  Other than that, I have not modified the body of the locomotive at all.

I intend to install DCC into her, but that will be a project for another day.

Portrait

A good close up of the Shay's workings.

Shay Header

When Atlas Model Railroad Company announced that it was bringing a two-truck Shay locomotive to market a couple of years ago, there was a certain level of disbelief.  When it was revealed that it would have operating gear drive and would simulate the movement of the vertical pistons on this N scale critter, I was incredulous.  No way, I thought.  But then again, it was Atlas making this announcement, and they have a pretty good track record of keeping their word.

So I put an undecorated one on order.  The first wave of roadnames arrived, and the internet lit up with amateur reviews, some praising, and many panning.  Apparently the little model had some issues with the engineering of the drive line, and it was binding up and stalling the engine.

It turned out that mine was in the second wave, which was held up to address the quality control issues.  Finally, several months later, my good friend Glenn out at the Moose Caboose e-mailed me that my engine was in.  When it arrived, I was awe-struck by the fine detail and smooth running mechanism.

Oh Shay Can You See

Shay

I plan to use the Shay as a semi-regular runner to haul coal down from the mountain, but I anticipate using a small Geep or a switcher most of the time.  The Shay will come out and play on weekends, hauling a little tourist train I've assembled. 

 

Back to Locomotives

Back to Home