21–26 of 26 posts
You can still ride a Shay-powered train at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_Scenic_Railroad_State_Par... . It's an old-time logging railroad that goes up into the mountains from a former https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_town founded in 1901.
Bay-area folk may be familiar with Roaring Camp Railroads up in Felton, which has a Shay engine pulling the train along the scenic tour. Fun stuff if you have any kids who like trains.
Not an expert, but... As Wikipedia partly mentions, Shay designs were very well suited to low-speed operation on dirt-cheap (often temporary) tracks. That generally meant narrow-gauge, light rail & iffy roadbed, tight curves, and steep grades. Low-speed-only was the only sort of operation you'd want to attempt - tracks suitable for higher speeds would have cost far more, but provided minimal benefit for logging, mini…
[1] https://roaringcamp.com/excursions/redwood-forest-steam-trai...
Not an expert, but... As Wikipedia partly mentions, Shay designs were very well suited to low-speed operation on dirt-cheap (often temporary) tracks. That generally meant narrow-gauge, light rail & iffy roadbed, tight curves, and steep grades. Low-speed-only was the only sort of operation you'd want to attempt - tracks suitable for higher speeds would have cost far more, but provided minimal benefit for logging, mini…
I've seen the Shays at Roaring Camp, near Santa Cruz.[1] Good to know they are still running. All those huge open bevel gears! It's all-wheel drive, including the tender, using a long drive shaft with universal joints and splines, all out in the open exposed to dirt. At least on a Shay they're easy to reach. Somebody probably has to grease the drivetrain before every trip. [1] https://roaringcamp.com/excursions/redwo…
Back in the day, I suspect they'd have covered much of that with tin* or wood, to cut down on cleaning, maintenance, & wear.
*Meaning "cheap, thin sheet metal"
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've seen the Shays at Roaring Camp, near Santa Cruz.[1] Good to know they are still running. All those huge open bevel gears! It's all-wheel drive, including the tender, using a long drive shaft with universal joints and splines, all out in the open exposed to dirt. At least on a Shay they're easy to reach. Somebody probably has to grease the drivetrain before every trip. [1] https://roaringcamp.com/excursions/redwo…
> ...all out in the open exposed to dirt... Back in the day, I suspect they'd have covered much of that with tin* or wood, to cut down on cleaning, maintenance, & wear. *Meaning "cheap, thin sheet metal"
Funny thing about Shays. When you see a photo of them, you almost always see the right side of the locomotive, as that's where the pistons and the drive train are. You almost never see the left side of it. The left side is much more uninteresting. However, having seen them and been somewhat fascinated in them for years and years, when I finally saw one live, it never occurred to me that the cylinders were only on the…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> ...all out in the open exposed to dirt... Back in the day, I suspect they'd have covered much of that with tin* or wood, to cut down on cleaning, maintenance, & wear. *Meaning "cheap, thin sheet metal"
I strongly suspect that they used oil, not grease, so they could flush the dirt out of the gears, and that this would have been done very frequently.