What little I know of trains, I imagine this engine was built for shear towing power, not speed.
I can only imagine sitting in the cab in the 1930's and watch this sucker do its thing.
I did not shoot an image of the side view because it was plastered with signs and I thought it would be a pain in the butt to remove all the signs in PS.
I wished I knew more about trains, cuz this sucker has tubes and lines running everywhere. And the cab has a zillion valves and things to adjust. I sat there in that cab and wondered, " how in the hell does this thing run."
Enjoy the images.
Great series. Mahalo for sharing.
llamb
Loc: Northeast Ohio
Wow! Never saw one before. Thank you for posting.
~Lee
Impressive. Thanks for sharing.
I can tell you this much: the engine is a 3-cylinder Class B Shay. I could tell you more, but all my RR books are in boxes somewhere.
I like your photographs a lot. Thanks for sharing.
I wonder if the instructions for running this locomotive were not among the signs on the side.
Dennis
This is a three truck Pacific Shay built in Lima, Ohio, the same company that built the GS Series for the Southern Pacific. These were built for temporary use on rails both narrow gauge and standard gauge. They are powerful, but only can get to about 12 MPH downhill! They come in different flavors, too. Three truck, two truck, three cylinder and two cylinder. There are a few still running in West Virginia, Jamestown, Ca. and the Yosemite Valley Sugar Pines Railroad in Fish Camp, Ca. Many are on static display in the logging country of the western pacific forests. These were also exported to countries that had large forests and mountains. When I was in Taiwan, I found three of these locomotive types in different areas of the country. Unfortunately, these are all static displays with no hope of running again. RFB
There is a sign on the engine that I photo'd that says it was built in 1927 by Portland Ironworks. I assume that means Portland, Oregon.With a name like Willamette it sounds like an Oregon product.
Jay Pat
Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA
ImageCreator wrote:
There is a sign on the engine that I photo'd that says it was built in 1927 by Portland Ironworks. I assume that means Portland, Oregon.With a name like Willamette it sounds like an Oregon product.
I hope the link below will show the differences between Willamette and Shay (image 8 and image 14).
The Shay uses the Stephenson valve gearing, compared to the Walsheart (spelling?) valve gearing on the Willamette.
Pat
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-341091-1.html
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