The slap-together locomotive that was actually really good - Shay Locomotives 

Not to mention the absolute unit of a train for its time

Better than Farlies.

I really liked them until I had the opportunity to run two at The Georgetown Loop. They are incredibly loud at all speeds and the ride quality is terrible. They always pull well. Firing the twelve spot, a former West Side locomotive, was difficult for most firemen. I never had a problem with her. My only problem was the migraine headache I had to endure during and after a day on a Shay. Greetings from the high plains of Texas and a Looper.

The Shays (as eell as the Climaxes and Heisslers ) were designed to go over extreme rugged and nartow curved tracks, so they were the Jeeps of the steam aera.

Australia did have shay engines on the Wolgan Valley railway We’re hoping to get another shay engine for Lithgow state heritage mine museum to represent the Commonwealth Oil Corporation locomotive No. 5

Amazing machines And still useful to this day

Are they then still steam engine's?

@@Usinghealer099 yes, thats the whole point of them. The undercarriage is basically a normal tank engine with i think larger cylinders

@@Usinghealer099 Why wouldn't they be? They are STEAM engines, not fire engines! Theoretically, you could make a nuclear locomotive, boil water with a reactor and drive the wheels that way, but, using the steam to turn a generator that in turn drives electric motors would have better control... and you just created the worlds most dangerous and complicated electric locomotive.

@@Usinghealer099 well, here’s a video of one, I’ll let you decide ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-k-8JYQ28flk.html

Unfortunately The Australian Shays did not make preservation. Shay No.1 " Constance was scrapped in 1910 to make way for Shay No.4. The Last Regular tourist train in 1932 from Dargan creek (Newnes Junction) made its way to Newnes with 4 coaches. Track fault caused 2 coaches to derail, so it has to be uncoupled and then the train with the other 2 made continued its way to Newnes. the tourist then returned to Newnes Junction via road bus. The oil production (thanks to the great depression) had ceased. and the Mighty Shays of Downunder were left behind to rust in peace. The flood then came and closed the line fully. The shays were stripped piece by piece until carcases of the engines remained. The Line was dismantled in 1940 for Tobruk beach defence of WWII. The restoration of the Line after the war was ignored by the "free riders" which led to the shays being scrapped and the the whole railway restoration was fully ignored and cancelled, due to the "free will riders" of the 1950's and then, Vietnam war. So Now the disused Railway route is now a Rail trail. And also the tunnels of Wolgan Valley has a habitant location for the glow worms.

@@jackholmesdiscovereranglos7891 that’s a pretty detailed story if I’m honest

@@jackholmesdiscovereranglos7891 Taiwan gave No.14 to Puffing Billy Railway so there's at least 1 Shay in decent condition in Australia.

@@EngelDerVerdammnis theres also one near Ravensbourne in Queensland. I've seen it in person, was built by Lima in 1903

Long-lived and well-traveled for sure. There's a narrow gauge railroad in Taiwan that still has four fully operational Shays and several more on display, all of them ordered between 1906 and 1910.

Then there was " The Beast of Bilston"

Cass also has a climax and a heisler

Yea this channel gets its info from Wikipedia

The mispronunciation of Willamette in this video is painful.

I agree

After watching some gameplays of Railroads Online I'm so happy whenever someone mentions Climax and Heisler

@@afoxwithahat7846 RRO fans unite in their love for Heisler and Climax.

Yeah cass is pretty beautiful it’s my favorite thing about West Virginia

I went there for my birthday one year. Fantastic excursion.

Beat me to it, that’s the first thing I thought of when they mentioned Shay.

No. 6 here.

@@Pepperknight341 idk these days Shay Big 6 is gone for couple years or idk.

The Heisler is my favourite!

@@lowrangemaniac5326 yeah, like the uh center crankshaft movement and side rods on their driving wheels or so.

There is a Climax operating on a tourist railway on the outskirts of Melbourne. It is a very strange looking beast.

My favourite geared steam though is the Shay engine and the British Made Garratts

@@jackholmesdiscovereranglos7891 Garratts were articulated, but not gear-driven.

He's a lumberjack, that's a fact. Built his own loco, to run the track.

He cuts down trees, he builds new trains, he goes to the lavatory

I’ll have to check my chart, but I believe you are correct!

Yes they were simply meaning it could climb just about any grade

They in fact vibrate badly but not to the point of going to pieces. The are very well built locomotives and can endure a tremendous amount of abuse. Having operated two I can speak with authority on this subject. They are rough riding machines and can be difficult to fire but are exceedingly reliable. There were a few “unfortunate” units built like the West Side “Rolling Six Spot”. This particular locomotive was a notorious crew killer but kept getting put back together. Finally she killed one to many crews and was scrapped on the spot. There has been speculation that she had something wrong that caused this issue but I seriously doubt it. Some locomotives just are just unlucky. Some others live a charmed existence. One Charmed locomotive that I worked on was the Ex D&RGW 3004. She never had a major accident even when she went to the CVRR in Kansas. She is a diesel. She got hit by a truck that picked her up and set her down on the adjacent track with only minor damage. The truck driver was able to walk away with minor injuries. Greetings from the high plains of Texas.

@@ryandavis7593 How interesting. For every lemon Climax I know of, I’ve heard that others don’t have nearly as many issues. Granted, my only experiences with Climaxes have been with Moore Keppel #9 and Hillcrest Lumber #10 - both of which are walschaerts-geared Class C Climaxes, so maybe they’re more problematic than stephenson-geared Class B’s. But Moore Keppel & Co #9 has had a myriad of issues since being restored in 2019, from what I understand with my discussions with the people who’ve worked on #9. It’s why, since being restored in 2019, #9 has only been run on a handful of occasions. And Hillcrest Lumber #10, which I’ve had direct experience with before some years back, is well-known to be a lemon. You name it, #10 has broken it and it’s all because of #10’s strong vibration at operating speed. I don’t know why exactly some have more issues than others. As I said above, I suspect it may be differences in design. Maybe Class C’s with their extra truck to drive causes more driveline strain, or maybe issues arise in balancing their engine units when they switch valve gear design. But seeing as no walschaerts Class B’s are currently running to my knowledge, there’s probably no way to confirm or deny that theory. Anyway, thank you for replying! :D

Why are u evey where?

@@55_tage_lang cuz I have time to comment before I go to school and I’ve been subscribed for most of the channels life

They were able to run over light and uneven track, which described many, if not most, logging railroads in the U. S., and up steep grades which would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, for standard rod engines to climb. Top speed of a Shay was around 15 mph. . .

Fun fact 2: and never did somewhere else. cn 1503 was home at Cass all her live.

One more fun fact: WM Shay #6 "Big Six" is the youngest on Cass and last largest shays ever built, She's now currently at Cass Shop doing a boiler inspection

I wish someone would build a replica of that. Wilt would probably need an auxiliary tender for water (and perhaps a condenser, too) these days, since water stops tend to be farther apart these days and can only supply water more slowly.

​@@JohnGeorgeBauerBuisThe closest thing is a mod for Transport Fever 2.

Top speed of a Shay is around 15 mph, and they are usually slower than that, so I'm not surprised that your friend could outrun it. I talked to one of the engineers on the Cass Scenic Railroad in West Virginia a few years ago who told me that if he attempted to run any of their shays at 15 mph, it would feel as if the engine was about to shake itself to pieces. . .

@@ericemmons3040 yeah, I’ve seen one go top speed before and break down right in front of me once.

@@irondiamondrailproductions9038 Shay: You may be faster, but you aren't stronger.

They are a Lima built, they are equipped with a Step top 5-Chime (same whistle SRR #3 used.)

Shays' whistles can be heard for a 5 mile radius and with the echoing across the hills it can be even further and the reverb continues long after it actually stops.

Not that it would make much sense except in a very windy place, but a streamlined Shay would look gorgeous!

They may look somewhat offset and clumsy, but they are fascinating to watch in action. . .

Function over form is a powerful ascetic that only the strongest of wills can apreciate

That's more inline with what my reading has indicated, as well, but I enjoyed this humorous spin on it.

What they lack in speed they excel in raw power and flexibility.

Pacers were a bit of a one trick pony. Very successful at being cheap, but not much else.

I was looking through the comments to see if someone mentioned this Shay. I can't find any photos of it unfortunately

The slapping together part?