Post by Muleskinner on Feb 28, 2012 13:05:35 GMT -8
We in here in the Pacific Northwest as well as back east are very familiar with the term Shay geared Lokie which made its mark as the best logging engine of the steam era. With its side valve gearing the lokie could negotiate the tight corners and steep grades which would hog down a normal side rod lokie of the time.
It was a very recognizable engine with its vertical three valve drive which connected to drive shafts which drove the wheels of the trucks on which it rode. The boiler was also off set to the left of the engine to accommodate this type of setup and was the only steam type Lokie built in the US in this configuration. See Picture below.
But if you are anything like me and have a nose for a lot of research, have you ever wondered about what the original first unit might have looked like when it was in the experimental stage?
I was going through some old logging magazines from way back and LO and BEHOLD what did I find but the original Shay built by Ephraim Shay in the shop behind his house in Harbor Springs, Michigan, in 1888. It was called "BABY" and ran on thirty inch Gage track with the original Vertical boiler set up and gear drive. It was much smaller than the engines in the Shay Line most of us are familiar with but still had the power to pull a sizable buggy train of logs. With that in mind I am posting those pictures which I found below. They are kind of grainy because of the Glass negatives they were taken on but you can see the details of the drive system and the size of the engine as compared to the one in the top photo.
It was a very recognizable engine with its vertical three valve drive which connected to drive shafts which drove the wheels of the trucks on which it rode. The boiler was also off set to the left of the engine to accommodate this type of setup and was the only steam type Lokie built in the US in this configuration. See Picture below.
But if you are anything like me and have a nose for a lot of research, have you ever wondered about what the original first unit might have looked like when it was in the experimental stage?
I was going through some old logging magazines from way back and LO and BEHOLD what did I find but the original Shay built by Ephraim Shay in the shop behind his house in Harbor Springs, Michigan, in 1888. It was called "BABY" and ran on thirty inch Gage track with the original Vertical boiler set up and gear drive. It was much smaller than the engines in the Shay Line most of us are familiar with but still had the power to pull a sizable buggy train of logs. With that in mind I am posting those pictures which I found below. They are kind of grainy because of the Glass negatives they were taken on but you can see the details of the drive system and the size of the engine as compared to the one in the top photo.
