The Shay locomotive was the most widely used geared steam locomotive. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive. Although the design of Ephraim Shay's early locomotives differed from later ones, there is a clear line of development that joins all Shays.
Ephraim Shay (1839–1916), was a schoolteacher, a clerk in a Civil War hospital, a civil servant, a logger, a merchant, a railway owner, and an inventor. He lived in Michigan.
In the 1860s he became a logger and wished to devise a better way to move logs to the mill than on winter snow sleds. He built his own tramway in 1875, on 2 ft 2 in (660 mm) gauge track on wooden ties. This was much more efficient than his competitors because he could log all year round. Two years later he invented the Shay Locomotive
Shay locomotives had regular fire-tube boilers offset to the left to provide space for, and counterbalance the weight of, a two or three cylinder "motor," mounted vertically on the right with longitudinal drive shafts extending fore and aft from the crankshaft at wheel axle height. These shafts had universal joints and square sliding prismatic joints to accommodate the swiveling trucks. Each axle was driven by a separate bevel gear, with no side rods.
The strength of these engines is that all wheels, including, in some engines, those under the tender, are driven so that all the weight develops tractive effort. A high ratio of piston strokes to wheel revolutions allowed them to run at partial slip, where a conventional rod engine would spin its drive wheels and burn rails, losing all traction.
Shay locomotives were often known as sidewinders or stemwinders for their side-mounted drive shafts. Most were built for use in the United States, but many were exported.
The Shays offered by MDC Roundhouse are legendary for their beauty and fascinating fully operational geared drive system. Sadly, with mostly plastic drive gears, they were also legendary for breaking down and, indeed, though exhibiting little or no run time, this spectacular Shay arrived in non-working condition with ALL the stock plastic gears broken. Un-sadly, I replaced ALL broken gear culprits with Northwest Shortline 186-6 Gears thus permanently fixing the problem.
FEATURES:
Northwest Shortline Upgraded C-9 Mint Condition w/Mint Original Box.
Little or no indication of run time.
MRRHQ Locomotive Works serviced, tested and certified.
Sealed in custom fitted air tight plastic bag.
Powerful Modern Drive Motor.
Nickel Plated Brass Wheels.
Directional Front and Rear Lighting.
Razor-Sharp Factory Paint and Graphics.
Many fine Brass and Metal Detail Parts.
Heavy cast frame.
Front and Rear Knuckle Couplers.
Upgraded w/NWSL 186-6 Gear Set.
Real Wood Load
DCC Ready.
Optional Upgrades Available:
TCS T1 Standard DCC Decoder Installed.
TCS T1KA Standard DCC Decoder w/Keep Alive Installed.
Original Instructions and Parts List Included.
MDC/Roundhouse Catalog 1999.
Dimensions: 6 1/2" Long x 1 5/8" Tall x 1 1/2" Wide
