Weekend Steam

Stan Matthews brought West Side Lumber Company Shay Number 9 to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa in 1966, and it has been going around the Midwest Old Threshers show grounds ever since.  Forty five years is a pretty long gig, and the logging locomotive is now going to have another job to add to its resume.  Midwest Central Railroad recently worked out a deal with the Georgetown Loop Railroad to swap engines for a period of seven to ten years.

The big Shay was recently loaded up on a trailer and shipped west on Interstate 80.  Click over to the Midwest Central Railroad Blog to see photos of the loading process, and for links related to the move.

The Georgetown Loop has been missing walk-in business during the tourist season because their engines are not able to pull heavy loads.  One of the engines on the Colorado tourist railroad will be shipped to Iowa as part of the business arrangement, where it will be used during the annual Labor Day weekend show, and the special events in October and December.  This swap is a big change for both organizations, and it should be good for both parties.  Be sure to attend Old Treshers this year to see a "new" locomotive at Mt. Pleasant.