Friday, December 29, 2023

Weekend Steam: Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad Willamette Shay #2

 Plenty of good Shay engine action and whistle talk! Thank You, Merle, for the link!

3 comments:

Justin_O_Guy said...

Cool drive setup. I'm guessing that design gets rid of the big power pulses that would tend to slip wheels on the track.

Hey Booms said...

They used to run Shays in the ADK mountains in the early 1900s. There was a story where an engine was pushing a load of empties up to a landing and logging camp. A tinker was sitting on the empty in front of the engine when the boiler blew and the cover plate took his head clean off. The pics of the engine showed massive damage.

David aka True Blue Sam said...

Justin, yes, they were smooth! Six power impulses per engine revolution makes for impressive stack talk when pulling a load.

Hey Booms, Boiler explosions really suck. The best description I have seen is from the dying boy who said, "I was above the trees."