Thursday, August 23, 2007

Oregon Lumber Company 3 Foot guage Shay logging locomotive. The Hesston Steam Museum. Hesston Indiana USA. July 2007.

I took this photo inside the enginehouse and shops, at the Hesston Steam Museum in northwest Indiana. The Shay logging locomotive seen here, was built by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima Ohio in the year of 1927, and had origianlly worked for the New Mexico Lumber Company, and a short time later -The Oregon Lumber Company. After retirement in the early 1960's, this locomotive briefly pulled narrow guage tourist trains on the Black Hiolls Central RR in Keystone South Dakota USA. The locomotive came to the Hesston Indiana museum during the early 1970's and was mechanically restored. The Shay locomotive operated for 10 years from 1975 to 1985, when a disasterous May 1985 enginhouse fire severely damaged # 7.
After many years of renewed restoration efforts and a new enginehouse, Number # 7 returned to steam on Labor day weekend in September of 2006.
Shay locomotives where a practical industrial design, and was at home working on logging, mining and various industrial railroads. Notice the three verticle marine style cylinders alongside the boiler and how they connect to driveshafts leading to the locomotives geared trucks. These locomotives had plenty of torque, and where very agile on rough or uneven track as well as on sharp curves. However, they where not very fast on speed.

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