The Hesston steam museum. August 1984.

I took this photograph in August of 1984, during a fantrip excursion to the Hesston Steam Museum in Northwest Indianna, near the border with the State of Michigan. I had met up with a group called "The railroad club of Chicago" that day. We had boarded a Chicago, South Shore, And South Bend railroad electric commuter / Interurban train at Chicago's Randolph street station, and travelled to Michigan City Indianna. From there the group had boarded 2 chartered motor coaches, wich took us to the town of Hesston Indianna to enjoy a day at the Museum.The locomotive pictured here is New Mexico Lumber Company # 7, wich was an industrial "Shay" locomotive used primarily in Industrial and Logging railroad applications. This locomotive has 3 vertically mounted steam cylinders mounted on thee right side of the locomotive, and drive shafts connecting the geared wheels on the locomotives trucks. They weren't fast, but they were very powerful and agile. The old wooden boxcars mainly came from the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in Colorado. The following year after I had taken this photograph, Tradgedy struck at the Hesston Steam Museum. After the Memorial Day "Opening Day" operations, The hesston Enginehouse had "Caught Fire", and the wooden cars here were totally "Destroyed". Several locomotives were badly fire damaged including Shay #7 seen here. Several second hand Ex Amusement park cars were acquired in upcoming years, including cars from Chicago's "Brookfield Zoo" railroad, wich had closed in 1985. After many years of rebuilding, Shay #7 is scheduled to resume operating for the 2006 seaon.