Photos and text by Otto Hadorn
For a long time I had the desire to own a Shay locomotive for my Little River Lumber & Mining Co. Railroad, to be used for hauling logs and ore in my backyard. In my head, Shays and hauling logs in the forests belong together.
The problem was that the purchase of a manufactured model from Catatonk or Geoff Coldrick was to costly for my low hobby budget. So the possibility of scratchbuilding a freelance Shay took over.
My son Beat, a model railroader on 5' tracks, offered to build the frame, the geared trucks and the telescopic action driveshafts. My job was only to built the gas-fired single flue T-boiler, the twin-cylinder steam engine, gas-tank and all the little things that make the loco quaint and charming. The result you can see in the pictures: A great looking, powerful Shay!
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