Who am I?

[Ed Hume]

Norm,

Your locomotive must be monstrous compared to my Gauge 1 babies - narrow gauge and 2.5" scale!! Let us know if there are photos on the web - it is always fun to take a look.

Regards,
Ed

[prrfan]

Hi,My names Brian Hodge,from Lewiston Idaho,I've been into machines in one way or another for as long as I can remember,I'm not building anything yet,I have to learn to cast and get some more machining tools before I can really start,money is too tight to spend the big money on a kit,so whatever I build will have to be built entirely by me,so I'm trying to learn everything I can about casting and the function of steam engines,I'm looking forward to learning everything I can from you all that have been into live steam for a long time.

Btw,we've got a 90ton Heisler here in Lewiston so if anyone needs to have pictures I can get them.

[Duke58]

Hello, my name is Dan Cordova, from Albuquerque, NM. I'm currently building a 3/4" scale Shay. I went to Steam Town in LA while attending college and working as a machinist. I had family members who had O-scale trains, but heard someone say that real men build live steam engines. While I was at Steam Town, I saw a man place his 3/4" Shay onto the tracks and knew I had to have one. The owner of the Shay said he owned a small machine shop and made it in his spare time. I also met a gentleman named Gordon Sherwood. Gordon had a beautiful locomotive he had built himself, and he also gave me his time and answered all my questions. When I left Steam Town, I drove to the Whistle Stop in Pasadena and bought a Live Steam magazine, then ordered Kozo Hiraoka's "Building the Shay". I perused every page until I realized I was wearing it out. The book cover is somewhat torn and tattered, but I've made an effort to copy or scan pages and mark-up the copies.

That was in 1988. I bought an old Bridgeport mill and a Chinese made (Select Tool) 9" lathe two years ago, and manage to build some parts between raising my kid and paying attention to my wife. I also was given some 3.5" gauge track, but I will need to reform the radii to fit in my backyard. I plan to complete the Shay in the next four years and plan to build a raised 3.5" guage layout by then since my son will be in college, and the dog will have to learn to share his yard with me.

After spending about 15 years building parts for other projects, I finally am able to make parts for myself. I admire those in the hobby who are able to spend enough time to complete their projects, and hope to finish my own Shay and layout.

Thanks to all who've made the effort and spend time creating this website and especially building your trains!

Dan

[Harlock]

Dan,

Welcome. Many other people share the same story about the (very) part time engine construction - I am headed there myself with my A3 unless I change my priorities, but my father and I do have a 7.5" gauge Chloe coming along fairly rapidly. I also admire those who are able to stick with it even with a full time job and families to raise.

Please keep us up to date on your project.

--Mike

[siggy]

Hi Dan, good to see you on the forum. The last time I was in Abq I was planning on getting over to see you and your shop and sharing my A3 but time simply ran out and I didn't get there. Next trip I'll be sure to put it higher on my priority list!

We all like to see a picture or two every now and again so please keep up posted on your progress on that Shay.

Robert

[Duke58]

Mike and Robert,

Thanks for the encouragement!

Robert- you are welcome to visit anytime! If I remember correctly, the last time you were going to be here we had two snow storms which delivered about 18" of snow at my house. Maybe not a lot for some parts of the country, but it caused me to buy a propane powered heater for the shop.

I'm still plugging-away at building the Shay, just changed my home phone to a VOIP system and Qwest telephone disconnected my DSL service since I called and requested DSL only at the house. You would think after 25 years they would treat me a little better! My internet and home phone are down until as late as Friday, but maybe tomorrow by 5 pm. I shouldn't have called Qwest to request DSL only, they thought I didn't want any service. Hard to hire good help...

[siggy]

So how did that propane heater work in your shop over the winter? Although we don't get nearly as cold here in Austin as you get there are days when a heater would be nice in my shop. I've considered getting a propane catalytic style heater but have always been worried about their water vapor output. I don't have a rust problem with any of my tools now and I don't want to give myself a rust problem either. Did you notice any issues with your tools, condensation, etc. when using the heater?

Robert

[Harlock]

I know the question wasn't directed at me, but I used a propane heater in the garage shop that I had for a few winters and it was great. No problems. Search for item 1719K2 on McMaster. I actually turned it off at times because it generated a lot of heat!

The garage was sufficiently ventilated that fumes weren't an issue.

--Mike

[George]

Hi All!
Thought I'd add my two bits to this discussion. It's usually hard for me to make comments in some of the forums I participate, unless it might make sense. So it might take me some time to get over the stigma of "Gandy Dancer."
I explain my live steam interest to the neophytes as having begun beniegnly with the wooden/plastic push trains at an early age, then Lionel at age 7 to HO Marklin at thirteen and live steam as an older teenager (thanks to Bob Maynard's Clishay articles) in the late 1970's. Even in college, at Cal Poly Pomona, I built a rudimentary solid state electronic motor controller using some electric motors I acquired from Koster's of FL (now Cannonball). Back then, as a poor, starving college student, I just did not have an engine to put that controller in....
While presently working during the day as an oncall substitute teacher for the local high school district, I took additional college classes in the evening and weekends. I just finished a certificate in Geographical Info. Systems (GIS). It's been difficult obtaining regular full time work and since I just can't seem to stay away from school, I'm starting a NC programming degree (at Pierce College in February 09) to work on my Live Steam machining projects (I was a machinist when I served in the Navy and I understand the basics). I lack the basic machine shop facilities at present (plus using my drill press in the garage dims the house lights), so I have to find space in other shops to work on my projects.
I rejoined LALS last summer and discovered that getting out of the house on the weekends, gets me out of the line of fire. I post in Live Steam magazine's Steaming Bay and CNC Zone forums from time to time. I also participate with a local modular HO Club and am active in Amatuer Radio.

[Rick Henderson]

I am Rick Henderson from north central Tennessee. I have been into the railroading hobby since 1954 and 1:8 scale since 2001.

My local railroad, the Eagle Point Railroad www.sn3.org/eprr/ in Dunlap TN, is 108 miles to the south and I make it down weekly.

I also maintain the websites for the railroad and the club as well as several other sites.
I am a Shay Locomotive historian, created and maintain the Shay website www.shaylocomotives.com/index.html and should finally have the new Shay book from Oso Publishing out in 2009.

My main interest in railroading is all track work, bridges, trestles and operations.

[Harlock]

Welcome to the forum. Great to have a notable figure in the geared locomotive world. I am looking forward to that book. I am fortunate enough to own a copy of "Titan of the Timber" that someone -gave- me...copies seem to go for $300 - $500 these days.

Do you know Phil Reader? A friend of mine who probably knows more about maintaining full sized Shays than anyone else alive...

I've heard a lot of good things about the Eagle Point railroad, would like to make it out there someday.

Welcome!

[Dan Rowe]

Hello Rick,
Good news about the Shay book. I would like to point out that the shaylocomotives.com mechanical data was mainly the work of George Kadelak. John Benson and I just checked the data from copies of the Lima Locomotives Works Drawing Card Indexes. You night have heard that I am working on the Mapleton Tramway Shays. The data for S/N 2091 is wrong for the boiler size should be 27.75" not 24.75".

This forum could use your knowledge of track work and bridges, or at least I could.
Cheers Dan

[Rick Henderson]

Harlock, thank you for the welcome. I do not know Phil Reader and would not care to speculate on who knows the most about maintaining Shays, I like to stick to Shay history… 
Over the next couple of years you will hear more about the Eagle Point Railroad, there are four or five more articles in the works, one coming out this week in the new Large Scale Railroading magazine. www.largescalerailroading.com/

Dan, you are correct on sn-2091’s boiler size; our master sheet had the correct data, the website was outdated and I have corrected that, thank you.

[Dan Rowe]

Rick,
Yes I knew the master mechanical data was correct, the interesting thing about that error in data entry was the book on the Mapleton Shays by John Knowles questioned that data point. This book was written back when I was a staff member of Shaylocomotives.com and all the original staff members have a credit in the book. I do not remember John Knowles asking about that point which is a shame as we could have cleared it up at that time.
I noticed that the link to the Allen County Historical Society was not working on your website. As that is the source of much of the Lima Locomotive Works information on your site and one of the sources of Shay drawings and builders photos you should fix the link. There is a down loadable catalog of Shay builders photos and contact information at: allencountymuseum.org/Railroad_Archives.html

For those who do not already know I am the moderator at: groups.yahoo.com/group/LivesteamShays/
and have been answering Shay questions for fellow modelers there for several years. This is part of what I did when I was a staff member of Shaylocomotive.com and I missed it so I started the yahoo group. There are several Shay experts including George Kadelak and a lot of the Shay casting and drawing suppliers that are members of the group.

Harlock,
I do not know Phil Reader but I know that I would have fun talking to him. As for the person who knows the most about maintaining a Shay I can not say, but Artie Barkley has been working at Cass since he got out of high school and was trained by the old guard. He is a walking history book and knows quite a lot about keeping Shays running up and down a hill.

Cheers Dan

[Harlock]

I should probably correct that to "a guy who knows more about maintaining shays than anyone else I know..."

Done a lot here out west at Roaring Camp, and Georgetown Loop before the management meltdown. And yea, real nice guy. One day we'll have to have a "Geared Locomotive" convention...