Shay

I started building this engine in the late 1990’s – I’m guessing around 1997. The plans for the engine are a scaled up version of the Mich-Cal No. 2 by W. M. Harris published by Live Steam magazine (a division of Village Press, Inc. Traverse City, Michigan). The plans are for a 1/8 scale narrow gauge Shay for 4-3/4 inch track. I multiplied all the dimensions by 1.5 to run on 7-1/4 inch track (I made the axles longer with a 1/4 inch bushing on the left side of the engine, so it could easily be re-gauged to 7-1/2 inch track). I also back-dated the details on my engine to represent a Shay of the late 19th century.

There were no castings available when I started building, so most of the parts were fabricated from bar stock. The engine frame is copper and brass shapes brazed together. The cylinders are 1-1/2″ x 1-1/2″ Stuart castings from one of their stationary engine models. The resulting engine is a bit small, but the Shay will pull me and a couple of passengers up a 1-1/2% grade.

I deviated from the plans and changed the gear ratio so the engine would be a little faster than other model Shays. The gears were purchased from Boston Gear.

I had the custom “T” code boiler made by the late Ray Pennel of Steam Age USA in 2001.

Since I made the decision to ride behind the Shay rather than on top of it, coal firing was out of the question as the firebox would be too far away. That left either oil or propane as a fuel. I eventually chose propane based on the experience of several friends who had used both on their engines.

I had the burner assembly designed and made by Loco Parts. I added a 316 stainless steel arch between the top two burners and the row in the center. It has worked extremely well.

I originally built the engine with an axle pump on the front truck of the riding car. The pump cylinder was too big for the piping to the boiler and the hydraulic force of the water quickly caused the pump to destroy itself!

I replaced the axle pump with a 12 volt electric pump.

The battery is hidden in plain sight under the wooden crate behind the water tank on my riding car.

With the ball valve on the left (above), I can direct the pumped water either directly into the boiler or into the small tank on the back of the engine. I have a Super Scale economy injector mounted on the right rear side of the tank.

The two trucks have operating steam brakes with wood shoes on all wheels.

Valve extensions were mounted under the roof for easy operation.

The reversing gear is a worm with right angle bevel gears leading to the handle on the right.

The slot in the roof allows me to see the steam gauge and the lighted water glass.