Darth;
I am glad that you (or anyone else) will be the guinea pig! I'll keep tabs. That shay looks like a million dollars, and I bet it will run even better. I bought mine about twenty-five years ago from Valley Hobbies, up in Simsbury, Ct. I would like to pick up another if I can find one. The shay caught my eye in a Walthers catalogue, and I was enamoured by it's diminutive beauty.
You've done a great job with this kit. Congratulations!
Wolfgang
Pueblo & Salt Lake RR
Come to us http://www.westportterminal.de my videos my blog
Very nice! I checked out your links (btw, thanks for letting us know about that copper-colored disk, I'm not sure I've ever seen one of those before ) Your shays look marvelous! I hope you don't mind, but I saved the pictures for future inspiration. You did a great job-- on all your shays.
John
Well congratulations as there cannot be all that many folks who got their Keystone Shay kit to actually be an operating model. You have every right to be proud. I suspect the slight noise will ease up over time
As to speed, at one time the Illinois Railroad Museum had an operating Shay and I remember the time I was down there when more than one steam locomotive was running (those, as they say, were the days). I was off in some corner and not paying attention when I heard what sounded like the New York Central's 999 breaking the 100 mph barrier so I rushed trackside with my camera -- and waited, and waited, until 'round the bend came their Shay loping along at maybe 10 to 15 mph but sounding like the fasting thing on wheels.
Dave Nelson
Thanks for the tips on details. I may have to add some of those to my Shay.
You're right about the MDC Shay being noisy! I've tuned every little thing in mine to run as quietly as possible, but that gearbox will always have a good whine when it runs. I'm actually trying to make the trucks run more quietly now by adding NWSL bronze bearings and steel shafts. I found the stock MDC design to be extremely sloppy, which may be causing unnecessary noise and even a little roughness. I don't know if it will make things any quieter, but I do at least know it'll make things last longer!
I've gone ahead and made all your links clickable:
http://www.mrollins.com/keyshay.htmlhttp://www.mrollins.com/keyshay1.html
http://www.mrollins.com/Shay30.html
http://www.mrollins.com/myshay.html
http://www.mrollins.com/Images/nameclimax.jpg
http://www.nelsonslocomotive.com/Shay/shay.htm
_________________________________________________________________
A friend of mine mentioned my old 'Keystone Shay tips' was mentioned here, so I figured why not join as well? Each of these make a difference in running quality, as we all know it's a kit not designed to be powered.
http://www.mrollins.com/keyshay.html
As you can surmise, this kit is a bear, but if you go slowly one has a fantastic small shay, at a fraction the price of a brass model.
http://www.mrollins.com/keyshay1.html
I also scratchbuilt an HOn30 Shay, albeit the gearing does not work
I also put together an MDC Shay years ago, and as some noted it's a noisy, lumbering brute.
Note a couple of tips on extra details if you want (note I like unusual color schemes):
Add a rod for the sanding dome, this is how the sand is dispensed onto the rails
I mounted the air compressor more forward, but these usually have a blow off hose that goes up by the smokestack
Chains were hung to secure the trucks in many cases in the event of a derailment
Get a Shay builders plate, print one or buy some; I printed some Climax plates for a kit I sell and they look pretty good
Add a rear handrail on the water tank
Add a coupler lift bar to the front and back
Of course, if you want a new project, check out this guy's page
Geared steam, how we miss you...
Thanks everyone for your comments.
yankee flyerBut I was wondering is there a good RTR Shay?It seems like a sad state of the hobby when you buy a kit and half of the parts aren't usable. I'm adding another 8' to my layout and looking for a new theme. Manipulating small parts is hard for me to do so I am better off buying RTR.
Bachmann's Spectrum Shay is an excellent RTR model. They're very smooth and quiet runners with a LOT of detail. Their only problem is that many have had a problem with split line gears. NWSL makes metal replacement gears for the ones that have that problem.
Way to go!
You have put together what many consider one of THE most difficult kits ever produced. I often say if you can put one of these together successfully, you should automaticly get an NMRA Master Modeler certificate.
Have fun with your trains
Darth, Hey Fantastic job on the Shay. But I was wondering is there a good RTR Shay?It seems like a sad state of the hobby when you buy a kit and half of the parts aren't usable. I'm adding another 8' to my layout and looking for a new theme. Manipulating small parts is hard for me to do so I am better off buying RTR.Enjoy your Shay.
Lee
Very nice work. And it seems to run very smoothly too.
The Bachmann 80 ton HO shay is in point of fact an almost perfect model of the Cass WV shay no 5. This is not really a west coast shay but is one built I think in about 1905 (I would have to look the exact date up but it is over 100 years old as a book about it was called 100 years against the mountain)
It did get rebuilt with a new more modern looking cab and this is why a lot of folks think it is a model of a west coast shay
Doug M
Darth - congratulation on that super job you did. The loco is a jewel! And the video a joy to watch!
I've been following this thread, and think you've done a great job on that shay. The video was a real treat!. Keep up the good work.
Have Fun.... Bob.
Great video, Darth.
Very nice Darth! I particularly like watching the "sidewinder" mechanism in action.
Joe
I've now put up a video of the Shay!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKrl8cGrVbU
Darth Santa FeThe crankshaft was originally a single piece casting of soft white metal. When that fell apart, I cut off the cast shaft and drilled the cranks out for the steel shaft.
Wow, a white metal crankshaft... no wonder they don't last. Nice job putting it all back together.
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
Great work!
Years ago I've bought a PFM shay - and it's fun! If your engine is a good runner you will have hours of pleasure. Enjoy it.
You are so right, Darth. Personally I'm impressed with the detail on all of the Shays currently being offered or recently offered. The variety of models is quite varied. Everything from the small to the large and in scale.
A number of years ago there was quite a discussion going on, and maybe still is, about the scale of the Heislers being offered by Rivarossi. I think they are very close if not accurate. I've seen a Heiseler and have seen pictures of a West Coast Heisler beside a West Coast Shay. They are both massive machines, so Rivarossi is bang on the money in my books and so is Spectrum. Dang, I like geared locomotives.
Darth, I continue to be awed by your skill at building steam locomotives. Well done, sir!
Robert Beaty
The Laughing Hippie
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The CF-7...a waste of a perfectly good F-unit!
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the
end of your tunnel, Was just a freight train coming
your way. -Metallica, No Leaf Clover
Thanks everyone for your compliments.
JoeinPA, I think my next project will be to finish painting my Samhongsa 4-4-0, but I have some others that need finishing too. I'll be sure to put up pictures of them.
SteamFreak, that's a very interesting Shay there, but I think I'll leave that project up to someone else. The crankshaft was originally a single piece casting of soft white metal. When that fell apart, I cut off the cast shaft and drilled the cranks out for the steel shaft.
Grampy1, it has been a fun project. The Spectrum Shay definitely has more extra details, but as far as I can tell, the Keystone Shay has most of the detail the real Class A Shays did. So I guess the early ones do look a little "toy-like" compared to the modern ones.
Now that would be a fun build. This has been a great project to follow. You have done such an excellent job. Congratulations.
As near as I can tell the Spectrum Shay is a reasonable representation of a West Coast Shay which were made specifically for the challenging conditions and massicw logs along the west coast. They were the most advanced Shays and the largest. Some of the early ones look almost toy like when placed beside them. Such a variety.
Darth, If you have a few parts left over, try this next: http://www.shorpy.com/node/7786
Excellent job and tutorial! That crankshaft looks like a nightmare. The three straight sections between the eccentrics cranks that you replaced -- what was the original material? Brass? Did you have to drill out the cranks to accept the 1.5mm shaft?
Beautiful job Darth! I enjoyed following your progress. What's your next project? I hope you decide to share it with us.
After 2 months of work, the Shay is finally finished!!From this...to this!!Those pictures are kind of blurry, but I wanted to show the directional constant lighting.The most important side of a Shay. Some people won't bother with making the crankshaft and rods operational, but I wanted mine to have the full effect. My rebuilt crankshaft with a steel shaft and epoxy works great!NWSL's drive. My wiring arrangment isn't spectacular, but it works.A cheap HO scale man standing on the little Shay. I didn't notice there was some gray left on the domes until I took this picture. It's been fixed.Sitting with the 4x larger Spectrum Shay (80-ton vs. 20-ton).Pulling 10 full size cars like it's no big deal.
Getting this thing built has taken a lot of time and work, but it was all worth it! After a little more fine-tuning, it runs smoothly, steadily, and pretty quietly for an engine with a spur gear transfer. It needs more run time before the low speed control is excellent, but it can still run pretty slowly. Some parts are fragile enough that I want to avoid taking it apart again, because believe me! This is not a fun engine to disassemble after it's been put together!!
I am overall very happy with my new Shay. If anyone else is looking for a real challenge to be proud of, the Keystone Shay is it, and I would highly recommend it (to experts; beginners beware!!).
Arjay1969 Very nice, Darth! Now we need video of these beasties running!
Very nice, Darth! Now we need video of these beasties running!
I'll try getting a video up.
Once these are all done, I think I'll put up a Shay comparison for everyone. All three of my Shays (Spectrum, MDC, Keystone) are very nice, but wouldn't it be interesting to see how they are side-by-side?
The Keystone Shay sitting by the much larger MDC/Roundhouse Shay. I'm hoping to have them both done this weekend.
I also posted this in my topic for the other Shay. That Keystone Shay really is small next to another larger one!
I've now finished the detail and added decals. I meant to put the pictures up yesterday, but there was some sort of problem with logging in. But anyway, here they are.
All that's left now is the dull coat and final assembly. I think this is going to be one nice Shay when it's all finished.
Arjay1969About the paint...did you use some sort of primer?
No, I didn't use primer this time, and that may have been my problem. I figured that with the bold dark colors, I wouldn't need it. I think I will use it for my upcoming painting projects (Tenshodo GP20, Bowser L-1 2-8-2, Cary E6A, and MDC Harriman 2-8-0).