Speed of the 80 ton Shay

[alsemus]

I have an new 80 ton Shay and a new 4-4-0 both by Bachmann.  The Shay runs about half the speed of the 4-4-0, certainly not fast enough to win the Formula 1 race!  The Shay pulls five or six cars up a 2 to 3 % grade without any problem but is very slow.  Also the sound acts like its going 200mph but it is barley crawling.  Another thing it seems to 'waddle' along - that is shift from side to side.  None of the cars do this nor does the 4-4-0.
  Is this normal?  Any ideas?  Or am I a worrying new owner!   I am using an NCE DCC system. 
  I love my Shay just wondered if it should be going faster. 

[ABC]

It is supposed to be pretty slow due to the nature of the loco.

[mattyg1306]

It's so funny, everything you say describes the prototype exactly!  I'd say if its doing all that, Bachmann really captured the prototype well in this model, didn't they?  With that said, I have seven of them, and they all do everything you said, and are running correctly!  

You should try to catch a ride on a real Shay sometime...and see just how much it really does "waddle" along!

Have fun!  

[OldTimer]

15 MPH would be REALLY fast for one of these engines. 
OldTimer

[tac]

It's so funny, everything you say describes the prototype exactly!  I'd say if its doing all that, Bachmann really captured the prototype well in this model, didn't they?  With that said, I have seven of them, and they all do everything you said, and are running correctly!  

You should try to catch a ride on a real Shay sometime...and see just how much it really does "waddle" along!

Have fun!  

I don't have any of the H0 Shays, but I have five of the Fn3 versions - sure, they'll toddle along at a scale 20mph, but no Shay on earth would be doing it for real.  Have a look at a Shay on the Cass - about 10mph is tops, and it sounds like the 'Hiawatha'!

Shays are all about slow = power - see Roaring Camp and Tall Trees on Youtube as well [NorCal].  Or the Prineville Shay in OR.

tac
www.ovgrs.org
Supporter of the Cape Meares Lighthouse Restoration Fund

[richg]

The geared locos are geared down a lot for pulling power, not speed.
Go to the You Tube site and search for Shay or Climax. You see and hear videos of prototypes.
Many logging railroads used pole roads made from smaller diameter tree trunks. They could not move much over walking speed.. After the area was clear, they pulled up the "Pole Road".
The smaller Shay and Climax locos and home made geared locos were used.
Some logging companies put a small two cylinder engine on a flat car with vertical boiler and used a chain drive.

Rich

[alsemus]

You folks are the best.  I never realized they went that slow and waddled.  It does have gobs of power and can easily out pull the 4-6-0 on the same grade. 
Watching the videos on You Tube was a real education.  Didn't realize there were that many other folks who shared my love for a picturesque little engine.
THANKS.  No need to contact Bachmann now.....     Al

[richg]

Hello alsemus

A little heads up. If there are times you would like a quicker answer, do a Google or Yahoo search for the subject. Most of the time you will find an answer rather quickly. I have many times with lots of good links to store in Favorites.
Yes, I know some people want to just start a conversation which is ok also but many times the answer is in a search and you will have material to help the model railroad community.
Not too many years ago there was no Internet and we had to try to find a fellow modeler or write to a model railroad magazine and wait for an answer.

Rich

[J3a-614]

Welcome to the club!  I'm from West Virginia, home of the Cass Scenic Railroad, which is run as a state park here.

It is perhaps one of the wildest railroads around, with an average grade of 5%, multiple sections of 8%, two sections of 11%, and at one time had a section of 13%!  This is in addition to two switchbacks (reversals of direction to gain altitude), and curves as sharp as 40 degrees, which means the train changes direction by 40 degrees in only 100 feet (for comparison, a 1-degree curve has, if I recall correctly, a radius approaching 1 mile, and a 5 degree curve is considered moderately sharp and has a speed restriction of about 60 or 65 mph.)

Some of my favorite Cass clips from YouTube, if you haven't seen these particular ones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDJkzW7ligQ

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=shayfan#p/u/12/3xGgnVxp9sQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89TfUia3CLk&p=847A9267661E1B57&playnext=1&index=13

Shay No. 5, which shows up in a couple of these clips, is the prototype for Bachmann's Shay.  And the new Climax that is coming out is also at Cass, currently undergoing restoration.

Enjoy!

[jonathan]

J3a-614.  Great stuff as always.

I see why people really go for the geared loco.  It's hard to stop watching, especially with that amazing whistle.  Thanks,

Jonathan

[Santa Fe buff]

What the darn thing makes up in speed, it can make up in pulling power! Sucker took a 20 car train up a 3 percent grade! Probably one of the best steamers I've seen for awhile.

Cheers,
Joshua

[Doneldon]

al-

There are a few truisms about locomotives, or at least about steamers.  1.) Geared locos always go slowly but have great pulling power, 2.) They usually have great tracking abilities, as well, 3.) As a general rule, the smaller a locomotive's drive wheels the slower and more powerful it is, and conversely, 4.) The amount of steam they use and the amount of noise they make is a function of how hard the steam engine is working but not of how fast the lokie is going (A Shay with a load, a high-stepping passenger loco pulling only a few hundred tons at speed and a freight engine dragging a coal train up a steep grade will all make a ton of noise but they'll be doing it with great variation in what they're pulling and how fast they're going.  With geared engines, especially Shays since they have the moving parts hanging on one side, you can usually expect some waddle.  Just try to see it as part of their many charms.

                                                                                                                                                -- D