Tourist lines

[Nathan]

#12 was a conversion of a Shay that the RR had.  It was built by Lima but converted by the RR.

On the Shay Locomotive Site look up Shay #3156.

Nathan

[Trainman203]

So no. 12 started out as a regular rod engine built  by Lima, and was converted to a shay by the railroad?

[Nathan]

#12 started out as a 3 truck 150 Shay.  The RR converted it to a 4 truck 197 Ton.  Like I said it is on the Shay Locomotive web site:

http://shaylocomotives.com/

Nathan

[Maletrain]

I thought that the biggest shay ever built was at Cass, ex-WM.

The morning we went to TVRRM was way back in 1982, on a Tuesday morning.  Hardly anyone was there to ride.  I went up to the front end to look at the 630 and got to talking to the crew.  After some conversation that made it clear that I knew a fair amount about steam engines, I asked if there was any possibility of a cab ride and the reply was something like  "Waaaaallllll..... Ole Chollie (translation - Charlie) woulda dunniit fo' you, but ...... Ole Chollie ain't around today ..... so ..... c'mon up!" I realized later that my girl friends tight T shirt might have had something to do with it too 😱😱😂😂😜.

In 1985, when I was in Chattanooga for a month (on business), I found the TVRRM and spent a good bit of my off time there.  It is nice that they have the old shop turntable at one end and have built a wye at the other.  Throw a short tunnel through Mission Ridge and a trestle on the the line between those, and run a steam loco pulling a caboose over it, and you have all the elements that draw model railroaders like an open bottle of Coke draws yellowjackets. 

I had a good time, there, and was given a cab ride and even allowed to shovel coal into the firebox.  Just needed a regular ticket and signed a waiver - no girl friend needed (nor available).  The folks at TVRRM just seemed extra nice.

[ebtnut]

Cass No. 12 was built by Lima as a three-truck Shay.  The shop forces at Cass rebuilt the engine to a four-trucker.  I presume they got the extra truck from Lima, but built the new tank themselves. 

[Terry Toenges]

I found out that SLIM&S no longer uses steam. She said they haven't used #5 in 20 years and there are no plans to restore it in the near future.  Their train is now pulled by a 1952 E 8 Diesel. It's former Pennsylvania RR #5898.

[Trainman203]

I don't understand why people ride diesel powered tourist lines.

[Len]

I don't understand why people ride diesel powered tourist lines.

They think they're antiques compared to the electrified lines they ride to and from work every day.

Len

[Terry Toenges]

To me, riding behind a diesel just isn't the same as the sights and sounds of steam.

[Trainman203]

Someone one time said:  diesels are better than steam in every way except one..... the Cool Factor .😎

[Woody Elmore]

I rode on the Great Smoky Valley RR in NC years ago. They had a US Army 2-8-0 assisted with a diesel. They had a runaround track so the engines ran backwards - I have no problem with that. More recently I rode behind the Chinese Mikado used on the Connecticut Valley - same situation - no wye or turntable. What irked me was the hordes of tourists, Great for the bottom line but a pain in the derriere!

Out here on Long Island the Oyster Bay RR club is working on getting the old Oyster Bay turntable restored. It had been filled in.

They have an LIRR G-5 sitting on the ground - all in pieces; sort of like a big Bowser kit. To get the boiler retubed involves crazy money so the engine just sits.

[jward]

One thing you have to remember about Cass is that the line has excessive grades and two switchbacks. The line to Bald Knob rises something like 2300 feet in 11 miles which works out to an average grade of well over 4%. there are sections in excess of 10%. There are car attendants on every car, and they work the handbrakes on the ride down to supplement the air brakes.

I would imagine that keeping the water levels in the boiler at an appropriate level on the trip would dictate that the locomotive always faces uphill except for the section near Whittaker station that lies between the two switchbacks. Even though there is (Or was, it's been a few years since I rode the train) a wye about a mile from the top, they tend not to turn the locomotive there.

One of the most interesting rides I had was one where they had a work train out on the line. It ducked into the wye to let us by. That was the only time I ever saw a meet at Cass.

[Trainman203]

When I rode the Durango and Silverton 30 years ago, the mobs of tourists and undisciplined kids made the overall experience worthless in railroad value.

[Terry Toenges]

Jeff - Water levels in the boiler makes sense and something I hadn't considered.

[jward]

I know when the MT Washington Cog Railway ran steam, the boilers were tilted forward for this reason. Their steepest grade is 37%.