On30, 2 Truck Shay - very slow

[Blahr1]

I bought the Greenbrier & Elk River On30, 2 Truck Shay Steam Locomotive and it runs very slow on my auto-reversing track.   Other engines run about 10x's as fast.   Is this engine normally slow.   I do notice that different engines definately go different speeds on the auto-reversing track.   I am putting it on the Christmas trolley auto reversing set.   

Does anyone have experience with both
1. why such variance in speeds on this auto reversing Christmas set track
2. Why does the Shay go so slow?

[ChrisS]

A Shay is a low speed loco. It is geared for slow speed power. A rod engine will run circles around a Shay, but the Shay will pull grades and curves a rod loco can't touch.


Assuming the loco isn't binding from a problem,

[tac]

Most Shays barely hit ten miles an hour, flat out.

Have a look at the Cass on youtube to see what we mean.

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

[railtwister]

Real Shays are geared down so that their crankshaft makes several revolutions for each rotation of the axle, while most rod engines are direct drive, with the crankshaft and axles turning the same speed. This means that the Shay will be slower, but can pull heavier loads, than the rod engine, but it will sound like it's going fast even at lower speeds. Think of how your car sounds when holding it in D-1 rather than just leaving it in D.

The speed differences you are seeing probably are due to differences in the locomotives, but if your power pack is underpowered, it will put out less voltage when more amperage is required, such as when a passenger train has lights in all the car, while a freight train may only have a light in the caboose. The extra power requirements of several lighted cars will slow the train down compared to the freight, even if you are using the same loco for either one.

Regards,
Bill

[Blahr1]

Guys,   thank you very much!!!   Very interesting.   I appreciate the education!   I guess I have a lot to learn.

[ScottyB]

I have a friend that works at Walthers, and when Bachmann first released their HO shay, he said they got dozens of calls weekly about shays running too slow!   

Shays are beautiful engines - and part of that beauty is how slow they run.  You can take the time to appreciate all those moving parts.

Here is a great guide to shays:
http://www.shaylocomotives.com/

Enjoy!
Scott