Great shot of the business end of a Shay steam engine. These were a special type of geared locomotive that were mostly used on narrow gauge logging railroads because they could turn sharply and climb steep grades, exactly what was needed over the temporary railroads run by loggers.
Put your mountain bike in it's lowest gear and you'll get an idea why they were specialized. A lot of furious cranking on flat surfaces, but climbing, these locos would out-pull most everything else on the rails.
Thanks for visiting the Colorado Railroad Museum! They have the best collection of what made Colorado's railroads so unique and interesting.
1 comment:
Great shot of the business end of a Shay steam engine. These were a special type of geared locomotive that were mostly used on narrow gauge logging railroads because they could turn sharply and climb steep grades, exactly what was needed over the temporary railroads run by loggers.
Put your mountain bike in it's lowest gear and you'll get an idea why they were specialized. A lot of furious cranking on flat surfaces, but climbing, these locos would out-pull most everything else on the rails.
Thanks for visiting the Colorado Railroad Museum! They have the best collection of what made Colorado's railroads so unique and interesting.
Steve Walden
Colorado Railroads blog
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