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Amazing the time and money put into those trains. (Altho those folks would say the same about our Corvettes). A couple of those scenes, if there had not been a human riding on the train' could have passed for the real thing.
Nice. I especially like the Westside Lumber 3-truck Shay!
All of these engines are also offered in G-scale that we run, and like G-scale you actually see several different gauges represented but running on the same gauge track. So they adjust the scale of the engine to fit the track. This is why there is such a large disparity in the sizes of the engines you see.
The actual prototype Forney ran in Maine and would run on 2 foot gauge track, whereas there were a couple standard gauge models that would run on 4-foot, 8.5-inch gauge.
So the Forney is at a scale of 1:3.2 of the prototype (i.e., 24"/7.5" gauge track) and a standard gauge engine is at a scale of 1:7.5 (i.e., 56.5"/7.5").
Most shown are 3' gauge (typical American Narrow Gauge) and represent a scale of 1:4.8
Nice. I especially like the Westside Lumber 3-truck Shay!
First issue of TRAINS I ever saw was from sometime in about 1958, and had a big article about West Side Lumber. I recall being fascinated looking at the map and seeing all the different branches to "Camp 5" and "Camp 15" etc.
And to think that back when that was still running, you could go down to the local Chevy dealer and order up a nice brand new 283 with 2-4"s for only 2 or 3 thousand - with a Corvette to put it in!!
There was a place just like that on Eastern Long Island, NY where my wife and I would take the kids. They boarded the trains at little train stations and rode through a series of twists and turns. Boy, they had the time of their lives! Who am I kidding? I enjoyed it just as much.
That was very coool Robbie! I can still remember seeing the steam trains in my boyhood. The Shay is an incredible machine and was used extensively in the Pacific NorthWest because it could pull the steep grades to the lumber camps with all the wheels driving. Thanks for sharing.
When my sons were young, I got them some classic Lionel trains. I did not have a switch newer than 1948, the old all-metal stuff lasts.
What does this have to do with live steamers? At electric train meets, the typical enthusiast is also a guy of a certain age with a white beard, an engineer's cap and bib overalls!
Enjoyed the clip.
Today you can ride on full size Shay trains that carried logs over 100 years ago at Cass City, West Virginia. The engines are terrific
I really wish some brilliant tour company could arrange restored vintage train tours with auto cars carrying along our classics. Imagine the allure of a luxury sleeper and dining quarters whisking us off cross country to arrive in the mountains, unload our classic rides and tour until it was time to return home.
At least that's where my mind goes when I hear a train in the distance or walk up to one of these locomotive monsters of the steam age.
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance.
Everybody thinks it's true