09/14/25

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image goes back to the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden.  This is Shay No. 12.  It was built in 1927 for the Swayne Lumber Co and was later purchased by the Westside Lumber Co. in 1940.  In 1986 it was sold to the Georgetown Loop RR.  In 2011 to 2014 it operated on the loop of track at the museum where it is still currently stored but is not owned by them.  A Shay locomotive is great for steep railroads due to their gearing which is for traction rather than speed.  The Shay locomotives in West Virginia can climb 9% grades where a normal grade would be, at most, 3%.