Large Scale Central

Question Re: 2-trk Shay

Modeling
#1

Back before the turn of the millennium, I picked up a 2-truck shay from TW. It was my first mail order purchase, heck I was only 17 when I placed the order. At the time I hadn’t realized how big the thing was in relation to my mainline steam.

Of course, once arrived, I wasn’t about to spend the money to return it for something so stupid as wrong size. I wanted it as a standard gauge shortline switch engine for my line (low speed, high tractive effort, perfect switcher). Obviously doesn’t look right switching the intermodal wells at my truck terminal (ya, I know you don’t think any shay looks right doing that. But its my line I use what I want.)

I had hopes of rebuilding it to something a bit more standard gauged, but I never got around to it.

Does anyone think its possible to use the bman shay as the base for a standard gauge kitbash, or am I better off just abandoning the plan and selling the thing off. I don’t think a standard gauge kitbash is possible, but I wouldn’t mind being proven wrong.

Thoughts?

#2

HI Shays still fetch a decent price on Ebay especially if they are intact with all the goodies and boxed. If you have a later run 38 ton with the metal gear box VS the 36 with the problamatic plastic even better.
I have a 38 tonner and I agree it is BIG and it looks silly if it goes anywhere near my USAT diesals. I know the scale is different but ti looks BIG next to my other Bachmann steamers as well. The nice thing about steam engines were they did come in so many sizes so you can sneek the shay in amongst them and not really have a problem.
I don’t know if you can rebuild it to standard gauge but maybe you could do something with the cab? You could try taking the cab totally off and have it just be open. The crews might not like but oh well. What kind of stack do you have on it? The diamond shaped one makes it look big, maybe try a straight stack? Anything is possible but do you want to tackle it and will you be happy with the results?

If I were you I would keep the Shay and run it on special days. My RR has turned into a more modern line that uses diesels for freight and maintenance duties but on the weekends the steamers are fired up to run railfan excursions. Weird thing is the Shay still looks BIG pulling a bachmann passenger train.