Photo:
© George Bush
Year Built:
1918
Type of Equipment:
Locomotive
Steam Locomotive
Traction:
Rail Trucks
Manufacturer:
Lima Locomotive Works
Manufacturer Location:
Lima, OH
Motive Power:
Steam
Non-Motive Power:
Steam
In Service:
Conlaugh and McKenna Lumber Company, North Bend, OR
Ingram Lumber Company, Glendale, OR
McKenna Lumber Company, North Bend, OR
North Bend Mill and Lumber Company, North Bend, OR
Oregon White Cedar Company, Charleston, OR
Robert Dollar Lumber Company, Glendale, OR
Stout Lumber Company, North Bend, OR
Owner:
Roots of Motive Power
Wheel Arrangement: 0-4-4-0,
Trucks: 2
Weight: 50 Tons
Tractive Force: 22,580
Fuel: Oil;Diesel
Length: 41 Feet, 5 Inches
Boiler: 180 psi

The railroad collection of a logging history museum would never be complete without the presence of a Lima Locomotive Works Shay steam locomotive.

In March 2005 the Board of Roots of Motive Power approved the purchase of the Robert Dollar Lumber Company Shay #2978, offered to the group by the Western Railroad Museum at Rio Vista CA. The Shay is a 50-ton, two-truck model, Class B 50-2, built in May, 1918 for the North Bend Mill & Lumber Company of North Bend OR. Robert Dollar Lumber Company acquired the locomotive in 1946 to serve its railroad logging operation near Glendale OR. Robert Dollar once operated two Shay locomotives at his sawmill and logging operations at Usal in northern Mendocino County, CA, circa 1900.

The gear-driven Shay will take a prized spot in the Roots collection along with the products of the two other primary manufacturers of geared locomotives, Bluestone Mining & Smelting Co.’s Heisler C/N 1351 and Holmes Eureka Co.’s Climax C/N 1621. The Shay arrived at the Roots facility on April 30, 2005.