Shay Wanted

G

Gtarling

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I'd like to buy a used or new American style Shay loco like would have been used for logging operations - G gauge and not too large. Let me know if you have or know of anything for sale.

G.
 
The description is wrong, it’s a ‘two truck, three cylinder’ shay and not as advertised.
Dave
 
Nice paint detail on that.
Fwiw
OP
assuming you will be buying a bachmann shay
1 theyre not small, even the 2 truck version…think lgb 0-6-6-0 in overal presence, imho (if you want diminutive, you might prefer a last version climax)
2 confirm, and only buy, one with metal trucks…this is really important, or, factor the cost, $250 US for replacement trucks.
3 parts are unavailable, generally speaking. Certainly from bachmann. If somethings broken or missing, assume youll have to live with it
4 theyre delicate , ie must be handled carefully to preserve details, need to be correctly and routinely lubed, and not even slightly weather proof.
5 coupler height doesn’t match lgb, and its not easy to correct this.

they are lovely locos
 
Indeed the Bachmann Shays are lovely locomotives. But small they aint as stevedenver stevedenver says. Likely one of the small Accy ones might work but they are Live Steam and not cheep. Looks like another case of ‘what you want you cant get’.
 
The 2 truck is not that large, the 3 is (lengthwise) :) It can manage an LGB R3. Coupler height on the Shay suits the "Big Hauler" range and not the NMRA height used by the AMS and Spectrum range of rolling stock. However Kadee do a conversion for the Shay if you are using the higher NMRA standard. Check GRS in Prices Risborough, they keep a stock of Kadee G scale products. Not sure how you will manage hook & loop, they were not supplied with that option.

Echo all the points Steve makes. There is some limited parts availability 38 Ton 2-Truck Shay : Bachmann Trains Online Store! however shipping, handling and import tax make it prohibitive. But they do offer a good reliable service to us in the UK.
If you get one and it is missing the exploded parts diagrams and wiring schematics I can send you a PDF ( as soon as mine gets back from the guy converting it to battery/RC operation. It already has an ESU DCC card fitted, with the right sounds). Max
 
dunnyrail said:
Indeed the Bachmann Shays are lovely locomotives. But small they aint as stevedenver stevedenver says. Likely one of the small Accy ones might work but they are Live Steam and not cheep. Looks like another case of ‘what you want you cant get’.
Click to expand...

Small? Do you mean the Accucraft 13 ton T boiler? They made an open cab and Michigan California Lumber Company closed cab version. I have the open cab electric version. Not for sale though and I'm down under (the trestle bridge). :)
What about the Moloco Buffalo Shay? TrainZZZZ must have bought up the remaining stock from Moloco. They have 10 of them on eBay. Pricy though.
Moloco The Buffalo Shay F Scale Powered Steam Locomotive 1:20.32 Scale | eBay

You may get a better deal paying import charges yourself by dealing direct instead of eBay's gouging...
G Scale Trains for Sale Near Me | G Scale Trains For Sale | G Scale Trains – Trainz

1660465166475.png
 
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Paradise said:
Small? Do you mean the Accucraft 13 ton T boiler? They made an open cab and Michigan California Lumber Company closed cab version. I have the open cab electric version. Not for sale though and I'm down under (the trestle bridge). :)
What about the Moloco Buffalo Shay? TrainZZZZ must have bought up the remaining stock from Moloco. They have 10 of them on eBay. Pricy though.
Moloco The Buffalo Shay F Scale Powered Steam Locomotive 1:20.32 Scale | eBay

View attachment 302752
Click to expand...
I would have thought this little baby would fit the bill for small. Even as a 3 trucker looks shorter than the Bachmann beast, but no doubt someone will take a ruler to them.
 
Here is a brass LGB/Aster one in 1:24. Hard to find though and again pricy.
In all reality the OP probably just wants a placky Bachman one anyway but we can dream as long as there are pictures... :)

1660467493940.png
 
maxi-model said:
No need to get the tape measure out. It' already been done :) Missouri Locomotive Company three-truck Shay | Garden Railways Magazine Pretty darn cute I'd say. Would be nice to pair up with my Accy' Porter in the diddy stakes. One problem, the price tag. Max

View attachment 302755
Click to expand...
Them Max, so this is the dimensions for the cute little baby now need someone to do the same forvtye Bachman one.

Dimensions: length over end beams, 18″; width, 4 3⁄8″; height, 7 1/4″. In 1:20.3 scale, this works out to 30′ 5 1/2″ x 7’5″ x 12’3″, respectively
46/11/18.5 cm approx.

Strewth this little 3 trucker is around 3 inches shorter than the LGB Harz 2-10-2.

EDIT Tac describes the Bachman 2 truck Shaw thus:-
Overall length - 22.8" (58cm)

Overall width - 4.5" (11.5cm)

Overall height above railhead with Ruston smokestack - 8.2" (20.5cm)
 
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My apologies for the late response - both wifey and I ended up in different hospitals yesterday - me, due to a heart problem and wifey with other ongoing issues.
Anyway, thanks all for the info, very helpful. That Moloco 2 truck would be ideal as far as looks and size goes, but the price is really not practical for me, particularly after courier charges and import fees are paid. I have to say the the $1 cent discount that Trainz are giving is very generous though! I'll keep looking for now, something may well turn up and I'm in no great hurry.

Gordon
 
I have a Bachmann 2-truck Shay, bought back in the late 90's from Red Caboose Hobby store and shipped to me back in the days when I had access to the US APO. I changed out the trucks last year, having acquired a set - just in case - from those nice folks at Reindeer Pass Hobby Store - but it ran well and often all those years until one fine day the motors carried on turning, but the wheels did not.

Apart from the unbelievably fiddly wiring job involved in the fix-up - it is NO fun, trust me - it now runs as well as ever, based on a rigorous regime of preventive maintenance - ie. the lube process. Ignore this at your peril. With well north of 600 components, most of them moving, this was for many years THE most complex mass-produced large-scale model on earth, until the three-truck version came out, already fitted with the upgraded trucks. Pal Broos has Phoenix sound in his, and very good it is, too, replicating the soft Shay shuffle to a T. Even at a speed of 6 -7 smph it sounds like 'Mallard' on the home straight. Buyers of the real thing had a choice of bevel gear ratios, depending on their usage - the Bachmann version seems to have the lowest ratio - four turns of the crank equals one rotation of the drive wheels.

I also have the Accucraft 3-cylinder live steamer for comparison. The Bachmann model has an astounding level of detail not possible on a live-steamer, but of course, is substantially more delicate as a result.

The warnings are real - there are few spare or replacement parts - apart from the trucks - unless you buy a non-working clunker for spares.

The best bet for the OP is to look for an electrically-driven Accucraft two-cylinder version - it is a stunner and no mistake, but expect to pay the new price for one - around £1500 - IF you can find one.
 
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tac foley said:
I have a Bachmann 2-truck Shay, bought back in the late 90's from Red Caboose Hobby store and shipped to me back in the days when I had access to the US APO. I changed out the trucks last year, having acquired a set - just in case - from those nice folks at Reindeer Pass Hobby Store - but it ran well and often all those years until one fine day the motors carried on turning, but the wheels did not.

Apart from the unbelievably fiddly wiring job involved in the fix-up - it is NO fun, trust me - it now runs as well as ever, based on a rigorous regime of preventive maintenance - ie. the lube process. Ignore this at your peril. With well north of 600 components, most of them moving, this was for many years THE most complex mass-produced large-scale model on earth, until the three-truck version came out, already fitted with the upgraded trucks. Pal Broos has Phoenix sound in his, and very good it is, too, replicating the soft Shay shuffle to a T. Even at a speed of 6 -7 smph it sounds like 'Mallard' on the home straight. Buyers of the real thing had a choice of bevel gear ratios, depending on their usage - the Bachmann version seems to have the lowest ratio - four turns of the crank equals one rotation of the drive wheels.

I also have the Accucraft 3-cylinder live steamer for comparison. The Bachmann model has an astounding level of detail not possible on a live-steamer, but of course, is substantially more delicate as a result.

The warnings are real - there are few spare or replacement parts - apart from the trucks - unless you buy a non-working clunker for spares.

The best bet for the OP is to look for an electrically-driven Accucraft two-cylinder version - it is a stunner and no mistake, but expect to pay the new price for one - around £1500 - IF you can find one.
Click to expand...
Ok Tac, can you please add the measurements by replying to my post #13. Just length/width/height in mm as I have in my conversions to the link provided by Max.
 
Here ya go - sorry, I can't find my metric measuring stick -

Overall length - 22.8"

Overall width - 4.5"

Overall height above railhead with Ruston smokestack - 8.2"

1660491615773.png

Here's the three-truck version - around 9 inches longer...

1660492149485.png
...and a geared loco love-in.....
1660492273864.png
 
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Op hope you and your wife are fully recovered and well.

TAC
i se you have a bmann heisler
ive heard these are not the best in forgiving track issue.
love the look.
comments and wisdom please, if i were able to find one
 
stevedenver said:
Op hope you and your wife are fully recovered and well.

TAC
i se you have a bmann heisler
ive heard these are not the best in forgiving track issue.
love the look.
comments and wisdom please, if i were able to find one
Click to expand...

I don't have any track issues. The Heisler suffers from 'engine/gearbox drive-shaft click/clank. The fix is to surround it with a piece of flexible foam so that it does neither.
 
I have one too Steve. I picked mine up a few years ago, 2nd hand from a member of this parish at a nice (for the time) price. I ran it for some years track powered with no issues. It seems quite forgiving regards track manners. They have NMRA coupler height fitted, so not an issue like the Shays (dunno about the final DCC sound version of Shay had that issue) I love geared locos, got one each of the Bachmann products over time (ok, 2 Climax's) Like Tac I have Accucraft's 3 cyl live steamer as well as their Climax - they are the only steamers I can run on any line manual rather tha RC, there iz so much inertia built into a geared loco :D

Just converted my Heisler to battery with sound using Fosworks TX/RX & ESU DCC card (sound/ESC) with Heisler sound file from their library. Everything fits in the bunker. I hear that stock examples are fetching north of $800 your side of the pond now. Max

Short video, if i ran it longer you would hear the coal shovel, air pump, blowdown, etc'. The Fosworks TX allows 12 functions to be accessed, as well as the above two types of whistle blast, bell, brake squeal, etc'. It's a lot of fun to run. Is that exhaust beat right ?


Apologies to OP. Likewise I tust you and your wife are recovering well.
 
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