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~ FACTORY PAINTED OIL FIRED 16 TON SHAY ~
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Here's an example of an Oil Fired 16 Ton Shay as it might have looked thruout
most of its career. Oile Fired Locos were common all over the west. Out here,
oil was cheap and plentiful. Besides that, it held some advantages over coal as
fuel in that the flues on an oil fired loco might last 20 years or more,
whereas those in coal fired locos were "eaten up" in just a few. (Years.) The
continual abrasive effect of cinders going up the stack took its toll, much as
a sandblaster might.
Too, soft coal contained a lot of sulfur. When it got wet, (Think: rain...), it would leach out sulphuric acid, which in turn had a real deleterious effect on anything made of steel. Or wood... Or??? So while oil might have acted as a "preservative" of sorts, the tender bunkers on coal locomotives tended to be high maintenance items. This "Oil Burner" is no different from any other of its kind. To be seen attache to the firebox just above the engine end of the lineshaft's universal is the ubiquitous "Damper" arrangement required to move enough air moving past the flame to keep it "lit" whilst preventing too much from blowing the flame out. (If you've ever stood near an oil burner under fire you have undoubtedly heard the low pitched rumble that sounds much like a continuous series of muffled explosions, which is real close to what was happening. (Y'see, unlike Coal or Wood, an oil fire was a delicate balance of just enough fuel and air to keep it burning. Too much air and it could blow out, then suddenly re-ignite, filling the cab sith smoke and taking all the hair off your legs in the process! The same thing could happen if the fuel mixture became too lean. So although the Fireman on an Oil Fired Loco was spared the backbreaking job of shoveling tons of coal; performance of his job was to keep the delicate balance of fuel / air mixture ratio "just so"... OR ELSE!) The "Road Name" on this model is for real. The San Lorenzo Lumber Co. was located in Santa Cruz County which is about 70 miles by highway south of San Francisco on the coast. This lettering, along with twenty some others is a sample of what you'll see on the specially made Decal Sheet we're including with each model. We figure there's probably enough "word jingles" there to satisfy most everybody. And you will find that the "decals" will be a real treat to use as they are virtually filmless! Our Oil Burner has "Lima Arc Headlamps" on it too. More modern "Pyle National" headlamps were tried first, but they just didn't look quite right to us. The "Lima Arcs" give her character, and though by now "Electrified", (The Turbo Generator is in evidence ahead of that upright boiler.), they just add personality! Shucks, our logging operation wasn't THAT prosperous that it could afford to junk 'em in favor of newer, more modern equipment! That almost NEVER happened on "woods operations" unless the originals got destroyed in an accident! These models RUN as magnificently as they LOOK! A three day "think tank" visit with the builder last month brought a meeting of minds that, "Engineer-to-Engineer", resulted in what you see here, plus what you will yet see when you get to see when you first set yours on your track! Our Pre-Production Samples of the Coal and Oil Fired Versions were run continuously for days on end. (Days and nights as a matter of fact!) The results? About the only thing that changed was the polish job on the gears! Smooth, Powerful, yet virtually silent operation is the best way to describe how they ran! And tractive effort? Well, we have seven somewhat battered freight cars that live on our test layout... ( Stuff that for one reason or another is unsaleable generally ends up there. Partially completed one-offs and the like...) Among these are five of our Injection Molded Plastic Cars built-up, plus an "0404" Brass Caboose and a Conoco Tank with bad trucks. (The latter won't roll down a 3.5 percent grade without help...) Yet each one of these little shays could PUSH this mongrel of a consist up our ruling 3.5% grade without so much as ever spinning a driver! ABOUT THAT EXPOSED GEAR: These models are SMALL. Their drive wheels are only 24" in diameter in real life. That's 3/8" of an inch in 1:64 scale. And since we know of no steam locomotive that was silent when under fire, the ability to install SOUND was a NUMBER 1 PRIORITY with us. The only way to pull this off was to put the sound in the Water Bunker, and the motor vertically INSIDE that "T" Boiler! And it works! We have the best of both worlds! SOUND, plus a model that runs Flawlessly! The only thing being objectionable in the entire package is that exposed gear. But treating it to a coating of our NEOLUBE® from time to time will keep it lubricated, and nigh onto invisible. Shucks, soon as the crank starts spinning, the gear is just a blur of motion anyway. And what one of you could resist seeing her in operation? She was meant to PERFORM! As mentioned previously, the "Spark Arrestor" on the Production Models, as can be seen on this one, is made of Stainless Steel Wire Screen... SEE THROUGH Screen to boot! |
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Call 707-462-7680 to talk to a REAL PERSON! Really! DELIVERY WILL COMMENCE EARLY IN JANUARY ! 
For another view of our Oil Fired 16 Tonner, Click on the Icon above.
For a close look at an Coal Fired 16 Tonner, Click on the Icon above.
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