Shay Locomotives In Utah
Index For This Page
This page was last updated on June 24, 2015.
(Return To Utah Railroads Index Page)
Overview
A Shay locomotive was a type of steam locomotive that was operated with gears and driveshafts, instead of instead of the driverods used by normal steam locomotives. Shay locomotives allowed operations over railroad lines that were steep, and which used lots of curves. There were several mining companies in Utah that used Shay locomotives, as well as the larger railroads as well.
There were 36 Shay locomotives in Utah, based on available information from multiple sources. Of the 36 locomotives, 22 were standard-gauge, ten were 36-inch narrow-gauge, two were 42-inch narrow-gauge, and two were 30-inch narrow-gauge. All were used on mining railroads, or at least to serve a stone quarry. (This total does not include the Uintah Railway, which operated mostly in Colorado; Read more about the Uintah Railway)
The Shay Locomotive
The following list of Shay locomotives used in Utah comes from an original listing completed in August 1980, which itself was extracted from "The Shay Locomotive - Titan of the Timber" by Michael Koch (World Press, 1971). Additional information noted includes:
p. 86 Classification:
- Class A - two cylinders, two trucks -- 10 - 20 tons
- Class B - three cylinders, two trucks -- 24 - 60 tons
- Class C - three cylinders, three trucks -- 70 - 125 tons
- Class D - three cylinders, four trucks -- 150 tons
p. 88, 89 photos of Union Pacific and Denver and Rio Grande Western shays
p. 155 photo Salt Lake and Mercur #10 (Mildred Larsen Collection)
p. 156 photo Salt Lake and Mercur #1, 3 (Ted Wurm Collection)
The List
(Unless noted, all Shays in Utah were standard gauge)
| Lima Number |
Date | Lima Class |
Gauge | Cylinders | Wheels | Notes |
| 130 | 14 May 1885 | A 12-2 | 30 inches | 9x8 inches | 24 inches | Crescent Mining no. 1 |
| 226 | 22 Nov 1888 | B 28-2 | 36 inches | 10x10 inches | 28 inches | Salt Lake & Fort Douglas no. 226 Utah Central no. 7 |
| 295 | 26 Jul 1890 | A 20-2 | 9x8 inches | 26 inches | Ogden City Railway no. 10 Salt Lake & Mercur no. 1 |
|
| 327 | 27 Feb 1891 | B 28-2 | 12x10 inches | 29-1/2 inches | Utah Central no. 327 | |
| 339 | 7 Apr 1891 | A 20-2 | 36 inches | 9x8 inches | 26 inches | Crescent Mining no. 2 |
| 461 | 24 May 1894 | C 80-3 | (3) 15x14 inches | 39 inches | Boston Consolidated no. 10 | |
| 489 | 2 May 1895 | B 28-2 | 10x10 inches | 28 inches | Salt Lake & Mercur no. 2 | |
| 511 | 6 Jun 1895 | B 28-2 | 10x12 inches | 28 inches | New East Tintic no. 10 San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake no. 60 |
|
| 513 | 26 Jun 1896 | B 28-2 | 10x10 inches | 28 inches | Salt Lake & Mercur no. 3 | |
| 540 | 11 Dec 1897 | B 50-2 | 36 inches | 12x12 inches | 36 inches | Little Cottonwood no. 2 |
| 563 | 7 Dec 1898 | B 50-3 | 12x12 inches | 32 inches | Salt Lake & Mercur no. 5 | |
| 598 | 26 Apr 1900 | B 50-3 | 12-1/2x12 inches | 32 inches | Salt Lake & Mercur no. 7 | |
| 674 | 11 Jan 1902 | B 65-3 | 13x13 inches | 33 inches | New East Tintic no. 11 San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake no. 59 |
|
| 761 | 9 Apr 1904 | C 85-3 | 14x15 inches | 40 inches | Copper Belt no. 3 | |
| 843 | 1 Jan 1904 | B 65-3 | 12x15 inches | 32 inches | Copper Belt no. 2 | |
| 911 | 23 Aug 1904 | C 65-3 | 12x15 inches | 36 inches | Newhouse Mines & Smelters no. 1 | |
| 1585 | 20 Nov 1905 | C 85-3 | 14x15 inches | 40 inches | Copper Belt no. 4 | |
| 1672 | 5 Apr 1906 | A 20-2 | 36 inches | 8x8 inches | 26 inches | Little Cottonwood no. 3 |
| 1673 | 5 Apr 1906 | A 20-2 | 36 inches | 8x8 inches | 26 inches | Little Cottonwood no. 4 |
| 1787 | 22 Dec 1906 | B 60-3 | 12x12 inches | 32 inches | Salt Lake & Mercur no. 9 | |
| 1801 | 20 Dec 1906 | C 85-3 | 14x15 inches | 40 inches | Copper Belt no. 5 | |
| 1812 | 4 Mar 1907 | C 85-3 | 13x15 inches | 36 inches | San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake no. 61 | |
| 1967 | 24 Aug 1907 | C 70-3 | 12x15 inches | 36 inches | Kenilworth & Helper no. 100 | |
| 1983 | 25 Jul 1907 | A 28-2 | 36 inches | 8x10 inches | 36 inches | Eureka Hill no. 1 |
| 2068 | 4 Apr 1908 | C 70-3 | 36 inches | 12x15 inches | 36 inches | Eureka Hill no. 2 |
| 2109 | 19 Aug 1908 | C 70-3 | 36 inches | 12x15 inches | 36 inches | Eureka Hill no. 3 |
| 2124 | 21 Jan 1909 | C 70-3 | 12x15 inches | 36 inches | Kenilworth & Helper no. 101 | |
| 2151 | 24 Mar 1909 | C 70-3 | 36 inches | 12x15 inches | 32 inches | Eureka Hill no. 4 |
| 2194 | 14 Jul 1909 | B 24-2 | 36 inches | 8x8 inches | 26 inches | Little Cottonwood no. 1 |
| 2274 | 15 Mar 1910 | C 70-3 | 12x15 inches | 36 inches | Southern Utah no. 50 | |
| 2434 | 31 May 1911 | C 90-3 | 14-1/2x15 inches | 36 inches | Kenilworth & Helper no. 150 | |
| 2703 | 29 Sep 1913 | C 90-3 | 14-1/2x15 inches | 36 inches | Kenilworth & Helper no. 151 | |
| 2715 | 8 Nov 1913 | B 42-2 | 10x12 inches | 29 inches | Salt Lake & Alta no. 1 | |
| 2955 | 31 Dec 1917 | B 28-2 | 42 inches | 8x10 inches | 27 inches | Independent Coal & Coke no. 1 |
| 3132 | 22 Oct 1920 | B 28-2 | 42 inches | 8x10 inches | 27 inches | Independent Coal & Coke no. 2 |
| 3324 | 30 Aug 1928 | B 24-2 | 36 inches | 8x8 inches | 29 inches | Utah Iron Ore Corporation no. 4 |
Uintah Railway
Uintah Railway was 36-inch narrow gauge line in eastern Utah and western Colorado, known as the "crookedest railroad in the world." Of its 62-mile mainline between Mack, Colorado and Watson, Utah, the railroad operated only 12 miles in Utah. It served Watson, Utah, as its western terminal, and included the four-mile Uintah Branch and the one-mile Black Dragon Branch, that each served several uintaite (Gilsonite) mines in Utah, and transported the mined Gilsonite eastward to Mack, Colorado.
While the Uintah Railway is one of the more interesting Western railroads, and is closely followed by its fans, it is not covered as part of the railroads of Utah, along with its locomotives.
Uintah Railway was based in Colorado and crossed the Colorado-Utah line as part of its route to access and ship asphaltum rock, known by its commercial name of "Gilsonite," found nowhere else in the world. The mines were in Utah, but all management and maintenance for the railroad were on the Colorado side.
(Read more about Uintah Railway)
Nevada-Utah Mines & Smelters Corporation
Several lists show a Shay locomotive (Lima 362, June 1891) owned by Nevada-Utah Mines & Smelters Corporation at Milford, Utah. Research has found that the Milford location was merely a post office address for one of the company offices.
Nevada-Utah Mines & Smelters Corporation, a Utah corporation, was a securities-holding company that had purchased the holdings of the former Pioche Consolidated Mines Company of Pioche, Nevada (very successful in the 1870-1876 timeframe), but also owned several mining claims in Bingham Canyon, Utah, and in Beaver County, Utah, near Milford. The location near Milford was for its holdings in the Comet mine, near the much more successful Cactus mine of Newhouse Mines & Smelters, but the Comet mine was never a serious shipper of ore, and did not have railroad service.
Nevada-Utah Mines & Smelters Corporation was reorganized in 1913 as Consolidated Nevada-Utah Corporation.
(Read more about Nevada-Utah Mines & Smelters -- including its Shay locomotives, keeping in mind that this particular Shay did not operate in Utah)
The 1907 issue of The Copper Handbook, Volume VI, page 851, described the Pioche holdings of Nevada-Utah Mines & Smelters Corporation, saying, "A 700' Leschen [sic] aerial tramway is being built from the May Day shaft to ore bins on the mine's private railway, running from the mine to Pioche, which has been reconstructed and put in operation."
This particular Shay locomotive (Lima 362, June 1891) was a small 10 ton, two-truck model, and was better known as being used on the "Jack Rabbit" railroad, and later the "Pioche Pacific" railroad. (see Myrick's "Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California, Volume II," pages 697-708, which includes several photos of the Shay, and the saddle-tank Porter 0-6-2 that replaced it in 1908.) (See also: Robertson's "Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History, The Desert States," page 158)
Shays at UtahRails
(First published to the UtahRails.net blog on May 30, 2011)
Back in August 1980, I first saw Michael Koch's book, "The Shay Locomotive - Titan of the Timber," published in 1971. I was just getting started with my interest in Utah railroads, and Ralph Gochnour lent me his copy. I compiled a list of Shay locomotives in Utah, and returned the book to Ralph. At first, the list was handwritten, and later it was transcribed as a typewritten list. I would come across that list numerous times as I was looking for some other bit of information, thinking that someday, I need to do something about Shays in Utah.
That task is now done. I have created a new page about Shays in Utah, taking the opportunity to gather whatever I could to have a separate page for each locomotive. If the locomotive was part of a larger roster of locomotives, then it is shown among the railroad's entire group. There were some cases in which I had nothing. The remedy was then to do some research and build the story, such as the pages for Ogden Street Railways.
Thirty years later, it's nice to have yet another "someday" project completed. There are several more "someday" projects, so work will continue. Stay tuned.
More Information
###