Bill Nelson
Well-Known Member
MDC shays
I was very much saddened to see the kits disappear. I have 5 Ho standard gauge shays, #15 a PFM 25 ton Hillcrest shay, which has been rebuilt with a gear reduction motor and improbed electrical pick up, A PFM B2 Shay that has been rebuilt with a NWSL regear kit to reduce it's maximum sped down to a prototypical 12 mph, a PFM Cherry River 3 truck shay, also with the NWSL regear kit and I also have two heavily modified MDC 2 truck shays.
In the logging mining and industrial section there is a thread on MDC shay, and I say my piece on them there, but let me say here that, while they need more maintenance than my PFM Shays do, My #8, a MDC Shay with a honking big gear reduction motor, a NWSL partial re gear kit, a NWSL bull gear, a Walker conversion boiler, and a modified electrical pick up runs as slow and smooth as my tiny 25 ton unit, and can pull the walls down.
Dr Tom Grabinstien (DR G over in the logging section) has the misfortune of having operated my RR more than anyone but me, and when he is allowed to select a locomotive he picks #8 more than any of the many other logging locomotives I have collected and modified in the last 42 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In4dUQ1yPsk
here is a link to a video of #8 in action on Iron Mountain. In the video there are some glitches , and a whirring noise; These are from the cheap camera, the locomotive, when it is tuned correctly, is extremely smooth and quieter than most of my other shays.
# 7 is very similar, except it has a cannon copier motor in it instead of the massive gear reduction motor, It runs a smoothly (when it is tuned correctly) as #8, but is a little faster.
there are lots of tricks needed to make these critters run well, but once one is built right they are very satisfying locomomotives. Had I known they were being discontinued I'd have bought two 3 truck kits (to kitbash into a four trucker), and another two two truckers, with the intention of putting my brass on the shelf. The old MDC was very good about keeping parts available. I doubt that Horizon (who purchased MDC), will continue that tradition.
The Hon3 versions of the MDC shay are humongous locomotives, basically standard gauge machines on narrow gauge trucks, and so I have not been interested in them.
Bill Nelson
I was very much saddened to see the kits disappear. I have 5 Ho standard gauge shays, #15 a PFM 25 ton Hillcrest shay, which has been rebuilt with a gear reduction motor and improbed electrical pick up, A PFM B2 Shay that has been rebuilt with a NWSL regear kit to reduce it's maximum sped down to a prototypical 12 mph, a PFM Cherry River 3 truck shay, also with the NWSL regear kit and I also have two heavily modified MDC 2 truck shays.
In the logging mining and industrial section there is a thread on MDC shay, and I say my piece on them there, but let me say here that, while they need more maintenance than my PFM Shays do, My #8, a MDC Shay with a honking big gear reduction motor, a NWSL partial re gear kit, a NWSL bull gear, a Walker conversion boiler, and a modified electrical pick up runs as slow and smooth as my tiny 25 ton unit, and can pull the walls down.
Dr Tom Grabinstien (DR G over in the logging section) has the misfortune of having operated my RR more than anyone but me, and when he is allowed to select a locomotive he picks #8 more than any of the many other logging locomotives I have collected and modified in the last 42 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In4dUQ1yPsk
here is a link to a video of #8 in action on Iron Mountain. In the video there are some glitches , and a whirring noise; These are from the cheap camera, the locomotive, when it is tuned correctly, is extremely smooth and quieter than most of my other shays.
# 7 is very similar, except it has a cannon copier motor in it instead of the massive gear reduction motor, It runs a smoothly (when it is tuned correctly) as #8, but is a little faster.
there are lots of tricks needed to make these critters run well, but once one is built right they are very satisfying locomomotives. Had I known they were being discontinued I'd have bought two 3 truck kits (to kitbash into a four trucker), and another two two truckers, with the intention of putting my brass on the shelf. The old MDC was very good about keeping parts available. I doubt that Horizon (who purchased MDC), will continue that tradition.
The Hon3 versions of the MDC shay are humongous locomotives, basically standard gauge machines on narrow gauge trucks, and so I have not been interested in them.
Bill Nelson