Showcase Miniatures - 5003 - Locomotive, Steam, 2-Truck Shay - Undecorated - Class B Shay Detail Set

Prototype History: The Shay locomotive was the most widely used geared steam locomotive. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive. Although the design of Ephraim Shay's early locomotives differed from later ones, there is a clear line of development that joins all Shays.

Shay locomotives had regular fire-tube boilers offset to the left to provide space for, and counterbalance the weight of, a two or three cylinder "motor," mounted vertically on the right with longitudinal drive shafts extending fore and aft from the crankshaft at wheel axle height. These shafts had universal joints and square sliding prismatic joints to accommodate the swiveling trucks. Each axle was driven by a separate bevel gear, with no side rods.

The strength of these engines is that all wheels, including, in some engines, those under the tender, are driven so that all the weight develops tractive effort. A high ratio of piston strokes to wheel revolutions allowed them to run at partial slip, where a conventional rod engine would spin its drive wheels and burn rails, losing all traction.

Shay locomotives were often known as sidewinders or stemwinders for their side-mounted drive shafts. Most were built for use in the United States, but many were exported, to about thirty countries, either by Lima, or after they had reached the end of their usefulness in the US.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: Although they may be molded in color, unpainted and unlettered, undecorated products are marketed to modelers who seek to custom decorate their models for private roads and/or road and/or company names that were not commercially produced by any of the major manufacturers.

Undecorated models are frequently also unassembled or only partially assembled and required modelers to be comfortable with glue, paint and sometimes solder in order to prepare their models for display. Materials for these models can vary but often include plastic, pewter and resin. Models may or may not come with decals or other decorations such as plastic signage, railings and ladders to enhance the appearance of the final product.

Brand/Importer Information: Founded by Joe Warren, in Cherry Valley, California, in 1995, Showcase Miniatures manufactures high quality cast pewter metal, etched brass, and/or laser cut wood model railroad structures, vehicles, and accessories in HO, N, and Z Scale. Moved to Tuskegee, Alabama in 2012, Walter Vail is Showcase Miniatures current owner and product designer. In developing new products, Walter employs different methods such as hand sculpting and the use of 3D computer software. Crafted by a master modeler, who has had his scratch-built science fiction models featured in Kalmbach Publishing's FineScale Modeler magazine, and previously designed products for businesses such as C-in-C Soft Metal Castings, FASA, GHQ, and Ral-Partha Enterprises, the high quality detail exhibited in every Showcase Miniatures product is certainly not a coincidence.