simulatortrain
jointed freaking rails
If big six ever got a diamond stack my boot would pay a visit to the rear end of all those involved.
Bad enough what they did to the whistle.
What's the deal with Cass and Diamond Stacks?
- Thread starter sawyer811
- Start date
If big six ever got a diamond stack my boot would pay a visit to the rear end of all those involved.
Bad enough what they did to the whistle.
GossenGarrat
New member
Ok, this thread is bugging me. I am a huge Cass fan. All of the shays delivered to West Virginia Pulp & Paper (Now Cass) had diamond stacks, it may have been a stock feature on shays because the firebox was designed big enough to burn just about anything. So if the engine ran out of coal or oil, the fireman could use scrap lumber and branches as fuel. Wood and Coal produce many embers, with wood producing the most. West Virginia Pulp and Paper, and any lumber company, would WANT diamond stack with ember catchers so they wouldn't accidentally burn their business down. CSSR modified some shays like No. 11 so that it would match the other shays there. Big 6 wont ever be modified because of its historical value being the last produced shay, and it didnt need a major overhaul like No. 11 or Climax 9 is getting. Big 6 doesnt need one because it is an oil burner. At this point I think that spark arrestors are required to protect the residents of WV and the industries there.
this is an old picture of one of the cass shays, diamond stack. every loco there from 1-13 had a diamond.
this is an old picture of one of the cass shays, diamond stack. every loco there from 1-13 had a diamond.
simulatortrain
jointed freaking rails
Since when?
Lol... No its not. None of the Cass shays are. What's the point of converting a historic coal burner to oil when none of the other locomotives burn oil.
(besides #2 for a brief tenure...)
GossenGarrat
New member
Shay 11 was an oil burner
I admit defeat on Big 6, but there have been a number of oil burners on the line at one point or another. Shay 3 was an oil burner on rental from a railroad out west. For the most part, straight stack shays were oil burners, but Shay 6 may have an internal one or nothing, since it was built for mining use on the Western Maryland
simulatortrain
jointed freaking rails
11 is cool, was my first steam cab ride.
I must admit, i like straight-stacked shays the most (and climaxes and hieslers) but the diamond stacks at Cass have a charm all their own. I used to have a video of one of the big events there (forget what they call them) where the three engines (two shays and a heisler) raced side by side in the yard, then charged up the mountain, with the hiesler pulling the flatcars with the rails on them, and the log loader (there's one name for that, don't know it). I used to love the whistle they used for the crossings, very fancy and beautiful. Their whistles are one of a kind...as are their engines.