West Side Shays Should Not Have Red Painted Gear Covers!

I followed with great interest the restoration and operation of West Side Lumber Shay #9 at the Georgetown Loop Railroad a few years ago. It was great to see her stretch her legs again on mountain grades for which she was built. She was even featured on the front of my feature article in TRAINS Magazine on the "Wandering West Side Shays".

I do admire that her owner insists on keeping her in authentic West Side lettering. She is the only former West Side Shay to be kept in her authentic livery. However, I always wondered why her bevel gear covers were painted red in this process. She only had that paint applied after the West Side shut down and Pickering was looking for buyers for the locomotives after trucks proved themselves up to the task of handling the logging chores.

Here is a photo of #9 in her actual operating days in July, 1955. As you can see, her gear covers are painted black as they always were during her service.

This is certainly a small point, but I just wondered why that paint was added.

Martin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2019 05:30AM by LOGGERHOGGER.