Thanks Casey for the forecast on the FineScale magazine. And apologies to Paul for sounding so direct when intending to be joking on the message. That was the surprise in the story as to why they bought a new Shay instead of supposed many on the market. I failed to explain that they were also building a new connection to the outer end of the logging line, which was to have a number of switchbacks and grades close to Uintah. It eventually became a truck road, and is now a lead to a boat ramp site on the reservoir that flooded the whole valley.
The rail size out on the Glades extension is really a mystery as the 40# and 45# is what was generally listed in the few registers of the line. It was built with relocated rail from the Stinking Springs extension of the RG&SW and also from the original Rio Grande & Southwestern Railroad that went south 42 miles from Lumberton to Gallinas Mountain, NM. Much of that rail was 30# that came from relay off the RG&PS, and most likely originally all from original use on the Denver & Rio Grande RR. Some is known to come from the old La Veta Pass route that was torn up 1900-1903, being replaced by the SG crossing. This rail was likely a patch of bent and twisted work harden rail.
Most would be interested to know that rail becomes very hard and therefore brittle by work-harding, and temperature change. Take a paper clip and bend it till it brakes. This same function works on light rail by engines flexing over the soft track. The rail gets to a point where it will no longer take any flex, such as a class 60 Shay. Weight of rail is not the total measuring factor. The annual climate change of temperature will eventually turn the steel rail back into brittle hard rail, and in 1000s of years will become dirt, if it did not rust away by then. The rail on the NML had likely reached its economic life. Also, there was no need for the Shay as the switchback shortcut was not built, the mill was closing and the contract to buy the paper wood spruce was stolen by an unreasonable high bid, later forfeited, by International Paper Co. to block competition. Loss of the spruce purchase killed the NML Co.
When will someone write a history of the Oregon Lumber Company? This must be the largest narrow gauge railroad in the country which has never had more than a few pages in the SVRR Book. It must include the other feeders to the SVRR as well as engines moved about. Keep the interesting data of the life of this engine going as it still exists. It did have very short slip joints by it compact design, the best looking Shay to my eyes.
