The Bachmann Spectrum Shay arrived today at my hobby shop. I opened the shrink wrap, opened the lid, peeled back the foam, priced it and stuck it in the showcase. Spent the rest of the afternoon doing the hobby shop thing.
Everytime I walked past the showcase, I’d drool over the thing, and have to clean the glass again. [:p]
I’ve wanted a Shay ever since the first one I saw on Tracks Ahead, or whichever TV show or video I first saw a real Shay running on. All the whirly -gig stuff going on, the vertical cylinders, just the unorthadoxness of it all, was way too cool! But I didn’t think my modeling skills were up to assembling the Roundhouse kit, and it was kinda expensive, I knew I couldn’t afford brass. So I never got a Shay.
Anyway, as I was shutting down the store tonight, nobody had come in all day long to buy the Shay. It had been there for 6 long hours, and no one wanted the thing. It was sitting there like a puppy at the dog pund, lost and forlorn, just looking at me. How could I resist? I just had to have it!
Got to the house, and set the box down. The Kid asked “What’s in the box?” “Just a box” I said. “Yeah, right” he says. Grab a cold adult beverage, the box and into the train room I go. Turn on the lights, hit the power, and settle into the engineers chair. In a few seconds, The Kid appears, and grabs himself a seat. As I open the box, he exclaims “That great big box for just that one little train? I thought there was something cool in there!” As I hostled trains to the sidings and spurs, to clear the mainline, The Kid stated “That thing looks wimpy. It won’t pull a greasy string out of a cats butt. What is it?” I explained the thinking behind gear drive locos, and what they were used for. He kinda sneered as I set the loco onto the main line. I eased the throttle on, and we both leaned forward to look. Rods and valve gear started to move, the wheels started to roll, and the little Shay crawled of down the track. I noticed
