Without a doubt the coolest train whistle I've ever heard. The guy on the wistle is a real artist ! My 2 year old grandson loves this video & I do too. West Virginia is a beautiful state.
These guys are probably the best I've ever heard at playing a whistle out. Some of the whistles themselves aren't that pleasing, but the guy on the other side of the string can definitely make it talk!
My grandpa always loved these. I never saw one moving until now, so I never really understood the attraction. We were both gearheads, but I didn't understand why he didn't prefer the larger steam engines, like the UP Big Boy, or one of the other mallets. Watching this one, I can understand why he liked these so much.
It's really good that this unique line is operating with these incredible Shay locos; many otherwise knowledgeable people have never heard that there were such amazing engines. Definitely a railway to see!
My family went to Cass, WV in the late 1970's & rode the train that surrounds the town. My father is a train enthusiast. What a wonderful idyllic town! Of course, most of WV is breathtakingly beautiful. Thanx 4 the memories.
What you're hearing with the whistling is the engineer telling his train crew what he wants them to do, as well as warnings for crossings and people in the area. This train appears to have its brakes operated by hand, so among the whistle signal set are signals telling the brakemen when to adjust them. Steam locomotives typically operate their whistles at boiler pressure, and have their pitch determined by supply pressure and whistle geometry. Usually a skilled engineer gets a feel for the whistle cord on his engine and can make the wide variety of sounds you hear with it.
From what I've read, they were designed for logging RRs in mountainous terrain. Because every wheel is driven with this design, they can handle much steeper grades & navigate poorer quality track without derailing. I saw one of these when I was younger, it was an awesome sight. All steam engines have visible moving parts but the amount that these have is insane!
I can't stop watching this video. Huge locomotive + flatbed log carriers + caboose + awesome steam whistle = me and my Son (2yrs old) just looooooove this video. Thank you for filming and posting it. HD too, whew! Fantastic.
I have been fortunate enough to have ridden the Cass Railroad on one of these majestic pieces. As much as I love flying, trains come a very close second.
That's the greatest train whistle I ever heard. What is it that's so cool about those old trains? They're almost like seeing an old friend or something. Awesome.
Sorry about the necro, but I think it has something to do with the fact that with steam locomotives, you can actually see the motion of the connecting rods and pistons. Visually, there's a lot more going on.
In a Shay the pistons are mounted on the left side and are up and down. They turn a rod that links to all of the wheels with a beveled gear. VS Standard steam engine, the pistons are on both sides mounted horizontally. The pistons directly drive the wheels. The Shay is designed for slow speed which increases its climbing power. Perfect for inclined track in the mountains.
I love these whistles. I was lucky enough to be a kid and hear the Night of Ghost Whistles on Bald Knob in Cass, WV. Eerie and haunting, but absolutely magical. You could hear it echo for miles.
what was different about these engines was the fact they used soft driver wheels where the conventional design used hard cast driver wheels . the soft axles bit into the rails and did not need a sand mill as they bit into the rails with much less slippage. the trade off was they had to have their traction drive axles rebuilt quicker but the the tracks held up a lot longer than with hard driver wheels using sand to traction boost.
Shays use bevel gears to transfer power from the drive shaft to the wheels. All wheels on the locomotive and tender provide traction. There are some universal joints in the drive shaft so it can flex in places. The engine has three cylinders and you can see that each has two cams as part of the valve gear. Other types of geared locos include the Heisler and the Climax. They use different arrangements of cylinders, cranks, and transmission than the Shays and each other.
This type of loco was designed for steep and irregular track as used in mountain logging regions. The engine (cylinders) can run at a good, even speed, and the gearing makes for a strong, easy pull on rough and steeper grades.
Man, I just can NOT get over that soulful, haunting whistle... It has this deep, moving effect on me that ain't a whole hell of a lot that compares. ♥ If I try, I can do a decent job of emulating this. I can't explain it well since it's more of a feeling than a thought, but it's just... Cathartic, in a way; like letting something out that you didn't know NEEDED out. .... That's probs gonna sound weird to peeps that don't quite get it, but eh. As many people as there is, SOMEONE'S gotta relate. :D
Lima Locomotive Works, Inc., engineered the Shay to be practical in the cab; wood- and coal-fired versions (e.g., the Mower Lumber Company Class C's shown this video) give the fireman all the maneuvering room needed to spot-hod fresh fuel to specific points on the firebox grate. The engineer has excellent forward vision and short reach to all controls.
The Cass Steam Railroad came very close to being scrapped in the early 1960s. It had been an operating lumber business for 50+ years but they had cut all the Spruce trees off the mountains, so the railroad was no longer needed. Thanks to Governor Cecil Underwood the Cass Railroad became a WV State Park, then later a historic landmark. The Shay engines were saved and fixed up like new, & for 50 years now people can enjoy riding authentic steam locomotives up to Bald Knob mountain and back!
I wish my grampa was still around he would have loved to see these kinds of videos. He had all kinds of lionel trains and track, and a very neat display. Wish I new about youtube back then. Thank You for sharing this beautiful video with us train fans.
I´m 71 and had never seen before this type of locomotive. When young I used to travel to the beach in steam locomotives often in the summer, they were very old already, came from England I think, but they were the other type and were bigger. I´m from the Yucatan Peninsula SE of Mexico. Nice video.
I'm 13 and your lucky I'm a steam fan as well but I will never get to see as Much steam locomotives as you did and also maby the reason you never saw any of these is because it's a wester loco :) but as I was saying, I'm a steam fan as well and I have a layout with many tyco locomotives. I have 3 engines that have a logging rout to bad I won't get to see as much real ones as up you did. I live in newton so not a lot happens in my life.....
I've been a train lover since my teenage years...in the 1960's. And now at age 65. I aim to make sure my 5 grandchildren get to visit, and ride on one of those Glorious Old Works of Art before I leave this world.
I’m 63 and my grandsons both love trains. We did see an old steam engine when it passed through a nearby town but have yet to ride one. Your post has inspired me to do the same. Hope you were able to fulfill your dream.
I believe so. That is why signals and whistle talk became so vital. Also why diesel-electric locomotive were so popular when introduced to the railroad market.
Ive been and ridden. If you havent, you are missing a great thrill, not to be duplicated anywhere. Ridden several steam railroads in the US and they are all different in many ways. When you have time, go, and share in the memories. Your kids wont ever forget it either.
Nice video I was a brakeman there that year, now I plan the event and over the tours. These are beautiful machines and I love each and everyone! renegadeoflife87 yes the train whistle does give us brakeman and the conductor signals but we manually operate the brakes with no real whistle signals from the engineer except in certain areas, we learn the route and go from there. Very rewarding and unique job.
What an awesome piece of machinery! My head is still trying to grasp the lack of the typical giant drive wheels one finds on a steam locomotive. Gorgeous scenery to be working in as well.
It's something to experience, but OH MY GOD is it LOUD! I rode in the cab of #7 and #11 for a parts trip I did back in 2003, and it was just a little shy of painful for how loud it was in the cab. I knew they were loud from the ground, and being further up the train, but in the cab was unbelievably loud. God Bless those men!
Ha don't know how I ended up here either but I sure love riding next to trains parallel, and I do believe in Steam powered. Look at that, shaft drive steam engine, what a beautiful sight of all the mechanics, made in a time before computers, just smart dudes.
A wonderful video. Great locations, cool engines and much steam. Everything well filmed and edited. I enjoyed especially the detailed clips of the crankshaft and driving shaft of the shay. Thumbs up! :)
It was widely maintained among the loggers out west that a Shay locomotive could climb a tree if it wanted to. Glad to see that there are still some of the type in operating condition. I had wondered for some time how they looked when in motion, since the old photographs are not clear on the mechanism motions.
Great video, nicely put together. I forgot how good the whistles are! All of my childhood videos the whistles were over modulated because they're so loud!
This is an amazing sequence of videos. The locomotive is a fantastic piece of machinery. It's worth preserving for the whistle alone an eerie evocation of times long past. Marvellous.
My special needs son and I really like Shays too! I personally like their 3 pistons on the right side that move up and down instead of side to side, I think it is a very interesting mechanical system!
Very nice vid. thank you for sharing. I go up to Cass at least every other year to take a ride. You video has me ready to go again, as soon as they open for the year. Those whistles give me chills down my spine. Love it.
This is a fantastic video that shows the most amazing steam locomotive design that I have ever seen. As a bonus, the video shows the most beautiful countryside. The locomotive whistle has to be heard to be believed. Thanks to Amesh2009.
OMG, this was AWESOME! I think i want to do an HO LAYOUT with just Shays! I loved this video and would love to visit this place. Thanks a million for the coolest shay video EVER!
"What a fantastic and awesome video, could only imagine living in those hills with the sound of "Old #5" coming around the bend, love that horn!!!, thank you for sharing"!!! 😉☺😎
Loved this vid! This is the first one I've seen in action myself. It's a weird engine to be sure with its vertical pistons and "offset" boiler. I see that the tender when used is actually part of the drive train. I find that interesting to say the least. So are the drive wheels on the right tied to the wheels on the left through the axle or are the left side wheels "free spinning"?
Awesome scenery and railway! What a sight to see these unique locomotives! I can't but help think that passengers needed showers after all that black smoke!
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
![Cass Railfan Weekend 2014 Day 3 [HD]](/img/1.gif)
Without a doubt the coolest train whistle I've ever heard. The guy on the wistle is a real artist ! My 2 year old grandson loves this video & I do too. West Virginia is a beautiful state.
These guys are probably the best I've ever heard at playing a whistle out. Some of the whistles themselves aren't that pleasing, but the guy on the other side of the string can definitely make it talk!
My grandpa always loved these. I never saw one moving until now, so I never really understood the attraction. We were both gearheads, but I didn't understand why he didn't prefer the larger steam engines, like the UP Big Boy, or one of the other mallets.
Watching this one, I can understand why he liked these so much.
My Dad was a fireman on one of these and could make a whistle sing , this brought a tear to my eye and great memories of wonderful times,THANK YOU!!!!
It's really good that this unique line is operating with these incredible Shay locos; many otherwise knowledgeable people have never heard that there were such amazing engines.
Definitely a railway to see!
There are a lot of many beautiful steam locomotives, along with the ones at the Cass Scenic Railroad.
My family went to Cass, WV in the late 1970's & rode the train that surrounds the town. My father is a train enthusiast. What a wonderful idyllic town! Of course, most of WV is breathtakingly beautiful. Thanx 4 the memories.
What you're hearing with the whistling is the engineer telling his train crew what he wants them to do, as well as warnings for crossings and people in the area. This train appears to have its brakes operated by hand, so among the whistle signal set are signals telling the brakemen when to adjust them.
Steam locomotives typically operate their whistles at boiler pressure, and have their pitch determined by supply pressure and whistle geometry. Usually a skilled engineer gets a feel for the whistle cord on his engine and can make the wide variety of sounds you hear with it.
What's cooler than a steam locomotive whistle? The echoing whistle of a geared steam locomotive! Love the scenery too!
From what I've read, they were designed for logging RRs in mountainous terrain. Because every wheel is driven with this design, they can handle much steeper grades & navigate poorer quality track without derailing. I saw one of these when I was younger, it was an awesome sight. All steam engines have visible moving parts but the amount that these have is insane!
Genuine proof that steam locomotives are not just machines... They are living, breathing beasts!
Marvelous video!
ONE OF MY OLD CHILDHOOD VIDEOS ❤ THAT I NEVER FORGET...
I can't stop watching this video. Huge locomotive + flatbed log carriers + caboose + awesome steam whistle = me and my Son (2yrs old) just looooooove this video. Thank you for filming and posting it. HD too, whew! Fantastic.
I love the sound of #5's whistle. Just echos in the wilderness so lovely
I have been fortunate enough to have ridden the Cass Railroad on one of these majestic pieces. As much as I love flying, trains come a very close second.
The Shays broke conventions in steam locomotive construction in so many ways. Way ahead of it's time!
I'm not really a train person or anything, not sure how I ended up here in fact. But, jeez, that whistle echoing is haunting... Beautiful.
That's the greatest train whistle I ever heard. What is it that's so cool about those old trains? They're almost like seeing an old friend or something. Awesome.
Pardon the necropoke, but that couldn't be more accurate if you tried. :)
Sorry about the necro, but I think it has something to do with the fact that with steam locomotives, you can actually see the motion of the connecting rods and pistons. Visually, there's a lot more going on.
In a Shay the pistons are mounted on the left side and are up and down. They turn a rod that links to all of the wheels with a beveled gear. VS Standard steam engine, the pistons are on both sides mounted horizontally. The pistons directly drive the wheels. The Shay is designed for slow speed which increases its climbing power. Perfect for inclined track in the mountains.
I love these whistles. I was lucky enough to be a kid and hear the Night of Ghost Whistles on Bald Knob in Cass, WV. Eerie and haunting, but absolutely magical. You could hear it echo for miles.
Fascinating! I'm 60 years old and never saw geared steam locomotive. Very nice video. Thanks for post.
Beautifully composed filming. Magnificent scenery. Great locomotives and I loved those whistles. Full of character!
Loved the Shay passing the F unit and BL-2 lashup. Her whistle alongside the diesel horns was quite a sound.
what was different about these engines was the fact they used soft driver wheels where the conventional design used hard cast driver wheels . the soft axles bit into the rails and did not need a sand mill as they bit into the rails with much less slippage. the trade off was they had to have their traction drive axles rebuilt quicker but the the tracks held up a lot longer than with hard driver wheels using sand to traction boost.
The enginier is a true musician, the music he makes with the whistles are just haunting!
I've watched this 828 times my son who is 2 yrs old wants to see it every day!
Shays use bevel gears to transfer power from the drive shaft to the wheels. All wheels on the locomotive and tender provide traction. There are some universal joints in the drive shaft so it can flex in places. The engine has three cylinders and you can see that each has two cams as part of the valve gear. Other types of geared locos include the Heisler and the Climax. They use different arrangements of cylinders, cranks, and transmission than the Shays and each other.
This type of loco was designed for steep and irregular track as used in mountain logging regions. The engine (cylinders) can run at a good, even speed, and the gearing makes for a strong, easy pull on rough and steeper grades.
fantastic video,never seen a geared engine ,thank you for keeping the engines alive
Man, I just can NOT get over that soulful, haunting whistle... It has this deep, moving effect on me that ain't a whole hell of a lot that compares. ♥ If I try, I can do a decent job of emulating this. I can't explain it well since it's more of a feeling than a thought, but it's just... Cathartic, in a way; like letting something out that you didn't know NEEDED out.
.... That's probs gonna sound weird to peeps that don't quite get it, but eh. As many people as there is, SOMEONE'S gotta relate. :D
It´s moving ,smoking,stinking and whistling..it´s great!!!And this whistle sounds like in old songs from Jimmy Rodgers!!!Beautiful!
Lima Locomotive Works, Inc., engineered the Shay to be practical in the cab; wood- and coal-fired versions (e.g., the Mower Lumber Company Class C's shown this video) give the fireman all the maneuvering room needed to spot-hod fresh fuel to specific points on the firebox grate. The engineer has excellent forward vision and short reach to all controls.
That's the most mournful whistle I've ever heard, beautiful.
Eye catching screenplay and beautiful clear video. The shriek whistling of the steam locomotive is reminiscent of the golden days of Steam Trains.
The Cass Steam Railroad came very close to being scrapped in the early 1960s.
It had been an operating lumber business for 50+ years but they had cut all the
Spruce trees off the mountains, so the railroad was no longer needed.
Thanks to Governor Cecil Underwood the Cass Railroad became a WV State
Park, then later a historic landmark. The Shay engines were saved and fixed
up like new, & for 50 years now people can enjoy riding authentic steam
locomotives up to Bald Knob mountain and back!
That whistle though. Sounds great.
I wish my grampa was still around he would have loved to see these kinds of videos. He had all kinds of lionel trains and track, and a very neat display. Wish I new about youtube back then. Thank You for sharing this beautiful video with us train fans.
I´m 71 and had never seen before this type of locomotive. When young I used to travel to the beach in steam locomotives often in the summer, they were very old already, came from England I think, but they were the other type and were bigger. I´m from the Yucatan Peninsula SE of Mexico. Nice video.
I'm 13 and your lucky I'm a steam fan as well but I will never get to see as Much steam locomotives as you did and also maby the reason you never saw any of these is because it's a wester loco :) but as I was saying, I'm a steam fan as well and I have a layout with many tyco locomotives. I have 3 engines that have a logging rout to bad I won't get to see as much real ones as up you did. I live in newton so not a lot happens in my life.....
Also, now WE have the biggest locomotives we got the challenger and the big boy is near down with its restoration.
I've been a train lover since my teenage years...in the 1960's. And now at age 65. I aim to make sure my 5 grandchildren get to visit, and ride on one of those Glorious Old Works of Art before I leave this world.
I’m 63 and my grandsons both love trains. We did see an old steam engine when it passed through a nearby town but have yet to ride one. Your post has inspired me to do the same. Hope you were able to fulfill your dream.
I've only ever seen Shay's static in a museum. Would be interesting to see one live, but great video :)
They’re quite a nice site. I’ve gotten to see them a lot in NH on the Clark’s Trading Post.
I believe so. That is why signals and whistle talk became so vital. Also why diesel-electric locomotive were so popular when introduced to the railroad market.
Ive been and ridden. If you havent, you are missing a great thrill, not to be duplicated anywhere. Ridden several steam railroads in the US and they are all different in many ways. When you have time, go, and share in the memories. Your kids wont ever forget it either.
Nice video I was a brakeman there that year, now I plan the event and over the tours. These are beautiful machines and I love each and everyone! renegadeoflife87
yes the train whistle does give us brakeman and the conductor signals but we manually operate the brakes with no real whistle signals from the engineer except in certain areas, we learn the route and go from there. Very rewarding and unique job.
Great video. Nice equipment and scenery, but what I really enjoyed was the engineer's
artistry on his steam whistles. Thx.
What an awesome piece of machinery! My head is still trying to grasp the lack of the typical giant drive wheels one finds on a steam locomotive. Gorgeous scenery to be working in as well.
What an impressive machine! And I didn't think geared steam locomotives ever caught on.
makes me want to return to the days when America built the real deal. I could fall asleep to the marvelous sound of a Shay locomotive whistle.
It's something to experience, but OH MY GOD is it LOUD! I rode in the cab of #7 and #11 for a parts trip I did back in 2003, and it was just a little shy of painful for how loud it was in the cab. I knew they were loud from the ground, and being further up the train, but in the cab was unbelievably loud. God Bless those men!
Ha don't know how I ended up here either but I sure love riding next to trains parallel, and I do believe in Steam powered. Look at that, shaft drive steam engine, what a beautiful sight of all the mechanics, made in a time before computers, just smart dudes.
Mit Abstand das Beste was ich eisenbahnmäßig in Amerika je gesehen habe.
Hands down Cass is one of the greatest locations in the world!!!
Worldwide Railfan Productions not only that but the whistle quilling is amazing
Beautifully shot video. Lovely old locos. Great fun. 5*
Thanks for posting this. I have never seen a geared locomotive, and I have been around this business for over 35 years now. Fascinating. Randal
I like the triple-piston engine on the side, never seen anything like that on a train before. Love the turbine-like whirring noise at 6:40!
Wow, this thing's got more power sitting still than all of the diesels got with the hammer down and full throttle
A wonderful video. Great locations, cool engines and much steam. Everything well filmed and edited. I enjoyed especially the detailed clips of the crankshaft and driving shaft of the shay. Thumbs up! :)
I last watched this video back in 2011, when I was 6 years old, this brings me back.
Road on this line quite a few times back in the 80's. Miss it!
This is one of the best that I have come across,Wish I could see IT
It was widely maintained among the loggers out west that a Shay locomotive could climb a tree if it wanted to.
Glad to see that there are still some of the type in operating condition. I had wondered for some time how they looked when in motion, since the old photographs are not clear on the mechanism motions.
Learn somethin new everyday, I want that job! I'm more into antique motorcycles, but I'd love a steam one!
There is something sweet about a Shay Geared under full load & straining with its load up an incline.
What a, beautiful machine. Love the idea, never ever seen such a locomotive.
Great video, nicely put together. I forgot how good the whistles are! All of my childhood videos the whistles were over modulated because they're so loud!
Love to hear a steam engines song echo through the hills and the trees and the plains and the mountains...
This is an amazing sequence of videos. The locomotive is a fantastic piece of machinery. It's worth preserving for the whistle alone an eerie evocation of times long past. Marvellous.
Beautiful. I too have never seen a locomotive with a drivetrain like that. Learned something new today. Thanks
Best steam engine train video I've seen. Good job on positioning the camera. Great whistle sounds.
Thanks.
the whistle almost sounds like a warcry . excellent video.
Glad I'm not the only that thought so.
+escobarl103 ,dc xx ,W2special x weather
Great video. Great whistle. I loved the image at 2:20 as it came around a bend. Thank you for posting this unique treasure.
That is a very good video. I love the final bit of the video on that corner that was great
listen to that whistle cry , bloody beautiful
I like the whistles at Cass. :) Thanks for sharing.
GREAT VIDEO !!! One of the BEST looking & very unique running engines around...."The Ephraim Shay"... AWESOME !!!
It makes me tear up and I can't explain it. I guess I pine for those simpler days. Thanks very much. Beautiful.
GREAT VIDEO! What a beautiful train.
Fascinating train and beautiful scenery - great video! My great-grandfather worked on the railroad in Cass, WV around 1910.
Thankyou for this great footage! My 2 year old son and I watch it and we are both mesmerised by it.
I'm over 50 year, and have never seen such a Loco
Always loved these engines thanks to the gear system they can really put the power to the rails.
My special needs son and I really like Shays too! I personally like their 3 pistons on the right side that move up and down instead of side to side, I think it is a very interesting mechanical system!
I love the singing of that whistle!
Very nice vid. thank you for sharing. I go up to Cass at least every other year to take a ride. You video has me ready to go again, as soon as they open for the year. Those whistles give me chills down my spine. Love it.
Trains are such a masterpiece of engineering and craftsmanship
This is a fantastic video that shows the most amazing steam locomotive design that I have ever seen. As a bonus, the video shows the most beautiful countryside. The locomotive whistle has to be heard to be believed. Thanks to Amesh2009.
OMG, this was AWESOME! I think i want to do an HO LAYOUT with just Shays! I loved this video and would love to visit this place. Thanks a million for the coolest shay video EVER!
Excellent video sir. Going to Cass is like stepping back in time! What a place!
"What a fantastic and awesome video, could only imagine living in those hills with the sound of "Old #5" coming around the bend, love that horn!!!, thank you for sharing"!!! 😉☺😎
Shay locos are unique in everyway
How could anyone dislike this! Seriously!
Maybe they had their headphones turned up too high. lol
I just posted a video of a shay racing a diesel. Please check it out.
Ryan Seals .
Ryan Seals Cggdgftyfyhhuiiuii
TAOFLEDERMAUS
You're a railfan?
Awesome sights and sounds, I'd love to visit this line.
Great view of a shay locomotive in action.
wow these steam engine designes are sooo rare to today (even in museums) im really surprised that they still have these running
I remember watching this when I was a kid
The sound of the whistle is just so haunting
Nostalgia hits harder then a train with this video :)
Awesome video! I always wanted to ride this train!
alors là ! je n'avais encore jamais vu de locomotive de ce type , c'est formidable !
Loved this vid! This is the first one I've seen in action myself. It's a weird engine to be sure with its vertical pistons and "offset" boiler. I see that the tender when used is actually part of the drive train. I find that interesting to say the least. So are the drive wheels on the right tied to the wheels on the left through the axle or are the left side wheels "free spinning"?
Awesome scenery and railway! What a sight to see these unique locomotives! I can't but help think that passengers needed showers after all that black smoke!
Nice video- very well done! I watched it with my 2 year old and 5 month old- we all enjoyed it.
Beautiful! I've never seen a geared locomotive before!