COC No.5 Restoration Project - Australia's Only Standard Gauge Shay
Description
HELP us restore a Lima 3 Truck 70 Ton Standard gauge shay to full operating condition.
WE NEED YOUR HELP The ELD & M has spent the last four and a half years searching the United States for a Lima 3 Truck Shay. This unique steam locomotive will become the centre piece of a tribute to the Commonwealth Oil Corporation Limited. This British company was responsible for building the massive oil shale works at Newnes together with the Wolgan Valley railway at the turn of the last century.
The Commonwealth Oil Corporation built the 53 kilometre railway in a record 14 months which included two tunnels in some of the most inaccessible country in the district.
It then imported four Lima shay locomotives to operate the line because of its steep grades and tight radius curves. Unfortunately the whole operation only lasted about 30 years
with the plant and equipment being either sold or relocated to other locations by 1934.
The shay locomotives were left to the elements and sat in the valley deteriorating for another 20 years before they were finally cut up in 1955.
During the 80 or so years that Lima was building shay locomotives for the world market they constructed 2768 locomotives in various gauges and sizes. Today there are only 116 known surviving examples of which approximately 25 are operational. After many months of negotiating the Eskbank Locomotive Depot & Museum were able to finalise a deal and acquire a 70 Ton 3 Truck Shay from California.
The recently purchased locomotive was built in 1910 by the Lima Locomotive & Machine Company (Builders No. 2366) for the Raleigh Lumber Company of West Virginia where it was allocated engine number 35.
It ended its working life in 1965 hauling coal for the Brimstone & New River RR after which it spent some time in a Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee and then wound up in private hands in California.
Once restored #2366 will be renumbered to follow on in the Commonwealth Oil Corporations roster of locomotives as No.5. The shay will be displayed at Eskbank and operate on
the Lithgow State Mine branch.
We are now launching a campaign to raise the necessary funds to provide for a ground up restoration of the locomotive.
All donations over $2.00 will be tax deductable even in kind support will be recognised.
For details on how you can support the restoration of Australia's only standard gauge shay go to our website.
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#2366 Update
Our team in the US (Brook and Dave) have completed the inventory of all the parts and have catalogued them against an original Lima Shay Parts Catalogue. This will make the job of identifying them easier when we begin to put #2366 back together again. We are now waiting on a visit from the shipping agents to advise on the number and the types of containers we will need to ship the loco back to Australia. In the mean time we are looking for an injector similar to the one pictured. It is a Sellers brand. We need one for #2366 if anyone has any leads on one.
Replica Shay Builders Plates
In the not to distant future the ELD&M will be selling replica Lima Shay Locomotive builders plates to assiat in the fund raising campaign for COC No.5. Wayne James our master pattern maker from the United States has been busy finalising the patterns to enable us to produce full size builders plates. smoke box door number plates, boiler backhead plates and shay patent plates to suit the 4 wolgan valley shays plus COC's latest edition to the fleet COC No.5. Pictured are the patterns and some samples that have already been produced. Check into our website for details. http://www.eskbanklocomotivedepotmuseum.com.au/
History of the Brimstone Shays
Timeline Photos
Margaret N
WOLGAN VALLEY 1943 "one of the 90 ton No. 4 Shay locomotives imported in 1910 from Lima Locomotive Co. of Lima, Ohio U.S.A. Pictured L. to R.- Max Redding just visible behind head of Jack Longworth (manager of Kirkconnell sawmill), Pat Taylor sitting on cabin window and Ira John Patrick (“Jack “) Taylor. Photograph late Jack Taylor, Bathurst."
COC No.5 Restoration Project - Australia's Only Standard Gauge Shay
COC No.5 Under Snow in California - Xmas 2015
Its been some time since we have been able to report anything out of the ordinary regarding our shay. However this morning we received some pictures from El Dorado County, California of COC No.5 (Lima Shay #2366) under snow in a Christmas post card setting. Our team on the ground (Brook and Rich) have been working when they can, cataloguing the various items that make up the sum of the locomotive. This process is being undertaken by producing photographs of all the items so we can readily identify them when we put her back together. Once this has been done a manifest will also be produced for shipping purposes. This information will be handed to Mayne Global, our shipping agents so they can determine how many containers or what configuration of transport options will be needed to bring COC No.5 back to Australia. We are hopeful that 2016 will see No5. arrive in Lithgow to commence her ground up rebuild which eventually will see her operate on the State Mine branch. She will become a fitting living tribute to the Commonwealth Oil Corporations endeavours to develop a shale oil works in the Wolgan valley at the turn of the last century.
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