Lima s/n 3354:

Class 162-3, coal fired

Built 1945 for Western Maryland Railway as #6

Last Shay built by Lima

Designed to haul coal on the Chaffee Branch of the Western Maryland Railway

Presently operating at Cass Scenic Railroad

Lima s/n 3156:

Class 150-3, coal fired, later rebuilt to class 150-4 (or should it be 200-4?)

Built 1921 for West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company as #12

Assigned to Greenbrier, Cheat & Elk Railroad (subsidiary of WVP&P)

Originally built as a 3 truck Shay

Converted at Cass, WV to 4 trucks in 1933, tender increased from 6000 to 11000 gallons of water

Conversion was done to increase water capacity and result was less train hauling capacity

4 truck version was largest operating Shay

(KCS 900 was the largest Shay built by Lima factory)

Designed for hauling log trains in the Cass, WV area

Also hauled coal for the Western Maryland, sometimes in mixed log/coal trains

Mower Lumber company purchased the Cass Logging operation in 1942

Damaged in an accident with a Western Maryland Railway rod engine in 1942

Scrapped at Cass approximately 1956

Note: some of this information (tender water capacity, collision date, scrapping date) are based on best available information

Major differences:

riveted girder frame (3354) vs. I-beam frame (3156)

piston valves (3354) vs. slide valves (3156)

single 8.5" cross compound air pump (3354) vs. dual single air pumps (3156)

dual taper stack (3354) vs. diamond stack (3156)

internal spark screen (3354) vs. spark arresting diamond stack (3156)

3 truck with 6000 gallon tender (3354) vs. 4 truck with 11,000 gallon tender (3156 rebuilt)

Still operating (3354) vs. scrapped (3156)

Reference material:

See Locogear Technical Bulletin #12 for published information sources

Many original Lima drawings are available for both locomotives, see Locogear Technical Bulletin #5

Recently published book "Western Maryland Railway Shay No. 6" is available from the Mountain State Railroad and Logging Historical Association

"The Lima Shays on the Greenbrier, Cheat & Elk Railroad Company" by Kyle Neighbors is a booklet with information on 3156 including a photo of the builders plate. This booklet is out of print but I found a copy on eBay

The website West Virginia History Onview has 15 photos of 3156, search on "Shay 12", click on thumbnail to enlarge photo then right click to download

There is an online discussion forum for 3354 and 3156