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This Shay geared locomotive was one of 2,771
Locomotives built by the Lima Locomotive Works
of Lima Ohio between 1882 and 1945 (only 84 of
these engines still exist and only 27 of those
engines are in operable condition). These
engines (named after it's inventor Ephram Shay)
were designed to climb the steep grades (up to
12%) and were ideal for logging railroads where
steep grades and temporary tracks were the rule.
This locomotive was originally built as a
"stock" locomotive for Shay dealer Hofius Steel
& Equipment Co. of Seattle WA in 1923. Before
she was delivered she was sold to the
Independence Logging Co. of Aberdeen, WA for
$28,070.00. In 1928 she was sold to the Mt.
Emily Lumber Co. of La Grande, Oregon. She
worked for the next 30 years on Mt. Emily's 40
mile logging railroad which included a 7½ %
grade on the mainline.
In 1955 Mount Emily Lumber Co. started hauling
all it's logs to the mill by truck and scrapped
it's railroad. #1 was donated to the Oregon
Museum of Science and Technology.
Unfortunately OMSI did not have a place to
display the locomotive. The "lockie" was stored
in the Union Pacific round house in La Grande
Oregon for several years. After the round house
was torn down #1 was towed at 10 miles an hour
to Portland, Oregon. In the late 1950's #1 was
transferred to the Oregon Historical Society,
which still owns the "lockie". The OHS
also had no display site for the locomotive. #1
was stored in the rail yards of the Northern
Pacific Terminals Co. near Union Depot in
Portland until 1970, when leased to the State of
West Virginia to operate on their Cass Scenic
Railroad which is a tourist operation built on
an old logging railroad. The last lease to Cass
expired in late 1992.
At that time the Directors of OHS asked Bend
Oregon attorney and rail-fan Martin Hansen to
find a new home for #1 in the Northwest. A ten
year lease with the City of Prineville and the
City of Prineville Railway was negotiated and
signed.
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