UP's Shay Locomotives
By Don Strack
This page was last updated on June 25, 2011.
Additional Information
- New East Tintic Railway — A separate page about the predecessor railroad that first built to the Mammoth Mine.
- UP's Shay Locomotives, as part of San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake roster
- Roster of UP's Shay locomotives (this page)
- George Pitchard's research (this page)
When talking about UP's Tintic branches, where the road ran its Shay locomotives, the official end may have come in late 1978, but a fan of Union Pacific's Shay locomotives would rightly say that the end came in late 1948, when the last Shay was removed from service.
UP's Shay locomotives ran on the railroad's Tintic branches in central Utah from 1896 when the first Shay arrived. That first one was joined by a second Shay in 1902, and by a third in 1907. Like many of the companies that operated Shay locomotives, UP's Shay locomotives were purchased specifically to operate over trackage that had severe curves and steep grades; in the case of the Tintic branches, the curves were extremely tight, at 30 degrees (193 feet radius; 26 inches in HO scale), and the grades were as steep as 6 percent (6 feet of rise in 100 feet of run). What made the curves so tight, and the grades so steep? The simple answer is: mines and mining. But like any story, this story starts at the beginning.
The first Shay for the Tintic District was New East Tintic No. 10, a small, 28-ton 2-truck design delivered in June 1896. It worked alone on the railroad, with its engine house being at the upper end of track at the Mammoth mine. OSL bought the New East Tintic line in 1900, and in January 1902 a new 65-ton, 3-truck Shay was delivered as New East Tintic No. 11.
In February 1904, New East Tintic number 11 was loaned to the Copper Belt Railway in Bingham Canyon, following a pair of derailments that put both of Copper Belt's Shays out of commission:
At 4 p.m. on February 28, 1904, Copper Belt Shay number 2 was involved in a runaway. The locomotive was moving three "battleships" of ore from the Boston Consolidated mine when, due to wet and slippery rail, the train got away from the crew and derailed. "The new engine placed in commission a few weeks ago is lying on its back down an embankment." "Fortunately, the crew escaped uninjured, the engineer, fireman and all making a dash for their lives on the uphill side." "This is the second wreck of a serious nature on the road within the past few weeks and the engine crippled at the first one is still in the shops undergoing repairs. The road having only two locomotives in its equipment, the line is temporarily put out of business." "The Salt Lake Route has been appealed to for assistance and has consented to loan a Shay locomotive from its Tintic Branch. Assistant Manager Bayly said today that it would reach Bingham sometime during the day and be running over the line tonight." (Deseret News, February 29, 1904, "yesterday")
The Tintic branches were included in the June 1903 sale of OSL lines to San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake, and in March 1907, SPLA&SL accepted delivery of a new 80-ton, 3-truck Shay. Lima records show this as an "80-Ton Shay, 3-Truck, Special." It entered service as SPLA&SL No. 61. At about the same time, New East Tintic No. 10 became SPLA&SL No. 60, and New East Tintic No. 11 became SPLA&SL No. 59.
No. 59 had an extended wagon top boiler design, but No. 61 had an unusual straight boiler, which may or may not be the reason for its "Special" designation in the builder's records. All three originally burned coal, but No. 59 and No. 61 were converted to burn oil at some unknown time. Records of builder Lima show that No. 61 was in fact built for a lumber company with operations in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Shay was apparently delivered to Rapid City on January 15, 1907, but was returned to Lima for unknown reasons. It was then sold to the San Pedro and delivered to Salt Lake City on March 4, 1907.
As already mentioned, New East Tintic had its engine house at the Mammoth mine. With OSL ownership, a second Shay in 1902, and the completion of a new Tintic station on the new Leamington Cutoff in 1903, a new three-stall all-brick engine house was completed at Tintic. The architecture of the new brick engine house at Tintic looks very similar to the roundhouses at Salt Lake City, Lynndyl, and Milford, also completed at about the same time.
During a conversation in June 1977 with the author, Frank Acord, UP's Superintendent of Motive Power & Machinery, remembered many parts of his initial service on UP as a mechanic at both Lynndyl and Provo, Utah. According to Mr. Acord, UP's Shay locomotives at Tintic were always maintained at the engine house at Tintic. For more extensive repairs such as boiler work or wheel work, they were sent to the shops at Lynndyl, where there was large brick roundhouse, with several add-on all-concrete stalls. Mr. Acord remembered that during the 1940-1943 period that he worked at Provo, the Shay locomotives came to the Provo Joint Shops (with Utah Railway) several times for wheel and boiler work because UP had closed the shops at Lynndyl.
Tintic area historian Sam Bass recalls old-timers in the Tintic area telling him that UP used "sunflower" stacks on their Shays in the summer for fire protection purposes. During winter and spring they changed to the "shotgun" stacks. While the memories are not in doubt, this may actually be in reference to the change in fuel, from coal to oil.
Later years and Retirement
The former New East Tintic No. 10, later renumbered to SPLA&SL 60, was retired in 1918 because it needed a complete rebuilding, having been in service for 22 years, since 1896. The locomotive's usefulness was questionable because it was such a small, underpowered locomotive, preventing its use on the other Tintic branches. It was sold in November 1918 to the Lincoln Creek Lumber Co. at Galvin, Wash. (later at Centralia, Wash.), who also owned a Climax geared locomotive and two other Shay locomotives. Lincoln Creek's railroad was abandoned in 1932, but no further disposition for the locomotive is known.
William Kratville, in his landmark 1959 Motive Power of the Union Pacific, states that both LA&SL Shay locomotives, No. 59 and No. 61, were rebuilt at Pocatello in the 1920s. Records from Lima Locomotive Works show that No. 61 received a new boiler in October 1926, along with numerous other new parts. In August 1944, Lima records show that No. 61 received numerous new parts for its trucks, along with some work on its engine unit. This recent rebuilding for No. 61 likely explains its sale four years later, rather than being scrapped, as was No. 59.
UP retired the last two remaining Shay locomotives in September 1948 (No. 61) and February 1949 (No. 59). No. 59 was moved to Pocatello in November 1948, where it was retired and scrapped in mid February 1949. No. 61 was sold to Oregon-American Lumber Co., at Vernonia, Ore., in September 1948. Long-Bell Lumber took over the Oregon-American operations and the old UP No. 61 became Long-Bell No. 107. It was scrapped by Long-Bell Lumber Co., in 1956.
Replaced By Diesels
UP records show that ALCo RSC-2 diesel locomotives were assigned to several branches in Utah upon their delivery in April 1948. Photographic evidence from Emil Albrecht's photos shows that, at minimum, they came to Utah's Cache Valley branches. Bill Simpson, a UP Bridges & Buildings pipefitter who worked for several years at Tintic remembered 25 years after his service there, that the Shays at Tintic were replaced by "six-axle ALCo's."
Although the New East Tintic Branch apparently saw little, if any, service after the late 1930s, the sight of a UP Shay fighting its way up the 6 percent switchback on the New East Tintic Branch is an appealing one. The sight of an RSC-2 in the same service is as equally appealing to a fan of early diesel locomotives. Unfortunately, the limited number of carloads coming down off the Mammoth Branch in the late 1940s and early 1950s doesn't support seeing such a thing.
The use of a six-axle ALCo roadswitcher on the other Tintic branches to both Eureka and Silver City, with grades as high as 3.5 percent, is equally appealing, and a definite possibility. When the ALCo locomotives were sent east to be rebuilt in 1954-1955, they were replaced by 100-, 200-, and 300-class GP7s and GP9s, which remained the motive power on the Tintic branches until final abandonment in 1979.
After the 1958 abandonment of the Mammoth Branch, freight service was provided as needed by the daily Tintic Local out of Salt Lake City, until the last vestige, the Silver City Branch, was abandoned in 1979, then the local was renamed the St. John Local, a reflection of its destination at Tooele Army Depot, 42 miles north of Tintic.
Miscellaneous Notes
Railroad magazine ran a brief news item about the wreck of Virginia & Truckee engine 11 at Iron Springs, Utah, in the filming of Union Pacific in 1938. One of the Union Pacific engineers who helped to make that picture was Joe Hanlon of Salt Lake City, Utah. Lucius Beebe was reported as having been there as a technical director and rode several times on those engines. Joe, who began firing UP diamond-stacks in 1915, retired in 1967. Joe also fired the Union Pacific Shay locomotives at Tintic. (part from Railroad magazine, April 1969, page 6)
Locomotive Roster
| Road Number |
Wheel Arrangement |
Builder | Builder Number |
Builder Date |
UP Number |
Date Retired |
Notes |
| NET Ry 10 | Two-truck, 28-Ton, Shay | Lima | 511 | Jun 1895 | LA&SL 60 | Nov 1918 | 1 |
| NET Ry 11 | Three-truck, 65-Ton, Shay | Lima | 674 | Jan 1902 | LA&SL 59 | Feb 1949 | 2 |
| SPLA&SL 61 | Three-truck, 80-Ton, Shay | Lima | 1812 | Mar 1907 | LA&SL 61 | Sep 1948 | 3 |
General Notes:
| a. | New East Tintic Railway was completed in July 1896; sold to Oregon Short Line Railroad in December 1900; sold to San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad in June 1903; operated as LA&SL's New East Tintic Branch until abandonment in about 1937 (locomotives used on other portions of Tintic area branches). |
| b. | OSL received its new Shay locomotive in late January 1902. An item in the Deseret News revealed that "The Oregon Short Line has received the largest Shay locomotive ever built. It is now being coupled up at the shops and will be used on the Tintic branch in handling the ore shipments of the Star Consolidated." (Deseret News, January 30, 1902) |
Notes:
| 1. | Built as New East Tintic Railway 10; NET Ry sold to OSL in 1900 (locomotive not renumbered to OSL); to SPLA&SL 60 in June 1903; to LA&SL 60 in August 1916; to Lincoln Creek Lumber Company, Galvin, Washington, in November 1918. (additional information at Shay Locomotives.com) |
| 2. | Built as New East Tintic Railway 11; NET Ry sold to OSL in 1900 (locomotive not renumbered to OSL); received in late January 1902 and setup by OSL in Salt Lake City shops; to SPLA&SL 59 in June 1903; to LA&SL 59 in August 1916; scrapped by UP at Pocatello, Idaho, in February 1949. (additional information at Shay Locomotives.com) |
| 3. | Built as SPLA&SL 61; to LA&SL 61 in 1921; to Oregon-American Lumber Company 107, at Vernonia, Oregon, in September 1948; to Long-Bell Lumber Company 107 (same location); sold for scrap in 1955 to Oregon Steel Mills, Portland, Oregon (addition information at Shay Locomotives.com) |
***
George Pitchard's Research
The New East Tintic was originally the private property of James A. Cunningham, who appears to have sold the road to the Oregon Short Line in November 1900, per an entry in the OSL journal; the Salt Lake Tribune of November 28, 1900 wrote that on November 26, 1900, Cunningham was paid $37,000 in OSL securities for the road. The OSL continued to operate the road under the New East Tintic name until 1903 when all OSL lines south and west of Salt Lake City were sold to the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake, which in 1916 dropped the 'San Pedro' from the name. The SPLA&SL did not operate the N. E. T. under its old name, but merged it and the equipment into their own system.
New East Tintic No. 10:
No. 10 became OSL, but remained N.E.T. No. 10 in 1903, then was renumbered to SPLA&SL No. 60 in 1903. The engine was sold to the Lincoln Creek Lumber Co., in November 1918; scrapped on an unknown date.
From the Lima "drawing card index" file:
Locomotive No. 511 Order No. 486 Built for: A. J. Cunningham (sic), Mammouth (sic), Utah Road No.: 511 Name: Alie Shipped to: (blank) Date Shipped: June 6, 1896 Gauge of track: 56-1/2" Style of locomotive: Shay Patent Cylinders: 3 - 10x12" Wheels, diameter: 28" Total empty weight: 54,350 lbs. Working pressure: (blank) Fuel: Coal Tank capacity: 1,038 gallons water
New East Tintic No.11:
No. 11 was ordered in late July 1901 (Salt Lake Tribune, August 2, 1901) under the New East Tintic name, although owned by the Oregon Short Line. In 1903 when the road passed to the SPLA&SL it became the 59. With the inclusion of the LA&SL into the Union Pacific, the 59 changed names but not numbers, becoming U. P. 59. It was scrapped February 18, 1949.
From the Lima "drawing card index" file:
Locomotive No. 674 Order No. 337 Plan No. cd3673 Built for: Oregon Short Line Railroad Road No.: 11 Name: Oregon Short Line Shipped to: N.E.T. Ry Date Shipped: January 11, 1902 Gauge of track: 56-1/2" Style of locomotive: 65-Ton Shay, 3-Truck Cylinders: 3 - 13x13" Wheels, diameter: 33" Total empty weight: 129,000 lbs. Working pressure: 180 lbs. Fuel: Coal Tank capacity: 3,030 gallons water
SPLA&SL No. 61:
The San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad bought a third Shay to operate on its Tintic district; it was a 3-Truck Shay, bearing road No. 61, and Lima c/n 1812, of March 1907. It became U. P. 61, and was sold to the Oregon-American Lumber Company, at Vernonia, Oregon, in September 1948; to Long-Bell Lumber Co. No. 107 (same location); scrapped by the Long-Bell Lumber Co., in 1956.
From the Lima "drawing card index" file:
Locomotive No. 1812 Order No. 2239 Plan No. 1812 Built for: (erased, changed to) San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Ry., Los Angeles, California Road No.: (erased, changed to) 61 Name: (erased, changed to) S.P.,L.A.&S.L. Shipped to: Salt Lake City, Utah
(Rapid City, South Dakota; crossed out)Date Shipped: March 4, 1907
(January 15, 1907, crossed out)Gauge of track: 56-1/2" Style of locomotive: 80-Ton Shay, 3-Truck, Special Cylinders: 3 - 13-1/2x15" Wheels, diameter: 36" Total empty weight: 146,800 lbs.(135,500 lbs., crossed out) Working pressure: 200 lbs. Fuel: Lignite Coal (as built) Tank capacity: 3,500 gallons water Note on Lima drawing card index shows "New Boiler, 10/27/26", and numerous new parts with it. Also appears to have had considerable work on the trucks, and some on the engine unit, in August 1944.
Original purchaser information on the drawing card index is unclear; may have been Lacey Lumber Co., Rapid City, South Dakota. The presence of a shipping date (January 15, 1907) and a place, indicates that it was delivered to South Dakota, but obviously quickly returned to Lima. Lacey Lumber Co. did purchase two Shay locomotives in early 1911, of 30-inch gauge, which may indicate the reason for returning construction number 1812.
***
