The Georgetown Loop Railroad's last train of the day works upgrade into Silver Plume as a faint rainbow hovers above it.

This 60-3 class Shay has had an interesting history. It was built in 1916 for the famed West Side Lumber Co, and is one of many surviving Shays from this line. It came to CO in the 1970s and spent... (more)

Here we see a close up of a Shay engine’s unique gearing arrangement which made the engine the perfect vehicle for logging as it could handle heavy loads, sharp inclines and sharp curves by deli... (more)

This 3 truck Shay engine was built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1927 for the 36" narrow gauge Swayne Lumber Co., in Oroville, California. It was sold in 1940 to West Side Lumber Co based in Tu... (more)

West Side Lumber Co. #9 approaches Yard Limits at Silver Plum with the last train of the day from Georgetown.

West Side Lumber Co. #9 makes a short stop at the Lebanon Mine as it sits over the Clear Creek.

A wall of sound envelops Clear Creek Canyon as No. 9 assaults the grade passing under the Devil's Gate Viaduct.

Three-quarters of the Georgetown Loop's operable fleet is outside the engine house at Silver Plume at the end of a long day.

West Side Shay 9 has cut away from its train and is heading to the water tower at the Silver Plume depot.

The sun makes a brief appearance as West Side 9 backs down through the Silver Plume yard prior to the first train of the day. No. 9 spent the past four decades on the Midwest Central Railroad at ... (more)

A "down" train of logs crosses River Bridge. The working side of the shays was always on the dark side when hauling loads across the bridge.

A train of logs arrives into Tuolumne during the West Side Lumber Company railroad's last year of operation.

It is well before sunrise as No. 8 heads into the woods with a long string of empty log cars. This was during the last season the WSL railroad operated, and was one of my earliest efforts at nigh... (more)

In Tuolumne, where the West Side was king, the only visible remnants of the glory days are a few miles of abandoned trackage, the sawdust burner at the mill site, a fenced-off railroad yard, the a... (more)

These abandoned narrow gauge rails haven't felt the weight of a Shay-powered revenue freight since the West Side quit operation in 1961.