MTH ELECTRIC TRAINS

In the early 1900's the mountains in and around West Virginia were crawling with lumber crews foresting the best spruce nature had to offer. As the lumber was harvested, track crews - keeping just ahead of the lumberjacks - worked even harder to reach deeper into the forest. The West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company's Shay Steamer No. 12 was there, trudging up and down grades as steep as 11 percent with cut trees destined for the mills and supplies for the ever increasing logging camps throughout Pocahontas County. Shay No. 12 was built in 1921 and was originally outfitted with three trucks and weighed a whopping 154 tons. In 1923 it was rebuilt with four trucks and weighed an unbelievable 197 tons. She fearlessly tackled the Spruce covered mountain grades for the next 20 years before retiring in 1943 and being unceremoniously scraped in 1955. In 2003 we've redecorated No. 12 with the livery of the Elk River Coal & Lumber Company. Completely constructed from all die-cast metal components, this 22 inch long powerhouse features the same all-wheel powered drive train that made Shays so powerful in the first place. In fact, you'll be hard pressed to find any grade that will be too steep for this tireless worker.