West Side Lumber Co. No. 9

West Side Lumber Co. No. 9 is a Shay - 3-truck. It was built in 1923 by the Lima Locomotive Works for the West Side Lumber Company.
The locomotive originally operated on the West Side Lumber Company out of Tuolumne, California. The WSL Co. ran a maximum 72-mile main line and had many more miles of spurs in Tuolumne County. Shay 9 worked with half a dozen other Shays on the line entering into the woods making one trip a day hauling the giant logs down to the mill.
In 1966, the locomotive was obtained by the Midwest Central Railroad in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The locomotive was shipped by railroad flat car to Mount Pleasant and then transferred to a truck for the rest of the move to the Midwest Central Railroad.
The locomotive was lovingly operated and cared for by the volunteers at the Midwest Central Railroad for many decades. In late 2010, discussions evolved between the Midwest Central Railroad and the Georgetown Loop Railroad in Georgetown, Colorado concerning the possibility of leasing the large and powerful Shay 9 to the Georgetown Loop Railroad. The Loop was in need of a larger locomotive to pull the ever increasing passenger loads experienced at the railroad, especially in the busy summer months.
In June 2019, it came back to Midwest Central Railroad in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. It was later taken out of service in August 2022 in need of some major repairs. On March 19, 2024, the Midwest Central Railroad announced via Facebook that it had contracted with the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Durango, Colorado to begin boiler work on the locomotive.
==Trivia== 
*In return, the Georgetown Loop Railroad would lease its Baldwin built 2-6-2 #12 to the Midwest Central.
*In February 2011 the Shay 9 arrived in Silver Plume, Colorado as a result of a new lease agreement. The Shay 9 underwent 15 months of work in order to make the locomotive operational for the Loop railroad and officially entered service in July 2012.
*On June 15, 2019 the engine returned to the Midwest Central Railroad.
==Gallery==
20190106-1016531.png
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Shay locomotives
Category:American locomotives
Category:Lima locomotives
Category:Built in 1923
Category:Article stubs
Category:Locomotives
Category:Logging locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:American steam locomotives
Category:United States
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:Geared locomotives
Category:Restored locomotives
Category:Excursion locomotives
Category:Preserved steam locomotives