Railway Giants: The Revolutionary Locomotives that Crushed the Competition

It's 1839, and in the town of Sherman, Ohio, Ephraim Shay is born. His life and work had a profound impact on the development of railway transportation, particularly through his innovations in locomotive design. His story exemplifies how ingenuity and perseverance can lead to revolutionary changes.

In 1839, in Sherman, Ohio, Ephraim Shay came into the world, as noted by Lindahall.org. At the time of Ephraim's birth, America was already an established country on the world map. Since gaining independence from Great Britain more than half a century earlier, the United States had been significantly expanding its territory, either through purchase, victorious wars, or settlement of lands that had belonged to Native American tribes for centuries. This process continued into the 20th century, and its completion, along with rapid economic development and an influx of intellectual talent, allowed the US to rise to the position of the world's number one superpower.

However, this ascent was disrupted by a brutal internal conflict that claimed more American lives than both world wars combined: the American Civil War between the Union, formed by the northern states, and the Confederacy, formed by the southern states. The main cause of the conflict was the legality of slavery, which was indispensable to the southern agrarian states, while the industrial northern states opposed it. The war, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, ended in victory for the northern states, leaving the path to global prominence open.

Returning to our protagonist, Ephraim Shay received a quality education from his parents. He first attended a select primary school and then went on to study to become a teacher in Shaytown, New Jersey, where he had his first teaching position, according to Shaylocomotives. In 1861, at the age of twenty-two, Ephraim moved with his family to Muir, Michigan. Between 1861 and 1864, he served in the American Civil War on the side of the Union. He left the army in 1864, even receiving a commendation.

In the same year, Ephraim married Jane Henderson. The young couple then moved to Ionia County, Michigan, to be near their family members in Portland, Lyons, Muir, and Sebewa. They had a son named Lette.

Around 1874, the Shay family moved to Haring, Michigan, where Ephraim opened a general store and a sawmill. This led him to the brilliant idea of using a locomotive to transport heavy logs. Ephraim began laying tracks through the surrounding forests to haul logs to the sawmill. Initially, he used horses for traction but eventually transitioned to steam power. His collaboration with Lima Machine Works (later Lima Locomotive Works) in Ohio, from whom he obtained a license to manufacture their locomotives, enabled this transition. These strategic moves allowed him to outcompete his rivals in both speed and cost.

Ephraim stayed in the locomotive business, eventually selling his creations to competitors. In 1880, the first Shay-type locomotive was sent to a customer in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the center of logging on the Michigan peninsula. In 1881, Ephraim began patenting his designs. He continued to refine his model in collaboration with Lima Locomotive Works. Production of Shay-type locomotives saw a steady increase: Lima Locomotive Works built four Shay locomotives in 1881 and 37 in 1883. In 1884, Lima published a 34-page catalog featuring five different Shay locomotive models. Between 1882 and 1892, Lima sold approximately 300 Shay locomotives. By the late 1890s, the company was shipping Shay locomotives worldwide.

In 1888, Ephraim and his family moved to Harbor Springs, Michigan. There, he designed and built the iconic Shay Hexagon House around 1892, a remarkable hexagonal structure. Even in his new home, the self-taught engineer continued to develop transportation innovations. Among his many creations were the 40-foot (over 12 meters) boat Aha and a private waterworks for the city of Harbor Springs, which he also operated.

He also founded a railway in Harbor Springs, aptly named the Harbor Springs Railway, which he initially operated himself before leasing it out in 1902. He used his own locomotive designs to power the railway, which transported mainly lumber but also served recreational and sightseeing purposes. The railway operated until 1912.

The ingenious self-taught engineer passed away in 1916, four years after his wife Jane, at the age of 76. He was buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Harbor Springs.