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| Shay Engine No. 30 Ernst Niebergall Collection |
Occasionally we all have one of those great ideas, but few have as many as Ephraim Shay. Born in Huron County in 1839, Shay was educated in New Jersey. By 1861, he was teaching in Bellevue, Ohio, and hoping to purchase farmland. He traveled to Michigan and Illinois, ending up in St. Louis where his plans changed. He enlisted in the 8th Missouri Infantry for three years. When discharged, Shay returned to Huron County and married Jane Henderson. The couple soon moved to Ionia County, Michigan, where he ran a sawmill. When the area was logged off, Shay moved north to the Manistee River area and set up his mill near Haring.
Logging in Michigan was dangerous, costly, and weather dependent. Once river tracts were logged off, men pushed into the forests, building roads and felling trees until the ground froze, snows came, and logs could be hauled out.
Hoping to reduce costs, Shay built a temporary wooden tram over which horses pulled log cars to the mill. Shay's tram made year round logging a reality, but it was slow and Shay knew the dangers were great. On downgrades, horses were killed when overtaken by the cars they were pulling.
Hoping to reduce costs, Shay built a temporary wooden tram over which horses pulled log cars to the mill. Shay's tram made year round logging a reality, but it was slow and Shay knew the dangers were great. On downgrades, horses were killed when overtaken by the cars they were pulling.
Even though everyone thought it was a "crazy idea," Shay worked for nearly two years on a geared steam locomotive. Its cylinders drove a flexible line shaft with universal couplings and slip joints through bevel gears. The flexibility allowed each log car to navigate the track independently, keeping the locomotive on the rails. His locomotive could climb steep grades, handle sharp turns, and operate on rickety wooden tracks. The Shay locomotive revolutionized not only logging in Michigan, but also the Lima Machine Works, the Ohio company Shay hired for machining some parts. The company transformed its operation, changing its name to the Lima Locomotive Works. They built 2,768 Shay locomotives. Shay received $1,000 royalty on each one built.
The above photograph from the Hayes Presidential's Ernst Niebergall Collection is one of eight Shay locomotives built by the Lima Locomotive Works for Kelleys Island Lime and Transport Company to use at its Kelleys Island quarries. Number 30, featured here, was a straight-boiler engine used until quarrying ended on the island. Connecting the island quarries by rail greatly facilitated the transporting of stone and flux to the lime kilns and then to the Kelleys Island docks for shipping.
By the late 1880s, Shay moved his operations to Harbor Springs, Michigan, where he constructed the Hemlock Central Railroad, a machine shop, sawmill, waterworks and his steel-clad home known as the "Hexagon" and now an historic landmark.
Rather than wealth and success, it was ideas and innovations that drove Ephraim Shay. He patented a universal joint, logging wheels, and a propeller shaft.
In 1891, he began building a steam-powered, 40-foot, steel-hulled boat that he dubbed the "AHA." After numerous rebuilds, the "AHA" could reach speeds of 15 knots rapidly, setting records on Little Traverse Bay. But her weight and narrow design made her top heavy and ride low in the water. Shay finally admitted the "AHA" was not practical for steam travel.
His son removed her engine and installed it in his home as his central heating system. Her hull was towed over the ice to Sturgeon Bay where hunters and fishermen used her for both shelter and target practice. There the "AHA" sat rusting away until the state of Michigan put her in storage. Finally, in 2003 Harbor Springs residents brought the "AHA" home, where she represents a part of Shay's lifelong legacy of "creativity and sheer ability."
The above photograph from the Hayes Presidential's Ernst Niebergall Collection is one of eight Shay locomotives built by the Lima Locomotive Works for Kelleys Island Lime and Transport Company to use at its Kelleys Island quarries. Number 30, featured here, was a straight-boiler engine used until quarrying ended on the island. Connecting the island quarries by rail greatly facilitated the transporting of stone and flux to the lime kilns and then to the Kelleys Island docks for shipping.
By the late 1880s, Shay moved his operations to Harbor Springs, Michigan, where he constructed the Hemlock Central Railroad, a machine shop, sawmill, waterworks and his steel-clad home known as the "Hexagon" and now an historic landmark.
Rather than wealth and success, it was ideas and innovations that drove Ephraim Shay. He patented a universal joint, logging wheels, and a propeller shaft.
In 1891, he began building a steam-powered, 40-foot, steel-hulled boat that he dubbed the "AHA." After numerous rebuilds, the "AHA" could reach speeds of 15 knots rapidly, setting records on Little Traverse Bay. But her weight and narrow design made her top heavy and ride low in the water. Shay finally admitted the "AHA" was not practical for steam travel.
His son removed her engine and installed it in his home as his central heating system. Her hull was towed over the ice to Sturgeon Bay where hunters and fishermen used her for both shelter and target practice. There the "AHA" sat rusting away until the state of Michigan put her in storage. Finally, in 2003 Harbor Springs residents brought the "AHA" home, where she represents a part of Shay's lifelong legacy of "creativity and sheer ability."
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