Re: Nice Little Shay-Harbor Springs Railway

It's a Shay all right, since it was built by Ephraim Shay himself for his Hemlock Central. At the time he built it, he had sold his patents to Lima and was on the outs with Lima management, so I suspect he made sure that he didn't infringe on any of his (now Lima's) patents.

The Harbor Springs Railway, known as the Hemlock Central, was a seven or eight mile long 30" gauge line that Shay used for logging, but it also carried quite a few excursion passengers. It was begun in 1900, chartered in 1902, stopped operating in 1910 and taken up in 1912. It had three Shays, each to a different design. Check out this link for some really unique cars. Hemlock Central

I found this colorized post card on the net. Postcard

For photos of #1 and #3, click this link and scroll down. Shays #1 & #3

Shay Days are held every summer in Harbor Springs and a gas powered reproduction of the "Baby" is often displayed. There is supposedly a move afoot to reconstruct part of the line.

Michael Allen



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2012 12:28PM by trainrider47.