Area less than one acre Architectural style Shay locomotive #549 Designated MSHS August 3, 1979 Added to NRHP 26 October 1981 | Built by Lima Locomotive Works NRHP Reference # 81000321 Year built 1898 Architect Ephraim Shay | |
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Location Cass St., Cadillac, Michigan | ||
The Shay Logging Locomotive is a Shay locomotive engine located on Cass Street in City Park in Cadillac, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1979 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
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History
Ephraim Shay was a logger from Haring, Michigan, near Cadillac. Shay was in the logging industry, and realized that a method of moving logs when the ground was muddy and damp would increase productivity immensely. He experimented with horse-drawn trams with limited success, then hit on the idea of building temporarty rail lines. In 1879, Shay invented a type of steam powered locomotive specifically for use in the logging industry. This Shay locomotive was small and powerful, and was geared to operate on tracks with steep grades and articulated to handle sharp curves. Shay patented the locomotive in 1881.
This Shay locomotive was constructed in 1898 by the Lima Locomotive Works for the Boyne City Southeastern Railroad Company. In 1918, it was sold to Michigan Forest Products in Strongs, Michigan, and then to the Cadillac Lumber & Chemical Company for service in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. In 1924, it was purchased by the Cadillac and Soo Lumber Company, also from Sault Sainte Marie, and used there until 1954, when Cadillac-Soo Lumber donated the locomotive to the city of Cadillac. It was partially restored in 1964, and further restored in 1985. It now serves as a tourist attraction in Cadillac's City Park.
Description
The Shay Logging Locomotive is a Class B steam-powered Shay locomotive designated number 549. It is powered by three 10 inches (250 mm) bore, 12 inches (300 mm) stroke cylinders. It is 35 feet (11 m) in length and weighs 45 tons