User:Mshaw12

Born 65 miles northwest of Manhattan in Middletown, NY, nestled in the picturesque Hudson River Valley, Michael Shaw gained a unique perspective of history from an early age. Both of his parents are former educators, his mother remedial instructor, and his father at varying times a math and a history teacher. They always appreciated and helped nurture Michael’s sense of curiosity about old abandoned places. Empty buildings, derelict railroad tracks, even a road to seemingly nowhere would always peak his curiosity, and tangible evidence that there was once something there would always send him down the proverbial rabbit hole of discovery.

Middletown was a railroad town, but Michael was never a rail fan. His interest developed from the nostalgia of the railroads themselves, as a fascinating part of Americana.

Higher education found Michael at Ithaca College, where he majored in history. He remembers several professors there who impressed upon him that the study of history is much more than just the memorization of dates. “Do the research,” they would tell him, “and then tell the story.”

After college, Michael settled in Bucks County, PA for a time, and moved to King of Prussia on Labor Day weekend in 1994, becoming part of the thriving hospitality industry. He met his wife Dana in 1999, a graduate of Cabrini College in Radnor, and a native of Abington. They continue to live in Upper Merion Township today.

Back in 2011 while out walking with a friend, the abundance of railroads in the township once again stirred his curiosity, as many working and abandoned railways were discovered. This once again opened the “Pandora’s Box” in him, and Michael was off and running to find out more about the influence of the many rail systems of the township. Soon realizing that there was no solid single source of information on the subject, he decided to document the story himself, and the idea for “The Railroads Of King of Prussia, PA: The Past Leads to the Future,” was born.

Through exhaustive research in libraries, historical societies, and museums, along with countless hours of fieldwork, Michael gained a unique perspective as to the influence of the railroads in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and began writing about what he found. He was driven by a set of principles learned early on. He learned to always document his facts so as to keep his research honest, to confirm his research by recording its sources, and to always get permission to use a document, photograph or a story.

The book is dedicated to his wife Dana, and has been endorsed by the King of Prussia Historical Society for its accuracy in telling this story of our rich local history.