James and Thomas Shaw began their careers as flour millers and sawmillers in Ontario.
In 1889, they moved to Dauphin, MB and opened a flour mill and a sawmill on the Valley River.
In 1899, they moved their mill to Edwards Creek at the base of the Riding Mountains.
In 1906 (the year after Saskatchewan became a province), they built their own railway called the Shaw Logging Railroad to transport logs to their mill, and finished product from their mill to the Canadian Northern Railway line that ran between Erwood and Melfort.
They owned and used two Type B Geared Shay Locomotives, which were able to run fully-loaded on grades up to 12%.