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Cass Scenic Railroad State Park | |
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![]() Cass Scenic Railroad Heisler #6 along with Shay #11 lead a loaded log train down the former C&O Greenbrier Division mainline. | |
Location | Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States |
Nearest town | Cass, West Virginia |
Coordinates | 38°23′48″N79°54′53″W / 38.39667°N 79.91472°W |
Area | 940 acres (380 ha) [2] |
Elevation | 2,438 ft (743 m) |
Established | March 7, 1961 [3] [ page needed ] |
Named for | Former logging railroad at Cass, West Virginia |
Governing body | West Virginia Division of Natural Resources |
Website | wvstateparks |
Cass Scenic Railroad State Park is a state park and heritage railroad located in Cass, Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
It consists of the Cass Scenic Railroad, a 11-mile (18 km) long 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge heritage railway owned by the West Virginia State Rail Authority and operated by the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad. The park also includes the former company town of Cass and a portion of the summit of Bald Knob, the highest point on Back Allegheny Mountain.
Founded in 1901 by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company (now WestRock), Cass was built as a company town to serve the needs of the men who worked in the nearby mountains cutting spruce and hemlock for the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company, a subsidiary of WVP&P. At one time, the sawmill at Cass was the largest double-band sawmill in the world. It processed an estimated 1.25 billion board feet (104,000,000 cu ft; 2,950,000 m3) of lumber during its lifetime. In 1901 work started on the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge railroad, which climbs Back Allegheny Mountain. The railroad eventually reached a meadow area, now known as Whittaker Station, where a logging camp was established for the immigrants who were building the railroad. The railroad soon reached to the top of Gobblers Knob, and then a location on top of the mountain known as 'Spruce'. The railroad built a small town at that location, complete with a company store, houses, a hotel, and a doctor's office. Work soon commenced on logging the red spruce trees, which grew in the higher elevations.
The WVP&P originally had only been interested in the red spruce for the purpose of making pulp, which would be turned into paper. It was not until several years later that the company realized that the mountain held a fortune in hardwoods, such as maple, cherry, birch and oak. The company decided that it would build a mill in the town of Cass, which could process the hardwoods.
The railroad eventually extended its track to the top of Bald Knob, the third-highest mountain peak in West Virginia. The red spruce in that area was logged out, and the track was torn up in the early 1910s. The track was also extended to a valley near the town of Spruce, at a bend in the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River. The WVP&P set up a new town there, with about 30 company houses, a large company store, a school, and a pulp mill, where the red spruce trees could be processed on the spot. The new town was also named Spruce, and the former town received its current name of Old Spruce.
In June 1942, WVP&P sold the Cass operation to Mower Lumber Company, which operated the line until July 1, 1960, cutting second-growth timber off Cheat Mountain. The mill and railroad were shut down by Mower in 1960, due to the rapid decline of the timber industry in the region.
Following the 1960 closure, the rail line, land, and all equipment and rolling stock, were sold to a holding company named the Don Mower Lumber Company (no relation to the former Mower Lumber Company), and the railroad was conveyed to the Midwest Raleigh Corporation, which started to scrap the railroad and equipment. However, a group of local businessmen, led by Pennsylvania train aficionado Russell Baum, convinced the West Virginia state legislature to make the Cass Railroad a state park. In 1963, the first tourist excursion train left the Cass depot for Whittaker Station, 4 miles (6 km) north.
In 1977, the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park took possession of the entire company town of Cass and the old hardwood mill there. In 2015, the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad assumed operation of the railroad under a lease agreement with the State of West Virginia. [4]
Today, visitors ride on historic converted log cars (similar to flatcars), pushed along by a powerful geared logging locomotive. Traveling on 11 miles (18 km) of standard gauge track laid in 1901 by immigrant workers, the line traverses the steep grades of Back Allegheny Mountain.
The railroad owns eight Shay locomotives, one Heisler locomotive, and one Climax locomotive, which is being restored by volunteers of the Mountain State Railroad and Logging Historical Association. The Heisler and the Climax, both made in Pennsylvania, were competition to Shay's geared locomotive design.
Three trips are available: a two-hour round trip to Whittaker Station, a five-hour round trip to the abandoned site of the ghost town of Spruce (once the coldest and highest town east of the Rockies), and a five-hour round trip to Bald Knob, the third highest point in the state.
Former company houses have been refurbished and are available for rent through Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. A small cabin on Bald Knob is also available for rent, and cabooses can be reserved for private use as well.
Town and shop tours are available daily to visitors who would like to learn more about the town and its lumber industry, and see how the rare geared locomotives are maintained by the Cass shop crew. A tour of a recreated logging camp is available at Whittaker.
In October 2014, it was announced that the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) was transferring their administrative responsibilities to another state agency, the West Virginia State Rail Authority (WVSRA). Under the new arrangement, the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad (D&GV) will assume day-to-day operations of the line as part of their existing contract with the WVSRA. D&GV will control scheduling of trains, staffing train excursions, and maintaining the railroad and its equipment. The takeover began in 2015. [5] [6]
The WVDNR will maintain ownership of the right-of-way and equipment, as well as continue staffing and maintaining the non-railroad portions of the park, including the historic company town of Cass, the visitor's center, and the overnight cottage rentals that the park offers. [7] Listed below is a table of locomotives found at Cass and Durbin. [8]
Cass No. | Type | Manufacturer | Serial No. | Date built | Class | Weight | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Shay | Lima Locomotive Works | 3320 | Jul 1928 | PC-13 | 92 short tons (82.1 long tons; 83.5 metric tons) | Operational | In service |
3 | Shay | Lima Locomotive Works | 3142 | Dec 1920 | C-80-3 | 82 short tons (73.2 long tons; 74.4 metric tons) | Display | Not operational |
3 | Climax | Climax Locomotive Works | - | Dec 1920 | B-55-2 | 80 short tons (71.4 long tons; 72.6 metric tons) | Out of Service, awaiting overhaul | Awaiting 1,472-day inspection |
4 | Shay | Lima Locomotive Works | 3189 | Dec 1922 | C-70-3 | 85 short tons (75.9 long tons; 77.1 metric tons) | Operational | In service |
4 | 2-8-0 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 59472 | Sep 1926 | Ks | 80 short tons (71.4 long tons; 72.6 metric tons) | Under restoration | New boiler is needed. [9] Built initially for Mexico, but bought by Buffalo Creek & Gauley. |
5 | Shay | Lima Locomotive Works | 1503 | Nov 1905 | C-80-3 | 86 short tons (76.8 long tons; 78.0 metric tons) | Operational | WV state locomotive, oldest operational Shay |
6 | Heisler | Heisler Locomotive Works | 1591 | 1929 | C-90-3 | 100 short tons (89 long tons; 91 metric tons) | Operational | In service in Durbin, no longer kept at Cass although still owned by the State of WV |
6 | Shay | Lima Locomotive Works | 3354 | May 1945 | C-150-3 | 162 short tons (145 long tons; 147 metric tons) | Operational | Ex-Western Maryland Railway No. 6; Cass's biggest engine, largest Shay in existence, last Shay built |
7 | Shay | Lima Locomotive Works | 3131 | Oct 1920 | C-70-3 | 65 short tons (58.0 long tons; 59.0 metric tons) | Inoperable, stored | Not operational |
8 | 2-8-0 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 24738 | 1904 | - | N/A | Stored, awaiting restoration | Built for West Virginia Northern. [10] |
9 | 2-8-0 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 28500 | 1906 | - | N/A | Inoperable, stored | Built for West Virginia Northern. Currently stored, awaiting restoration [10] |
9 | Climax | Climax Locomotive Works | 1551 | 1919 | C-70-3 | - | Operational | Restoration completed in September 2019. [11] |
10 | Shay | Lima Locomotive Works | 2804 | Jan 1916 | C-70-3 | 62 short tons (55.4 long tons; 56.2 metric tons) | Inoperable, stored | Ex-Brimstone Railroad No. 36, not operational |
11 | Shay | Lima Locomotive Works | 3221 | Jul 1923 | C-90-3 | 105 short tons (94 long tons; 95 metric tons) | Operational | In service |
— | Shay | Lima Locomotive Works | 3299 | Feb 1926 | C-70-3 | 70 short tons (62.5 long tons; 63.5 metric tons) | Inoperable | Not operational, Ex-Graham County Railway 1926. Acquired for parts. |
A geared steam locomotive is a type of steam locomotive which uses gearing, usually reduction gearing, in the drivetrain, as opposed to the common directly driven design.
The Shay locomotive is a geared steam locomotive that originated and was primarily used in North America. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive. Although the design of Ephraim Shay's early locomotives differed from later ones, there is a clear line of development that joins all Shays. Shay locomotives were especially suited to logging, mining and industrial operations and could operate successfully on steep or poor quality track.
A Climax locomotive is a type of geared steam locomotive built by the Climax Manufacturing Company, of Corry, Pennsylvania. These had two steam cylinders attached to a transmission located under the center of the boiler, which sent power to driveshafts running to the front and rear trucks. Some 1,000-1,100 were built in three classes between 1888 and 1928.
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, 162 miles (261 km) long, in southeastern West Virginia, in the United States. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 1,656 square miles (4,290 km2). It is one of the longest rivers in West Virginia.
Bald Knob is the highest summit of Back Allegheny Mountain in Pocahontas County, West Virginia and is part of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. At an altitude of 4,843 feet (1,476 m) above sea level, Bald Knob is the third-highest point in West Virginia and the Allegheny Mountains.
The Potomac Highlands of West Virginia centers on five West Virginian counties in the upper Potomac River watershed in the western portion of the state's Eastern Panhandle, bordering Maryland and Virginia. Because of geographical proximity, similar topography and landscapes, and shared culture and history, the Potomac Highlands region also includes Pocahontas, Randolph, and Tucker counties, even though they are in the Monongahela River or New River watersheds and not that of the Potomac River.
Shavers Fork Mountain Complex is the name given to the mountains on either side of Shavers Fork in the highlands portions of Randolph County, Pocahontas County, and Tucker County in West Virginia, USA. Much of the land surrounding the river and its adjacent mountains is protected by Monongahela National Forest including about 20,000 acres (81 km2) of designated wilderness.
Cass is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community on the Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 38 at the 2020 census. The community, founded in 1901, was named for Joseph Kerr Cass, vice president and cofounder of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company.
Cheat Mountain is an exceptionally high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is about 50 miles (80 km) long and more than five miles (8 km) wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its southernmost end at Thorny Flat, which has an elevation of 4,848 feet (1,478 m). Several other knobs rise above 4,000 feet (1,200 m) along its length.
The Greenbrier River Trail (GRT), is a lineal state park comprising a 77.1-mile (124.1 km) rail trail between North Caldwell and Cass in eastern West Virginia, United States.
Leatherbark Run is the name of a stream in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. It is a tributary of the Greenbrier River.
Back Allegheny Mountain is a long mountain ridge in eastern West Virginia. It is part of the Shavers Fork Mountain Complex in the Allegheny Range of the Appalachians.
The Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad (BC&G) was a railroad chartered on April 1, 1904 and ran along Buffalo Creek in Clay County, West Virginia. The original Buffalo Creek and Gauley ended service in 1965.
The Meadow River Lumber Company, which operated in Rainelle, West Virginia from 1906 to 1975, was the largest hardwood sawmill in the world. It had three 9 feet (2.7 m) bandsaws under one roof. In 1928, during peak production, its 500 employees produced 31 million board feet of lumber, cutting 3,000 acres (12 km2) of virgin timber a year.
The Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad is a heritage and freight railroad in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. It operates the West Virginia State Rail Authority-owned Durbin Railroad and West Virginia Central Railroad, as well as the Shenandoah Valley Railroad in Virginia.
Warren Elmer "Tweard" Blackhurst (1904–1970) was an author and a lifelong resident of the Cass community who centered on the culture of eastern West Virginia where the higher elevations supported northern pine forests. "Riders of the Flood" which is arguably the most well-known of Blackhurst's books, for it centers on the world of the late 19th to early 20th-century logging industry in eastern West Virginia through the Greenbrier River and its tributaries.
The Greenbrier, Cheat and Elk Railroad (GC&E) was a logging railroad in West Virginia operating in the early 20th century. Its main line ran from Bergoo to Cheat Junction, where it connected with the Western Maryland Railway (WM).
The St. Lawrence Boom and Manufacturing Company was a lumber company based in Ronceverte, West Virginia. It was founded in 1802 by a Colonel Cecil C. Clay, a former US Army Brigadier-General from Philadelphia.
Spruce is a ghost town in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. Spruce is 9.5 miles (15.3 km) southwest of Durbin.
Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad No. 4 is a preserved 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive. It was constructed by Baldwin in 1926 as the only locomotive to be bought-new by the Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad. It served the railroad by pulling coal and lumber trains throughout Clay County, West Virginia until it was retired in 1965. No. 4 was restored to operating condition by the Quakertown and Eastern Railroad for excursion service in Pennsylvania, and it made its way to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in 1978. No. 4 was subsequently used to pull tourist trains across the museum's property in Spencer, North Carolina from when its multi-year overhaul was completed in 1986 to when its flue time expired in 2001. The locomotive spent fourteen years in storage, waiting for a rebuild that never came to fruition. In 2015, No. 4 was purchased by the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad, who moved it to their shops with the hopes of restoring it to run it on their trackage between Durbin and Cass, West Virginia.