The Cass Scenic Railroad

Morning mist, like a transparent sheath, rose from the				The Cass Mill, having been owned by the West
green-carpeted Cheat Mountain in West Virginia's				Virginia Spruce Lumber Company between 1902 and
Monongahela National Forest on that Memorial Day				1910, the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company
weekend, but the hot sun quickly intercepted it during				between 1910 and 1942, and the Mower Lumber
its gentle ascent, leaving a flawlessly blue sky.				Company between 1942 and 1960, had been
Like a pocket of history, somehow frozen in time, the				comprised of the drying kilns, the boiler house, the
town of Cass, accessed via curving, mountain-hugging				powerhouse, the sawmill itself, the millpond, and the
roads and a short, Greenbrier River-traversing bridge,				storage area for finished lumber, all located between
sported its railroad depot, historic buildings, and dual				the tracks and the Greenbrier River. Reconstruction
tracks, all cradled by a valley in Back Allegheny				occurred from 1922 to 1923 because of fire, the
Mountain. The tracks themselves, stretching toward				reason for its final demise during the 1980s.
and disappearing into a dense forest, were the very				II
reason for the town and its railroad and also the				Belching thick, black smoke from its stack and clanging
reason why neither disappeared into history.				its bell, Shay locomotive #6 pulled its still-empty cars to
Densely covered with virgin forests during the late-19th				the Cass depot on the left of the two main tracks 30
century, West Virginia ubiquitously sprouted oak,				minutes before its 1100 departure to Bald Knob on that
hickory, pine, walnut, and chestnut at its lower				late-May morning, a four-and-a-half hour, 22-mile round
elevations and hemlock, spruce, maple, and birch at its				trip journey.
higher ones, providing rich lumber resources, with its				The cars themselves consisted of six wooden,
eight- to nine-foot diameter trees, for the houses,				converted logging cars with paneless windows, a roof,
stores, churches, and schools demanded by the state's				and side-facing bench seats, painted green with red
increasing population.				window trim, and a single wooden, enclosed coach
Logging, once dependent upon rivers to power				with forward- and aft-facing, booth-like seats,
sawmills, evolved into a significant industry with the				designated "Leatherbark Creek."
concurrent development of the steam engine and the				The depot next to which they stood, constructed here
circular saw, a combination which permitted location				in 1901 to serve the just-completed Greenbrier Division
anywhere the operation required it, independent of				of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, was modified in
external water power.				1923 to accommodate an increasing volume of freight
Trees were traditionally felled, cut into manageably				and passengers, but the present wooden,
sized logs, propelled down slopes by means of				white-painted structure was rebuilt in 1979, four years
wooden skids to streams, and transported to mills on				after fire had claimed the original one.
log rafts.				The 162-ton, Class C-150 Shay locomotive #6, originally
Because of the inherent imprecision and danger of the				constructed for the Western Maryland Railway and
manual skidding method, the Lidgerwood Company of				the largest of its type, had been shipped to Elkins,
New York designed the first steam-powered skidder,				West Virginia, on May 14, 1945 for service on the
which constituted another logging industry				nine-percent graded Chaffee Branch. The three-truck
advancement. First used in West Virginia in 1904, the				engine, with 48-inch drivers, a 17-inch bore, and an
device, featuring a mile of 1 7/8-inch thick cable which				18-inch stroke, was then donated to the Baltimore and
extended up to 2,600 feet, was either mounted directly				Ohio Museum, in Baltimore, Maryland, after four years,
on the ground or atop a rail-provisioned flat car,				and was subsequently exchanged for a Cass Scenic
gripping the log and transferring it from forest to				Railroad Porter 0-4-0 after another 26. Other
stream in a secure, controlled manner. It significantly				locomotives in its inventory include the 93-ton Shay #2,
increased the capability of the horse-drawn method it				the 80-ton Shay #4, the 90-ton Shay #5, and the
often replaced.				103-ton Shay #11. A 70-ton Shay #9 and 100-ton
Water-born logging rafts, as equally imprecise because				Heisler #6, although not currently operational, round out
of rock, boulder, branch, and rapids obstructions during				the fleet.
the summer and ice in the winter, were eventually				Emitting an ear-shattering whistle and releasing a
replaced with steam-operated loaders and logging				volcanic eruption of billowing, blinding black smoke, the
railroads.				Shay #6, assuming a pusher-configuration, bit into the
Large band saws, substituting for the earlier, circular				rails and prodded its cars into abrupt motion, steam
device, converted timber into lumber more rapidly,				pressure pulsing its pistons which then rotated its
precisely, and efficiently, eliminating needless waste,				crankshaft, and this, in turn, rotated the all-driver wheels
and had an average daily capability of 125,000				through reduction gear. Plying the tracks acquired by
board-feet.				the state park in 1978 after the Chesapeake and
By the late-19th century, West Virginia had become				Ohio's Greenbrier Division had operated its last freight
one of the country's largest lumber producers, more				service on them, the train moved past the water tank,
than one hundred railroads transporting raw timber to				which had been shared with the C&O, but is presently
mills for cutting and processing before being shipped				a replica which had been installed in 2005. It also
for sale as a finished product. Peaking in 1909, the				marked the spot, at the junction switch, where the
industry cut some 1,473 million board feet of lumber per				logging railroad actually began.
year.				The deadline, cradling several locomotives, was the
One of the most major logging operations had been				service area for coaling, sanding, and repairing.
the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company. Founded				Crossing Back Mountain Road, the train trundled near
in 1899 when John G. Luke acquired more than 67,000				the original, 1901 track, which had been on a cribbing
acres of red spruce in West Virginia, it was a				through the wet bottomland of Leatherbark Creek, and
subsidiary of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper				the bridges which had traversed it had been little more
Company located in Covington, Virginia.				than wood stringers until they had been replaced by
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, foreseeing a				steel structures in 1959. West Virginia's highest stream,
need for freight and lumber transportation, hastened its				the creek itself flowed from a point below Bald Knob.
own plans to extend its track into northern Pocahontas				Rumbling and vibrating with every track joint traverse,
County, incorporating a subsidiary designated the				the chain of cars commenced a four-percent graded
"Greenbrier Railway Company" in 1897 and				ascent through a cool, almost sun-obstructing forest of
commencing roadbed and track construction two				tall spruce, hemlock, white pine, and red spruce trees,
years later. The line reached the area that December.				the raw timber which constituted the very reason for
Threshold to virgin forests, it was uniquely positioned to				the railroad's creation. Most had now been third-cut
carry timber to the Covington sawmill and also to				vegetation, with the patches receiving the most sunlight
connect with the Coal and Iron Railway, which itself				having been the first to regrow.
was later amalgamated into the Western Maryland				In order to avoid an excessive amount of
Railway.				circumventing track and gain the maximum amount of
Although it provided a vital link, it did not penetrate the				elevation in the minimum amount of distance, the
mountain-clinging forests themselves, nor did it possess				logging railroad installed two switchbacks, the lower of
the proper locomotive equipment to do so. Logging				which was reached at mile 2.3. Ceasing motion
railroad track, by necessity, exhibited several unique				beyond the actual v-configured rails before releasing a
characteristics. Mountain forests usually dictated both				soot-reeking geyser from its stack and assaulting the
sharp curves, which could equal 35 degrees, and steep				forest's solitude with a billowing stream of coal cinders,
grades, which required switchbacks to surmount, while				the Shay locomotive, puffing and panting, lurched its
track needed to be portable, moved after each area				cars in a pulling mode, filling its lungs with every
was cut and depleted. Resultantly, it was usually built				chugging breath as the crankshaft provided the vital
up of short, skinned logs directly laid on the bare earth,				connection between the vertical pistons and the
without the benefit of prepared roadbeds, and the rails				rotating wheels. Settling into a rhythmic, albeit explosive,
themselves were then spiked to them. Rail weight,				forest-echoing chug, the mass re-established motion.
ranging between 50 and 75 pounds per yard, was				Initiating a 22-degree curve on a 3.65-percent grade,
more than sufficient.				the Bald Knob run arced into the 158-degree circle
Although these temporary, impromptu tracks fulfilled				characterizing Gum Curve at mile 2.6. The
the immediate need before being moved to the next				sun-illuminated clearing, comprised of rolling,
location, they were ill-suited to conventional, rod-type				velvet-green pastures, revealed the equally green
locomotives with their rigid frames and fixed driving				waves of the highlands off the left side.
axles. Often falling victim to imperfections, they slipped				At mile 3.1, the train's seven cars, bombarded with
and frequently derailed. What was needed was an				lung-choking steam and smoke, moved past Limestone
engine with numerous, small drive wheels, ideally				Cut, the track's roadbed having been created after
ranging between eight and 16, which could deliver				limestone rock itself had been hand-cut with the aid of
low-speed traction, continuous contact, positive power,				picks, shovels, black powder, and horse-drawn pans.
and effective braking, yet exhibit considerable flexibility.				Once again immersed in dense, dark forest, the
Ephraim Shay, a Michigan logger who was well				railroad maneuvered through an arrest-reinitiated
acquainted with such obstacles, designed the first				motion sequence as it spewed black plumes to the
articulated locomotive for logging purposes in 1874. Its				towering treetops and negotiated the upper
driving force was subdivided into the				switchback, the locomotive assuming its
cylinders-connecting rods and the driving wheels				pusher-configuration.
mounted on pivoting trucks, the side-mounted cylinders				Mountains, varying in color with distance, seemed to roll
themselves counterbalanced by an offset boiler, while				and crest, like ocean waves, dividing the line between
the tender truck's own driving axles both contributed to				Virginia and West Virginia. Those closest to the train
this force and added to the locomotive's adhesion				appeared green while those furthest from it appeared
weight. The geared steam engine, replacing the				dark-blue to gray.
conventional locomotive's rod-driving propulsion system,				Commencing a 0.2-mile, s-curve at a 7.1-percent grade,
was equally easy to maintain and repair with its entirely				the train crossed the access road to Whittaker and
exposed parts.				surmounted a plateau, a sanctuary-exuding meadow in
The first such Shay, patented and constructed by the				the middle of a steep forest flanked on either side by
Lima Machine Works of Lima, Ohio, in 1880, featured				densely treed mountains. Having climbed from 2,452
slide vales, a vertical boiler, and eight drivers.				feet at Cass to a current 3,250 at Whittaker Station,
Later, progressively larger examples sported three				the Shay engine breathed a sigh and suspended its
right-side mounted vertical cylinders counterbalanced				journey at 1145.
by a left side boiler, which itself provided clearance for				Aside from the views of Cheat Mountain and the
the cylinders, and a small water tender-connected coal				snackbar facilities, the station itself afforded the
bunker located immediately behind the cab. Since the				opportunity to experience the Mountain State Railroad
engine was seldom far from either a coal or water				and Logging Association's reconstructed logger's
supply, its relatively small capacity proved sufficient.				camp.
Cylinder pistons, by means of bevel gears, enabled				Originally the site of a Hungarian railroad laborer's camp
each truck to independently negotiate the rail's				during the turn-of-the-century, the present
imperfections and their small, 36-inch drive wheels				reconstruction, depicting a later set-up from about 1946,
provided the needed adhesion and traction. Yet, since				featured three tracks on which railroad cars,
all wheels were interconnected either by line shafts or				equipment, and miners shanties were positioned, the
axles, single-wheel slippages were impossible.				latter built using measurements from actual structures
The Shay locomotive, enjoying a 2,771-production run				near Bald Knob.
between 1880 and 1945, proved to be the most				Although such camps were usually isolated, spartan,
ideally-suited and numerically most popular powerplant				and offered little more than a suspension between
for logging operations, whether specifically in West				work shifts to facilitate washing, eating, and sleeping
Virginia, where more than 400 were employed, or				until the person could return to the main logging town,
elsewhere. It also had limited application for				such as Cass, they were an integral part of West
steep-grade, heavy-load lines and industrial switching.				Virginia railroad logging from the late-1800s to 1960.
The West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company's first				Because the activity had constituted the predominant
locomotive was a two-truck, 42-ton Shay.				growth industry during this period, and because timber
The first pulpwood shipment to the Covington, Virginia,				companies needed significant numbers of immigrant
paper mill, hauled by the Greenbrier Railway Company,				workers to meet their operational requirements, they
was made on January 28, 1901, but what was needed				usually contracted large city-located labor agents to
for more immediate processing and independent				screen and hire them. Typically, they encompassed
operation was a strategically located sawmill. This				people from Italy, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Hungary,
became operational the following year.				Russia, and Poland. The camps, crude and crowded,
In order to support the massive workforce required for				employed kerosene lamps for light and coal or wood
a rapidly expanding logging enterprise, a company				for heat. Food, in copious quantities, was vital to
town, designated "Cass" after West Virginia Pulp and				worker productivity.
Paper Company Vice President Joseph P. Cass,				The Whittaker camp's four-wheel logging caboose,
arose from a small farming community and wagon				constructed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1883,
road river crossing previously called "Leatherbark				was usually attached at the end of logging trains and
Ford."				accommodated by brakemen and management-level
Carefully planned and revolving round the sawmill itself,				personnel so that they could inspect remote sites.
the incorporated town, with an official major and				Later employed in Swandale, Clay County, it was
council, was located on one side of the Greenbrier				finally acquired by the Cass Scenic Railroad.
River and boasted of a 2,000-strong population,				The camp's several shanties, which utilized
sustained by houses, schools, stores, offices, churches,				less-than-premium lumber and were transported from
and civic and social organizations. It quickly blossomed				area to area after it had been depleted of trees,
into one of West Virginia's largest boom towns.				exemplified the structure's size and internal facilities
Its three-story Pocahontas Supply Company store,				relative to position importance. The wood shanty was
constructed in 1902 and partially rebuilt 16 years later				tiny. The filer's shanty contained a larger window to
after fire had consumed its upper floor, sold everything				provide maximum light for saw sharpening. And the
from food to appliances to furniture and was the				desk-provisioned surveyor/cruiser shanty was housed
nucleus of the town. It had also served as the site of				by the men who determined which timber should be
the US Post Office and the lumber company's offices.				cut and how it should be removed from the mountain.
The smaller shop next to it housed Nethkin's Meat				The kitchen and dining car, sporting a long,, bench-lined,
Market.				internal table for eating, and the abundant portions
Residents used wooden boardwalks to negotiate the				served on it, were tantamount to sustaining logging
area by foot.				operations, since the human bodies were the primary
Contrasted with the brothels and hotels located on the				"machines" involved in the operational chain, over and
town's east side, which was alternatively dubbed "East				above the mechanical ones, and therefore had to be
Cass" or "Dirty Street," the dual-structure comprising				properly "fueled." There had been little else to which
the Cass Hotel was frequented by businessmen,				loggers would look forward during their nocturnal
workers in good standing, and respected visitors.				downtimes.
The elite, in general, lived in the town's Big Bug Hill				Sleeping in spartan surroundings, as evidenced by the
section.				lobby/bunk car, was the standard until the worker
The mayor's office, replacing a temporarily employed				could return to home and family in the company town.
boxcar for incarcerations, ironically housed the more				A stove provided warmth and a method by which
permanent jail on its first floor and the mayoral				wet clothes could be dried throughout the night.
headquarters on its second.				The diesel-powered log loader, usually riding
Between 1901 and 1920, the railroad had constituted				car-fastened rails and thus capable of both
Cass's only access.				independent and collective movement with the
Propelled by its small Shay locomotive, the West				remainder of the train, facilitated log transfer from
Virginia Spruce Lumber Company commenced logging				ground to rolling stock. The camp's example was
railroad operations in January of 1901, pulling red				capable of handling tree-length specimens.
spruce-piled flat cars over an initial eight miles of				The steam-driven Lidgerwood log skidder, operated by
off-line track in order to supply the Covington paper mill				a three-man crew and built by the Meadow River
with pulpwood until Cass's own mill had been				Lumber Company in 1944, had been employed for
completed the following year. By 1908, the operation				some two decades, and facilitated log delivery from
had sustained dramatic growth, with logging trains				the cutting source to the actual railroad by means of
running both day and night, supported by 200 draft				an aerial cable.
horses and 1,000 men and supplying the mill with				Snoozing during its 15-minute interlude, the black Shay
hemlock and spruce bark. Forty-four daily cars hauled				locomotive exhaled white streams of breath through
raw material and finished products from Cass.				its vertical piston nostrils, the high-pressure steam
After subsidiary West Virginia Spruce Lumber				discharged from the cylinders itself eradicating its
Company had been acquired by and amalgamated				piston chambers of condensation. The restful state,
into parent Pulp and Paper, and the operation had				however, was soon shattered by its subsequently
entered its second life phase, the railroad had been				released, atmosphere-piercing whistle, its sound waves
rechartered as the Greenbrier, Cheat, and Elk, opening				reverberating off of the surrounding slopes and
a main line into the Elk River Watershed in order to log				beckoning the passengers back to the cars for the
a 2,000-foot-long by 100-foot-deep area designated				continuing journey.
the "Big Cut," then the largest and most costly				Re-boring its way through the deep, dense wood
engineering project ever undertaken by an eastern				forest, whose foliage slowly moved by like a green
logging company. Comprised of 82 miles of main and				mosaic within an arm's length of the windowless
40 additional miles of spur line track at its peak, it				coaches, the train trundled over the culvert at
enjoyed 21 years of common-carrier operations.				Whittaker Run, the sharper curve of the old grade
A typical logging operation entailed cutting the				visible on the track's low side.
designated trees, skidding them down the slope to the				Clinging to Leatherbark Gorge, the rails briefly threaded
tracks, and loading them, as log limbs, on to the flatbed				their way through Austin Meadows, on whose slope
cars, cradled between vertical, side-forming and				farm fields once grew, and thence over Gobbler's
-mounted wooden stakes, which formed pockets.				Knob.
After being transported to the mill, they were unloaded				A skidder set, located on a 225-foot siding on the uphill
in to the mill pond, at which time pike-provisioned men				side of the train at mile 5.4, had occupied the site
channeled them on to jack slips-inclined, cleated,				between 1940 and 1941, its 3,000-foot cable
conveyor belt-like chains-for travel into the actual mill's				transferring logs at a 500-foot height over the creek
sawing room. The finished product, assuming the form				from the far mountainside.
of cut board, was then dried and reloaded on to				Climbing a 5.4- to six-percent grade at mile 6.0, the
standard-gauge trains pulled by traditional rod				string of cars passed an overlook whose view took in
locomotives for distribution to the company or lumber				Leatherbark Creek Valley, located below the lower
yard which had ordered them.				switchback and from which smoke, created by the
The mill, equipped with 11 miles of steam pipes, cut				1200 Whittaker train, now rose. At the present
more than 125,000 board feet of lumber per shift and				elevation, spruce trees had become ubiquitous.
dried 360,000 per run, there having been two 11-hour				The logging spur leading to Camp 5, which had been
shifts per day, scheduled six days per week, resulting				hollowed in 1911, moved off the side at mile 6.2.
in 1.5 million board feet per week and 35 million per				The tracks, forking a half-mile further into the journey,
year.				led to Old Spruce on the left and Bald Knob on the
The West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company, having				right, the former following the main line which
grown into one of West Virginia's largest logging				connected with tracks destined for the Cheat and Elk
enterprises, was continually subjected to expansion, as				River drainages at the abandoned mill town of Spruce.
evidenced by its statistics: the Greenbrier, Cheat, and				Located at a 3,940-foot elevation on the Shavers Fork
Elk Railroad had operated over 66 miles of track by				of the Cheat River, the bark-peeling pulpwood mill- and
1917 and over 101 miles four years later, when the				railroad shop-equipped town was considered the
workforce had exceeded 1,500.				"highest and coldest...in the east."
But, by the time World War II had raged, the forests				Arcing to the right of the two, the train entered the
surrounding Cass had been depleted, despite				logging spur, and the last to have been laid by the
still-prevalent hardwood and second-growth trees				Mower Lumber Company, so that it could access the
below Bald Knob. The West Virginia Pulp and Paper				highest-elevation timber. It served as the threshold to
Company, unable to justify the economic viability of				Bald Knob.
extending its track into the timber span, sold the				Operations, ceasing in 1960, never permitted use of the
operation to F. Edwin Mower, head of the				railroad grade located on the high side and destined for
Charleston-based Mower Lumber Company. Demand				the head of Leatherbark Creek.
for southern yellow pine, traditionally used for paper				Arresting its travel on the eight-percent graded track
production, had already precipitated a decline and				at the Oats Creek water tank, the engine was
68,000 acres had been sold to the US Forest Service				intravenously-fed 4,000 gallons of the life-providing liquid
in 1936. The remainder had been acquired by Mower.				by means of a steam-driven siphon and portable hose
The West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company thus				extending from an old mill boiler which continually
entered the third phase of its life, albeit under a new				collected creek water run-off. The 6,000-gallon tank,
name.				located directly over the engine's driver wheels,
Laying 12 miles of short branch track off the Cabin				ensured both increased traction and greater rail
Fork Line to Bald Knob, the Mower Lumber Company				adhesion.
was able to continue harnessing the precious wood				Somehow emulating a polluting factory, the Shay
resource. But with only 65,000 acres remaining by				locomotive once again released a black, vertical plume
1960, a handful of still-unharvested hardwood patches,				as it propelled the train over the seven-percent grade
and deteriorating rolling stock and machinery, it only				of Johnson Run, at mile 8.2, past the Snowshoe ski
operated three weekly trains pulled by an equal				resort overlook, now entrenched in third-cut hemlock,
number of Shay locomotives, and finally ceased				ash, white pine, and red spruce tree sentinels.
operations on June 30 of that year. Victim, like most of				The wye, at mile 9.1, had led to a one-mile-long spur off
the other logging railroad enterprises to forest depletion				to the left which had been equipped with five skidder
and new, automated mill processing methods, it				sets and a camp train between 1950 and 1951, but had
retreated into the history books, leaving less than				since been reduced to a fraction of this length.
half-a-dozen concerns in West Virginia. Its track, mills,				Clanking, lurching, swaying, and screaming with protests
machinery, engines, and cars almost went with it.				at every turn, and releasing its own periodic explosion
The Midwest Raleigh Steel Corporation, to which the				of steam, the train moved round the Big Run
operation's components had been sold, began				watershed, at a 1.5-percent downgrade, the track
dismantling its track, with the intention of having it				having been laid from Shavers Fork in 1910 when
completely removed before the onset of winter, while				skidding had still been accomplished by means of
the locomotives, rolling stock, and logging equipment				horse power.
would be junked. Walworth Farms, a landholding				Moving through the ten-mile marker, it traversed the
company, acquired its wooded property.				logging road crossing, initiating its final, mile-long
Russel C. Baum, a Pennsylvania rail fan who				approach to the mountain's summit on a nine-percent
coincidentally spent a three-day vacation in Marlinton,				grade. A small clearing indicated imminent arrival.
West Virginia, during this time, witnessed the				Passing the left-arcing logging railroad grade, the train
painstaking dismemberment process, but immediately				ceased motion for a final time at mile 11.0 in the cooler,
foresaw the historical and tourist value of the railroad.				more rarefied air at 4,750-foot Bald Knob, the highest
Commencing a campaign to save it and pleading his				point reached east of the Rocky Mountains by a
case in Charleston's Capitol Building, he was able to				non-cog railroad and the third-highest in the state of
obtain a temporary injunction which dictated				West Virginia.
suspension of the dismantling process, and a				The billous black, 162-ton Shay locomotive, having
committee, formed for the purpose of investigating its				voraciously consumed mini-mountains of coal and
tourism potential, ultimately recommended that the				unquenchably gulped water by the thousand gallons,
state acquire its roadbed, rolling stock, and 40 acres on				instantaneously ceased its persistent chug, belch, hiss,
Back Allegheny Mountain for $150,000. It would then be				screech, clang, and shrill at 1320, leaving silence-and the
operated by the Department of Natural Resources. On				breathtaking view of the gentle, dark green, blue, and
June 15, 1963, the operation entered its fourth life phase				gray, wave-resembling ridges rolling into one another
when the Cass Scenic Railroad was born.				almost 5,000 feet above the surface from the eastern
Pulled by Shay locomotive #4, the first				edge of the Allegheny Highland, as viewed from the
passenger-carrying excursion train left Cass and the				scenic overlook platform.
railroad carried 23,106 during its first year of operations.				Eleven miles ahead lay the mountains marking the
That number has increased every year since.				Virginia border, but only a few yards behind, cradled by
Restoring the line to fully operational status, it opened				the terminating track, was the Shay #6 locomotive, its
the second portion, to Bald Knob, on May 25, 1968, to				coal tender, and its seven vacant cars. Its forest- and
the excursion train, its tracks having now carried both				five sense-assaulting technology, although now crude
logs and passengers.				and primitive, had been instrumental in West Virginia
On the same date, Cass Scenic Railroad State Park,				logging railroad history, once removing the raw,
which includes almost 100 buildings in the town itself,				vitally-needed timber to build the country's towns and
was added to the National Register of Historic Places,				sustain their people, but today returned them to the
and today, as a unit of the West Virginia Park System,				mountain forest where they could witness its feats.
is the site of the nation's longest-running tourist railway,				Enticed back to the train 40 minutes later for the
the geared steam locomotive, the mill town, the				11-mile journey back to Cass, the passengers,
locomotive repair shop, the Cass Company store, the				numbering in the hundreds, owed it a silent salute.
Last Run Restaurant, and the Shay Railroad Shop.

LocoTrain

The Cass Scenic Railroad