G.E. Nordell's West Virginia Railroads Pages
Cass Scenic Railroad
[built 1901]
page under construction {started in January 2019}
The standard-gauge Cass Scenic Railroad was built in 1901 to provide access for harvesting first-growth forests in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. The abandoned lumber & rail & housing facilities were saved by local businessmen in 1960 and the State of West Virginia designated the land a state park.
The West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company (now WestRock) built Cass, West Virginia in 1901 as a company town to serve the needs of the workers of the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company, a subsidiary of WVP&P, harvesting old-growth spruce and hemlock for the sawmill at Cass. Construction began on a standard gauge railroad in 1901, which climbed Back Allegheny Mountain to the north; the railroad reached a meadow area, now known as Whittaker Station, where a logging camp was established; the railroad 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.
The railroad extended its track to the top of Bald Knob, the third-highest mountain peak in West Virginia, then logged out all the red spruce in that area, and the track was torn up in the early 1910s. The railroad was also extended to a valley at a bend in the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River; 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 Village.
In June 1942, WVP&P sold the Cass operation to Mower Lumber Company, which operated the line, cutting second-growth timber off Cheat Mountain; the mill and railroad were shut down by Mower 1 July 1960, due to rapid decline of the timber industry in the region; the Cass operations were sold to a holding company and then to a scrapper, which began to dismantle the railroad. However, a group of local businessmen convinced the West Virginia state legislature to purchase the Cass Railroad and make it a state park; the first tourist excursion train departed the Cass depot for Whittaker Station in 1963. In 1977, the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park took possession of the entire company town of Cass and the old hardwood mill there; the railroad shops burned down in July 1972; the Cass sawmill burned down in 1982; a flood in 1985 closed much of the Greenbrier line. In 2015, the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad assumed operation of the railroad under a lease agreement with the State of West Virginia.
Excursions vary with season and weather, so check the website for details; the two main trips on the Cass Scenic are a 4-mile trip by steam to Whittaker Station {two-hour round trip}, and the 11-mile trip by steam to the top of Bald Knob {4˝-hour round trip}. The Wild Heart Package is designed for overnight stays: Option 1 is from Cass by steam to Old Spruce Village, transfer to Durbin & Greenbrier Valley's diesel-powered Cheat Mountain Salamander to Elkins; Option 2 begins at Elkins by diesel, transfers to Cass steam locomotives at Old Spruce, visits Bald Knob, then heads downhill to Cass. Former company houses have been refurbished and are available for rent, a small cabin on Bald Knob is also available for rent, and cabooses can be reserved for private use as well.
official website • entry at Wikipedia
Cass Scenic Railroad Routes and Stations
click here for large official park map as .PDF file (in a new window)
The Greenbrier Division of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway served Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties in West Virginia; construction began at Ronceverte, West Virginia in July 1899 and was completed to Cass in December 1900, to Durbin in 1902, and to Winterburn in 1905; the final length was 100.96 miles; a junction was made at Durbin in 1903 with the Coal & Iron Railroad, later part of the Western Maryland Railway.
 | "The Durbin Route: The Greenbrier Division of The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway" [1985] by William Price McNeel Pictorial Histories Publng Co. 11x8½ pb [6/85] out of print/used |
West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company began construction in 1901 of the town of Cass - a station on the newly-arrived C&O Railroad - along with a sawmill
and a standard-gauge logging railroad, establishing Whittaker Station, then Gobblers Knob, then Spruce, then reaching the top of Bald Knob.
The branch to the new town of Spruce was built circa 1920s.
The official stations or water stops are (moving uphill, basically west and then northward):
the town of Cass [elev. 2452]
connection with Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Greenbrier Division
the town of Whittaker Station [elev. 3264]
Gobblers Knob
the ghost town of Old Spruce Village [elev. 3853]
Bald Knob Overlook [elev. 4843]
branch line along Shavers Fork of the Cheat River (built circa 1920s)
the town of Spruce [elev. 3868]
connection with West Virginia Central RR
The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad operates both the Cass Scenic Railroad and the West Virginia Central RR.
Cass Scenic Railroad Locomotive Roster
All Cass Scenic equipment is standard gauge; Western Maryland 'Big 6' is the last Shay ever built and the largest still in existence.
thorough Cass Scenic Locomotive Roster page at Mountain State Railroad & Logging Historical Assn.
year type/class number history disposition/status 1905 3-truck Shay-geared locomotive #1 G.W. Huntley Lumber Co. #1; purchased 1915; retired 5/1974; traded to B&O Museum 5/1981 on static display at B&O Museum 1928 3-truck Pacific Coast Shay #2 Mayo Lumber Co. and Vancouver Wharfs, BC, Canada; purchased in 1970 in shops for overhaul (2014) 1923 3-truck Shay-geared locomotive first #3 Independence Logging Co., WA; Mount Emily Lumber Co., OR; purchased by Oregon Historical Society, 1970; 20-year lease to CSRR; returned to Oregon 1994 occasional service at Prineville, OR 1920 3-truck Shay-geared locomotive #3 Eastern Railway & Lumber Co. and S.A. Agnew Lumber Co. at Centralia, WA; purchased 10/2002 on static display beside Cass Depot 1922 3-truck Shay-geared locomotive #4 Birch Valley Lumber; purchased by Mower Lumber 1943; in shops 1999-2007 in regular service 1905 3-truck Shay-geared locomotive #5 Greenbrier & Elk River RR; became Mower Lumber #5 6/1942 in regular service 1929 3-truck Heisler-geared locomotive #6 Bostonia Coal & Clay #20; Meadow River Lumber Co.; purchased 12/1966; new boiler 1999 in regular service 1920 3-truck Shay-geared locomotive #7 Raine Lumber Co. #3; Meadow River Lumber Co. #7; purchased 12/1964 not operational (used for parts) 1919 3-truck Climax-geared locomotive #9 Moore-Keppel & Co.; Middle Fork RR; purchased 10/1970 restoration work by MSRLHA 80% complete in 2015; taken over by DGVRR 1916 3-truck Shay-geared locomotive #10 W.M. Carney Mill Co. #5; W.M. Ritter Lumber Co. #1; Brimstone & New River RR #36; fan owner 3/1987; purchased 4/1994 awaiting repairs since 1993 1923 3-truck Shay-geared locomotive #11 Hutchinson Lumber Company, CA #3; museum use 1965-91; purchased 5/1997; in service 9/1999 in regular service 1945 3-truck Shay-geared locomotive 'Big 6' Western Maryland RR; on display at B&O Museum 1953-80; traded to CSRR 5/1980 operating daily (in season) 1941 Alco/G.E. 45-ton diesel-electric #20 U.S. Navy; purchased 7/1978; traction motor burned out, 1988 out of service 1943 G.E. 65-ton diesel-electric #21 U.S. Navy; purchased 1978 in regular service 1950 Porter 0-4-0T switcher #417 St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Washington, DC; purchased 10/1972; traded to B&O Museum 5/1981 on static display at B&O Museum 1907 Shay-geared locomotive C/N 1907 Lewisburg & Ronceverte RR #1; West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co. 2nd #6 in 1914; Mower Lumber, 6/1942; coal mines 1947-60; B&O accident 1976 scrapped 1980
Reading Material
 | "Tumult On The Mountains: Lumbering In West Virginia, 1770-1920" [1964] by Dr. Roy B. Clarkson, Drawings by William A. Lunk McClain Printing Co. 9x6 hardcover [1964] for $37.50 |
 | "On Beyond Leatherbark: The Cass Saga" [1990] by Dr. Roy B. Clarkson McClain Printing Co. 9x5¾ hardcover [12/96] for $40.83 McClain Printing Co. hardcover [12/96] for $63.47 |
 | "Shay Logging Locomotives At Cass, West Virginia, 1900-60" [2001] by Philip V. Bagdon T.L.C. Publng 11¼x8¾ hardcover [12/2001] out of print/used |
 | "100 Years Against The Mountain: Shay No. 5 At Cass, WV" [2005] With Stories by Artie Barkley Greenhill Press 10½x8¼ pb [2005] out of print/used |
Films & TV, Other Media
 | "The Big Six: Largest Shay In The World!" [video release 1981, DVD 2005] 48 minutes of color film featuring Western & Maryland Shay-geared steam locomotive #6 hauling wood products and coal on the W&M Greenbrier Branch prior to 1981; also footage of double-headed Cass Scenic Shays going up Cheat Mountain on a foggy day Hopewell prodns color DVD [2014] for $14.95 + s/h via third party |
 | "Cass Scenic Railroad (Great Railroads Series)" [1990] 49-minute color video from a Cass Railfan Weekend, including multiple run-by shots and a nighttime jaunt to Whittaker Good Time Home Video DVD [1990] for $14.99 |
 | "Cass & Mower Logging Trains" [1998 & 2012] Photography by Robert Flack; 15 minutes of 16mm Mower Lumber footage; also color footage from Cass Spectaculars circa 1996 showing Shays #2, #3, #4 & #5 and Heisler #6 on the run up Bald Knob, and Western Maryland Shay #6 on the Durbin Branch 89-minute Green Frog Prodns color/b&w DVD [4/2012] for $19.95 Madacy Records VHS [8/98] for $15.88 |
 | "Cass Scenic Railroad" on DVD [2007] 52-minute video from the Spring 1990 Cass Railfan Weekend, showing all four operative Shays, plus the Heisler hauling a freight train Pentrex color DVD [2007] for $28.77 via third-party vendor |
 | "Gears In Ihe Woods, Shays At Cass Scenic Railroad" [undated] 105-minute color footage of a Railfan Weekend, showing all four operative Shays Highball Prodns widescreen color Blu-ray [undated] for $29.95 |
"Cass Scenic Railroad Geared Steam Locomotives" video [7/2013] - shows Shays #5, #6 & #11 at work
watch the video online [11:11] at YouTube
 | "The Cass Scenic Railroad Journey: Yesterday and Today!" featurette [studio 2015] 42-minute independent color/b&w featurette by Drayton Blackgrove • bare credits at IMDb Marshall Publng & Promotions widescreen color/b&w DVD [11/2015] for $11.99 |
Image Gallery
Railroad Links
official Cass Scenic Railroad website
Cass Scenic Railroad entry at Wikipedia
MSRLHA: The Mountain State Railroad & Logging Historical Association [est. 1982]
MSRLHA Cass Railfan Weekend info page on Facebook
'CASShews' fans of Cass Scenic homepage on Facebook
Cass Scenic Railroad State Park [est. 1960]
is surrounded by the Monongahela National Forest [est. 1920] and is within Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
American Railroads Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore
Railroad Film Festival Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore
'Railroads in Fiction' Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore
'Non-Fiction Books About Railroads' Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore
here on G.E. Nordell's Cass Scenic Railroad [built 1901] Page
top of page • short RR history • route & stations • equipment rosters •
reading material • films & other media • image gallery • links
Carson & Colorado / Nevada & California / Southern Pacific Narrow-Gauge Railroads [1880-1960] Page
Cass Scenic Railroad [built 1900] of West Virginia Page «« you are here
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad [est. 1970] in New Mexico & Colorado Page
Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad [1870-1988] Page
Florida East Coast Railway [est. 1885] Page
Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad [1876-1942] in California Page
Sierra Railway [est. 1897] in California Page
Virginia & Truckee Railroad [1869-1950, rebuilt 1972 & 2006] in Nevada Page
Travel U.S.A. / Railroad Museums Page
G.E. Nordell's Arizona Travel / Railroads Page
G.E. Nordell's California Travel / Railroads Pages
G.E. Nordell's Colorado Travel / Railroads Pages
G.E. Nordell's Nevada Travel / Railroads Page
G.E. Nordell's New Mexico Travel / Railroads Page
G.E. Nordell's Utah Travel / Railroads Page
v
Arizona Travel & Business Links Pages
California Travel & Business Links Pages
Colorado Travel & Business Links Pages
The Dakotas Travel & Business Links Page
Florida Travel & Business Links Page
Idaho Travel & Business Links Page
Kansas Travel & Business Links Page
Montana Travel & Business Links Page
Nebraska Travel & Business Links Page
Nevada Travel & Business Links Page
New Mexico Travel & Business Links Pages
New York State Travel & Business Links Pages
Oklahoma Travel & Business Links Page
Oregon Travel & Business Links Page
Texas Travel & Business Links Pages
Utah Travel & Business Links Page
Washington State Travel Links Pages
Wyoming Travel & Business Links Pages
G.E. Nordell's Main Travel & Business Links Page
Visiting this webpage from outside the U.S.A.? It is possible to make purchases from these coded Amazon (USA) links
via other Amazon sites: just follow these instructions.
Online sales in association with 
top of this page 
back to G.E. Nordell's homepage