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| That's the old Cass Company Store behind the train. |
Ever since we were children, Ward and I have heard about the Cass Scenic Railroad (CSR) and wanted to ride it. We finally made that happen today. A few years ago, we visited the historic town of Cass, but unfortunately, the train was not running at the time.
Cass was founded in 1901 as a company town for the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company. At the same time, work on the railroad to haul out the lumber began. The company expanded and changed hands numerous times before closing in 1960. The state of West Virginia acquired the area and turned it into a state park, and the first scenic ride took place in 1963.
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| They converted old lumber cars into passenger cars. |
Since the train was built for hauling heavy loads up and down steep grades, and not speed, our trip up the mountain was slow. But that gave us plenty of time to enjoy the scenery around us. I was cold riding in the breezy open cars with the temperatures in the 40s. I made full use of my four layers of clothing. We sat at the back of the train and got to watch in detail what was involved in the two switchbacks we made up and back.
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| From here, the train climbed a 9% grade to our station stop at Whittier Meadows. 2 % grade is the max for normal trains. That shows how powerful our Shay Engine #5 was. |
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| The train lineman was getting ready for a switchback. |
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| There were six cars on our trip. |
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| At the top, there was an abandoned saw mill with some exhibits. |
Comments by Ward:
The coal-powered steam engines used today by CSR are the same as used by the lumber company 100+ years ago. They are named "Shay" locomotives after the inventor, Ephraim Shay.
Unlike typical locomotives, Shays use a drive shaft and geared wheels (Wikipedia entry). This allowed the Shays to have greater pulling power, albeit less speed. This was a good trade-off for jobs like lumbering on steep hillsides.
This is all really interesting if you are a train nerd.
After our train ride, we hiked a couple of miles along the Greenbrier River Trail.
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| The rail trail begins in Cass and goes for 77 miles to North Caldwell, WV. |
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| The trail is paved with crushed limestone and is wheelchair accessible. It's used for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, and horseback riding. |
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| The scenery along the way did not disappoint. |
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| We went back to our condo and cooked spaghetti for supper, and Ward worked on another puzzle. |
Until next time...
I confess to being an elder female interested in trains. From my tomboy childhood to having an ancestor who was an early conductor on them, there’s just so much I love about them. So glad you’re walking more all took that trip. It shows some beauty through your photos!
ReplyDeleteThat was me, Barb Rogers.
DeleteHi, Barb. I find there is something romantic about old trains. However, unlike my husband, I'm not into the mechanics of it all.
DeleteLove the pictures. West VA is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and son went on a scouting trip where they rode the Cass railroad and went to the cranberry bogs. They really liked the tour of the great big thing. :)
Kathy
Cass, Cranberry Bogs, and Greenbank sound like just kind of outing Boy Scouts would do. :) One of my sons went to Greenbank on a college field trip from Baltimore.
DeleteI'm so happy that you had a lovely sunny day! I can imagine how chilly it was on those open cars. Did you enjoy watching the worker managing the switchback? It looks like there is still a nice amount of color on the trees. You had a full day. Ward must be a puzzle whiz kid. :)
ReplyDeleteMy sister is riding the train tomorrow, and they are supposed to have a cold rain. We each planned our trips independently, not knowing the other was planning to go or we would have overlapped. After the morning fog burned off, we had clear, beautiful days.
DeleteThe whole train ride was very interesting. I hadn't realized how slow it would be going. I've been on old trains before, but they've always been passenger cars and went faster. But the slow speed gave us plenty of time to enjoy the mountain and see the workings of the train.
Ward is definitely a puzzle whiz kid. My father was like that, too. Me, not so much.
That sounds like a ride I"d love. That is interesting about the Shay engine with the drive shaft--on a train! My father grew up in a company owned lumber town, in a tiny shack. Everything owned by the company. They even had their own company script.
ReplyDeleteBesides the town of Cass, the lumber company also had little shanties at the saw mill that the men lived in. Another time, we visited a restored coal company town. It was interesting hearing first-hand stories from people who lived there when it was active. I'm sure your father had interesting stories, too.
DeleteSounds like a lovely day and I am glad you had a dry, sunny day for your open carriage train ride! I hope your sister's train ride is not spoiled by the rain that might be in the forecast!
ReplyDeleteMy sister's ride was scheduled for today because it's her birthday. The trip and ride were a gift from a friend. I hope the weather holds out for her, too.
DeleteI wish we had known about this when son3 was a kid. He was a train freak and we could have easily made this trip.
ReplyDeleteHe would probably still enjoy it. Maybe he can take Pip there sometime.
DeleteAnother of our favorite places! We have stayed in the old company houses several times. It is always such a pleasure! I once got to ride the train and tell stories at the stops, and back at the station. Great fun. Especially staying for free, and getting paid too!
ReplyDeleteThe company houses were already booked by the time I made reservations. It's the perfect setting for storytelling. You should do it again.
DeleteMy husband is a train nerd too. We have the Cass County Railroad on our bucket list, so I was thrilled to read this post and share it with him. Looks like so much fun, even in the 40s with four layers!
ReplyDelete