Cass Scenic Railroad Park operates along the same rails brought to the area in 1901 to service the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company to haul lumber, product, and services to and from the mill at Cass. Today, the same Shay steam-powered locomotives that have run the line for over a century offers scenic train rides on their historical engines via the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad. Cass is home to the world’s largest fleet of Shay locomotives - Five Shays, one Heisler, and one Climax reside here. Included is the legendary turn-of-the-century class C-80 Shay #5, which has been toiling up Cheat Mountain for nearly 115 years, making it one of the oldest engines in continuous service on its original line, and the oldest operable Shay in existence! Riding on refurbished logging cars, passengers are transported 11 miles up to the 4,842-foot high peak at Bald Knob, West Virginia’s third highest point where on a clear day you can see into two states. The 4.5-hour round trip also includes a box lunch and a stop at Whittaker Station, an authentic, recreated logging camp. For an added bonus, come in October for the fantastic fall foliage. Back in the town of Cass, visitors find restored company houses, The Company Store with its Last Run Restaurant, the Cass Historical Theatre and Historical Museum, and a mill, while no longer in operation, that remains largely unchanged from its heyday. The cumulative effect is one of taking a ride back in time where steam locomotives reigned supreme coupled with booming company towns.
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A Mountain State Train Adventure
Cass Scenic Railroad Park operates along the same rails brought to the area in 1901 to service the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company to haul lumber, product, and services to and from the mill at Cass. Today, the same Shay steam-powered locomotives that have run the line for over a century offers scenic train rides on their historical engines via the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad. Cass is home to the world’s largest fleet of Shay locomotives - Five Shays, one Heisler, and one Climax reside here. Included is the legendary turn-of-the-century class C-80 Shay #5, which has been toiling up Cheat Mountain for nearly 115 years, making it one of the oldest engines in continuous service on its original line, and the oldest operable Shay in existence! Riding on refurbished logging cars, passengers are transported 11 miles up to the 4,842-foot high peak at Bald Knob, West Virginia’s third highest point where on a clear day you can see into two states. The 4.5-hour round trip also includes a box lunch and a stop at Whittaker Station, an authentic, recreated logging camp. For an added bonus, come in October for the fantastic fall foliage. Back in the town of Cass, visitors find restored company houses, The Company Store with its Last Run Restaurant, the Cass Historical Theatre and Historical Museum, and a mill, while no longer in operation, that remains largely unchanged from its heyday. The cumulative effect is one of taking a ride back in time where steam locomotives reigned supreme coupled with booming company towns.
