Cass Scenic Railroad: Autumn in the Alleghenies

The final weekend of October 2019 saw the West Virginia highlands awash with red and gold leaves as the autumn colors hit their peak. Meanwhile, the geared steam locomotives of the Cass Scenic Railroad were hard at work ferrying huge crowds of tourists through the colorful hills. Heisler number 6 was continuing its tenure at the Durbin Rocket, taking passengers on a journey down the Greenbrier River. Further downriver at Cass, Shays 11, 2, and 4 were working trains up and down Cheat Mountain and Back Allegheny Mountain. This was the last full operating day of the season but that didn't stop passengers turning up by the busload. I had hoped to catch a glimpse of the newly restored Climax number 9 under steam, but it was tucked away by the shop awaiting a Trains Magazine photo charter the following weekend. All in all it was a fantastic morning watching geared steam conquer the mountains amid the best fall foliage I've seen in years.