First Time at Cass? FAQ. Ride with us. Cass Railroad Explained. 4 Trains, 4 Hot engines

Come with us as we visit the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park located at its namesake in Cass West Virginia. The park’s 11 mile long steam heritage railroad and authentic company town are some of the states’s most popular tourist attractions. We came on a hot summer’s day, visited the yard, road the train and will show you how cool Cass and the train ride are. Let’s get one thing out of the way. Cass is close to nowhere. Plan on driving miles of mountain roads to get here through endless National Forests and don’t plan on having cell service. However that same remoteness has what has kept Cass the treasure that it is. We arrived well before the first train to Durban at 10:00 after a miserable 2 hour drive over hairpin turns and mountain passes. There are easier ways in but not today from where we were coming from. We went right to the shop area because this a great place to see the engines being prepped and watered. One of the things Cass is famous for are the fantastic and haunting chime whistles that echo thru the mountains. On many days there are 4 separate steam trains pulled by 3 different engines plus another engine fired up for protection. There aren’t many places in America where 4 engines are hot on any given day. The first train of the day is at 10:00 am which is the Greenbrier Express which is a 5 ½ hour roundtrip to Durbin. It follows the Greenbrier River through forested mountains and often a variety of wildlife are seen. Lunch at Durbin in included in the ticket. We elected to ride the next train at 11:00 which is the Whittaker Trip. This is approximately a 2 hour excursion for the eight mile round trip. This train ride is historic, authentic and a spectacular trip to the past. It’s a shorter run than the Bald Knob trip so a great fit for families, kids or even adults with less time to spend. This trip climb the lower slopes of Cheat Mountain along Leatherbark Creek and ends at Whittaker Station surrounded by green meadows and scenic countryside. Cass is the home to the world’s largest fleet of geared Shay locomotives. Five Shays, one Heisler, and one Climax reside here. The legendary turn-of-the-century Shay, #5 has been chugging up Cheat Mountain for nearly 119 years, making it one of the oldest engines in continuous service on its original line, and the oldest operable Shay in existence! Passing the water tower and machine shop, the railroad begins to climb lower slopes of Cheat Mountain along Leatherbark Creek. The train then zigzags through two switchbacks, the engines alternately pushing then pulling passenger cars because the grade is so steep. The railroad levels off for the stop at Whittaker Station, surrounded by green meadows and fine views of the countryside. There is a cool, shady picnic grove with tables where excursionists may rest and enjoy the scenery. Refreshments are also available. Whittaker Station is the location of an authentic logging camp recreated by volunteers. Passengers have a 30 minute layover to enjoy the views. The return journey to Cass is a little anti climactic as the trip is downhill so the engine doesn’t have to work much at all. However there is one notable exception and that is when the two trains meet at a switchback. We pass the Bald Knob train which is making a heck of a racket assaulting the wicket grade. The Bald Knob trip climbs to the third highest point in West Virginia and takes about 4 and a half hours for the 22 mile round trip. The panorama vistas become more beautiful as the train climbs higher. A hobo lunch is also included with your ride as well. The Heisler is in charge of the Bald Knob train today and watch and listen to the spectacle only enjoyable from the Whitaker train. There is one last thing to mention as the train drifts downgrade. This is a good time to have your ear protection in as the safety valve keeps lifting due to the high boiler pressure since the engine isn’t doing much work. The town of Cass remains relatively unchanged since its founding in 1901 by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company. Cass was built as a company town for the loggers who worked in the nearby mountains. Construction of the railroad started in 1901. It was used to haul lumber to the mill at Cass. In June 1942, the Cass operation was sold to Mower Lumber Company, which operated the town until July 1960, when the mill and railroad were shut down due to rapid decline of the timber industry in the region. In 1961, Cass was brought into the state parks system. Over the years, the railroad was turned into a tourist line and the town was repaired and restored. Today, the railroad is still in full operation, and is managed by the Durbin Greenbrier Valley Railroad. Before we see the last train of the day to Whittaker Station one last notable mention in Cass is the Cass Company Store. It looms large over the station and yards in a huge building . The Company Store, houses a gift shop and also Shays Restaurant and Soda Fountain.