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Restored, Fully Operational Shays, Heislers, Climaxes Draw Tourists to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
by David M. Kinchen
Editor, Huntington News Network
Photos by Matt Pinson
Cass, WV (HNN) - It's safe to say there's nothing quite like Cass Scenic Railroad State Park anywhere in the nation - maybe even the world. The timbering that began in this Pocahontas County company town in 1900 and lasted until 1960 is gone, but thanks to a railfan from Pennsylvania and hundreds of others from West Virginia and other mid-Atlantic states, the state park that started from humble beginnings in 1962 now has the largest collection of Shay direct geared logging locomotives in the country.
The Shays, along with similarly designed but distinctly different Climax and Heisler locomotives, are the iron horse equivalent of four-wheel-drive road vehicles. They don't achieve the speeds of conventional steam but they can negotiate the steep grades and switchbacks of the 11 miles of track that climb from Cass all the way to the top of Bald Knob, more than 4,800 feet above sea level.
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The Cass Collection of logging locomotives draws tens of thousands of tourists from all over the nation and the world from May through October. Among the rarities that attract fans is Shay #2, the only example of a "Pacific Coast" Shay ever to be used east of the Mississippi. A Pacific Coast is a souped-up 70-ton three truck Shay. They featured superheat, a bigger firebox, lower gear ratio, steel cab, and steel truck frames. Shay #2 is the only Pacific Coast Shay in the east. Another in the collection, Big 6 is the last Shay ever built and the largest still in existence, weighing in at 162 tons. The collection also features Shay #5, the second oldest Shay still in operation.
This living history museum is a must for any West Virginian. The Shays, Climaxes and Heislers haul specially designed cars on an excursion through time to the days when Cass and the wide open settlement of Brooklyn across the Greenbrier River from Cass proper was a little bit of the Wild West in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. Take it from HNN Editor David M. Kinchen, who has taken the rail trips several times and toured Cass: It's a wonderful family adventure that's fun and educational, too.
