Cass Scenic Railroad State Park

About Cass Scenic Railroad State Park

Nestled in the mountains of West Virginia, the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park offers excursions that take you back in time and bring back memories of a time when steam-powered locomotives were an integral part of everyday life. The trip to Cass is a unique experience, with scenic views of the Appalachian Mountains, scenic trails and historic buildings.

The town of Cass has remained relatively unchanged, and the restored company buildings add to the charm and atmosphere of the city, as do the historic railway tracks and tracks.

The history of the town of Cass follows the timber companies that inhabited the valley and operated pulp and paper mills in West Virginia. The mills and buildings were the economic force that powered this valley, and its proximity to the Ohio River means that there is a wealth of activity in the area today. A historic Cass train departs from Cass Station in Cass State Park in Cass County, Ohio, USA.

Trees and vines still grow where people toil, but now all that is left is steel - twisted, rusting machines, cracked cement, and the remains of old buildings.

In its heyday between 1908 and 1922, the mill operated enormously: the neighbouring planer mill measured 96 by 224 feet and was three storeys high. Two 11-hour shifts were working, with 125,000 solid metres of wood being felled per shift. The Cass mill also had a drying oven that dried 11 miles of steam pipes that dried up to 2.5 million cubic feet per day, or about 1,500 tons per year.

The floor machine was so large that it needed 15 men to operate it, and massive lifts transported 5,000 feet of wood to each floor of the machine. The largest surface machine worked on four sides of a board in one operation; here were two saws that could hold boards up to five metres long.

Roy Clarkson estimates that the Cass mill and the Spruce Mill have produced pulp and lumber for 40 years. The city of Cass was named after Joseph K. Cass, who left behind a legacy of more than 100,000 acres of land and over 1.5 million square feet of timber.

At its peak, West Virginia Pulp & Paper employed 2,500 to 3,000 men, and an average of six to ten wagonloads of food and supplies were transported by rail to 12 timber warehouses each week. The Covington paper mill was supplied with 44 pulp trains every morning by C & O.

The ruined mill reminds us that the past is full of human achievements, and the history of the mill was also the inspiration for the railway that connected it to the forests of the nearby mountains. The construction of this difficult mountain railway required the use of a combination of wood and wood, both of which were the most economical. Around the turn of the century, loggers eyeing the steep slopes of Covington Mountain north of West Virginia State Park decided to channel the forest east of the crevasse into a steep slope for a planned mill. However, this was necessary due to the lack of timber in the region and the high cost of timber.

Samuel Slaymaker, a timber broker, built a warehouse for his timber business on the summit of Covington Mountain, east of the crevasse, in the early 20th century.

The hard-boiled man pushed the track up Leatherbark Creek and gained height by building two switchbacks. The track was up and down until the rails finally reached the gap in the mountain.

At 3,853 feet, Spruce became the tallest city in the eastern United States, and a camp called Old Spruce was built here. In 1904, 1 1 / 4 mile of tracks were laid from Old Fruce to Fruce Fork, and from there the route ran 35 miles through spruce and finally south to the Elk River Basin and the town of Bergoo.

The spruces became the hub of a railway empire, and the Cheat Mountain Railway, the first of its kind in the United States, was 82 miles long.

In the 1920s, many kilometres of branches were in use at the same time, but the total length was probably no more than 140 miles. In total, the wooden railway built about 250 kilometres of tracks, and a large pulp peeler plant was built in the spruces. Billions of planks crossed and traversed these spruce plantations, as did many other parts of the United States and Canada.

Please bring a sleeping bag, pack your own water and pack snacks such as fruit, nuts, berries or other fruits and vegetables and water.

The wilderness huts have no electricity, running water or refrigerators, but generally you should plan to bring your tent equipment. Kitchenware and wood heating are provided and a bed frame is provided. The items you will need during your visit include: sleeping bag, camping stove, camping stove, water, food, clothing, toiletries and other items that you can use in the wilderness cabin and on the campsite.

You will also enter Black Bear Land and reach an altitude of 4,800 feet, so you should take all the right precautions when storing your food. Be prepared for weather that is warmer than expected at lower altitudes, but not as hot as you will get at altitudes above 4,000 feet.

Guests visiting the Cass Scenic Railroad can stay in one of the wilderness cabins in the National Park during their stay. Further information is available when booking your Wilderness cabin, as well as detailed information about camping and accommodation.

Each cabin, which can accommodate six, eight or ten people, has been renovated and originally had a fully equipped kitchen at the time of the logging settlement of Cass, and since the 1930s has its own fully furnished and equipped disabled kitchen. The heat is generated by energy-efficient wood heating systems, which are present in all four houses and all cabins are handicapped accessible.

Pets are not allowed in any of the cottages, but pets can be rented for up to three days for $5 per day or $10 per night in the cottages. Guests staying five nights or more will receive two free Cass train tickets for their first visit to the park. The hut is open all year round and the holiday weeks take place from July 1st to September 30th, the following Monday to Friday, except for Christmas and New Year.

Reservations can be made through the Cass State Park Park Park Office at (888) 784-5555 or through the Park Office on the park's website. The Cass office is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm and closed on weekends. For more information, please contact the parking office at 788 - 785 - 6555 or by email at [email protected] or online.

If a reservation is made by telephone or at the last minute, you have 10 days to make the payment or you can cancel up to 30 days in advance. If you can make a reservation by phone and rent a holiday home, the deposit and handling fee will be refunded within 10 working days.

A deposit of half the rental fee is required and the full rental fee is required for three nights or less.

The Cass Scenic Railroad now also offers caboose rentals, which can be rented for up to three nights at a cost of $1,000 per night or $2,500 per week. Cabooses are only available for a limited time and are only possible with reservation. Guests can purchase their train tickets at the Cass train station or at their hotel at the CabOose rental rates listed below.

The Cass' List of Three Historic Cabooses offers fascinating special rides and history, and each features dome seats to provide a unique and well-protected experience - protected from the elements experienced on the historic trains of the Cass Scenic Railroad.

Each cabin is equipped with a coal stove and sink, and staff provide coal for drinking water, as well as water for cooking, washing, cleaning and other needs.

As soon as I got on the train, the real excitement for me was my first visit to the Cass Scenic Rail Road State Park.

As the train was driving around the bend in Leatherbark Creek, we passed the Cass Shop where the locomotive is being serviced and repaired. The carefully restored Shay locomotives will start pulsing, powered by hundreds of pounds of steam and pressure. When the wheel found its footing, the shafts began to spin, thick black smoke gushed out of the chimney, and the trains started to move! The train drove to the end of the track, where its tanks were filled and it left.

The arduous ride up the mountain and through two hairpin bends began, and it really felt like I had been transported back in time. The train soon went up a steep slope and passed the first hairpin bend, but as the pressure rose, the locomotive was powered at full steam! The process repeated itself until the second hairpin turn, where it repeated itself.

This switchback quickly increased the height of the train and in some cases it had to cross a steep slope that was considered steep. The Historic Association for Mountain Railway Timber Construction has recreated the 1940s timber warehouse at Whittaker station, where the loggers "living quarters and equipment were exhibited. In the heart of Camp One are the old railway tracks, the only ones still in operation today.

A huge railcar - a machine that transported logs from one end of the track to the other on a long, narrow track in the middle of the camp.

The bald buttons have a climate similar to that of Canada and are rich in plants typical of the Canadian wilderness. The view of the bare tubers offers a great view over the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. We leave Whittaker Station and drive to Oatmeal, to make a short stop at the first stop of the route - the Bald Buttons campground. Then the train will travel up the mountains and eventually reach the foot of Bald Knob, Canada's largest bare knob. This way the engine can take up a little more water in spring, but not too much - just enough for a few hours.

We invite you to visit us and come and look forward to meeting you at the end of the trip at Bald Knob State Park in Oatmeal, Ontario, Canada.