Shay engine to carry passengers between Cass and Elkins
Steam-powered train trips between Cass and Elkins will be available for rail fans and scenery lovers on July 10 and 13, when the Cass Scenic Railroad's recently restored Shay No. 6 will carry passengers through 67 miles of high-country wilderness each way.
Steam-powered train trips between Cass and Elkins will be available for rail fans and scenery lovers on July 10 and 13, when the Cass Scenic Railroad's recently restored Shay No. 6 will carry passengers through 67 miles of high-country wilderness each way.
The trips, a joint venture of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park and the Durbin & Greenbrier Railroad, will be the first steam-powered passenger excursions to travel from Cass to Elkins following the old Western Maryland Railroad line over Cheat Mountain.
The return of Shay No. 6 to the lineup of steam locomotives at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park made it possible for six engines to be under steam simultaneously for the first time in the park’s history.
On July 10, the train will depart Cass, switchback to the top of Cheat Mountain, and make a stop to take on water at the abandoned town site of Spruce. The train will make another stop at a bridge over Shavers Fork for a photo opportunity, stop for more water at Cheat Bridge, roll past two rare Western Maryland section houses, and take additional water stops at Coal Rock and Bemis. Other points of interest include the High Falls of Cheat, where Shavers Fork drops over a 12-foot ledge, possible bald eagle sightings and passage through the Kelley Mountain Tunnel.
The trip ends at the restored Elkins Depot, where an evening meal will be served. A breakfast buffet will be available at Cass and lunch will be served on the train. A bus will be available to shuttle passengers from Elkins Depot to the starting point at Cass.
The train will return to Cass along the same route, with the same stops, on July 13. Each trip will be limited to 175 passengers, and take about 12 hours. Tickets are $190 each.
On July 11 and 12, short steam trips powered by Shay No. 6 will travel from Elkins to Kelleys Mountain Tunnel and back for a fare of $20. Daily round trips will also be made from Elkins to Belington for $50 a ticket.
"We're very excited about the trips and the fact that we'll be using a former Western Maryland steam engine to travel on the old Western Maryland tracks," said Fred Bartels, trainmaster at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.
"Shay No. 6 was the last Shay engine ever built when it was completed in 1945, and it's the largest still in existence," Bartels said.
After hauling coal on a Western Maryland branch line in Garrett County, Md., for five years until the mine it serviced closed, the "Big 6," as the locomotive was nicknamed, spent 26 years in the B&O Transportation Museum in Baltimore before Cass Scenic Railroad acquired it in 1980.
The locomotive had been out of service for several years until the past winter, when maintenance crews at Cass completed restoration work.
Steam-powered train trips between Cass and Elkins will be available for rail fans and scenery lovers on July 10 and 13, when the Cass Scenic Railroad's recently restored Shay No. 6 will carry passengers through 67 miles of high-country wilderness each way.
The trips, a joint venture of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park and the Durbin & Greenbrier Railroad, will be the first steam-powered passenger excursions to travel from Cass to Elkins following the old Western Maryland Railroad line over Cheat Mountain.
On July 10, the train will depart Cass, switchback to the top of Cheat Mountain, and make a stop to take on water at the abandoned town site of Spruce. The train will make another stop at a bridge over Shavers Fork for a photo opportunity, stop for more water at Cheat Bridge, roll past two rare Western Maryland section houses, and take additional water stops at Coal Rock and Bemis. Other points of interest include the High Falls of Cheat, where Shavers Fork drops over a 12-foot ledge, possible bald eagle sightings and passage through the Kelley Mountain Tunnel.
The trip ends at the restored Elkins Depot, where an evening meal will be served. A breakfast buffet will be available at Cass and lunch will be served on the train. A bus will be available to shuttle passengers from Elkins Depot to the starting point at Cass.
The train will return to Cass along the same route, with the same stops, on July 13. Each trip will be limited to 175 passengers, and take about 12 hours. Tickets are $190 each.
On July 11 and 12, short steam trips powered by Shay No. 6 will travel from Elkins to Kelleys Mountain Tunnel and back for a fare of $20. Daily round trips will also be made from Elkins to Belington for $50 a ticket.
"We're very excited about the trips and the fact that we'll be using a former Western Maryland steam engine to travel on the old Western Maryland tracks," said Fred Bartels, trainmaster at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.
"Shay No. 6 was the last Shay engine ever built when it was completed in 1945, and it's the largest still in existence," Bartels said.
After hauling coal on a Western Maryland branch line in Garrett County, Md., for five years until the mine it serviced closed, the "Big 6," as the locomotive was nicknamed, spent 26 years in the B&O Transportation Museum in Baltimore before Cass Scenic Railroad acquired it in 1980.
The locomotive had been out of service for several years until the past winter, when maintenance crews at Cass completed restoration work.
The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad is selling all tickets for the excursions between Cass and Elkins as well as the shorter trips from Elkins to Kelley Mountain and Belington.
"We have a great relationship with the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad," said Bartels, adding that the two excursion lines have worked together on developing add-on packages to enhance each other's regular schedule of trips.
If response to the Cass-Elkins trips is positive, additional trips could be added later, Bartels said.
Passengers on the trips between Cass and Elkins are urged to dress for a variety of weather and temperature possibilities that can be experienced when traveling through some of the state's higher altitudes.
The round-trip excursions between Elkins and Kelley Mountain last about 90 minutes, while the trips to Belington, which follow the Tygart River, take about four hours.
The Cass-Elkins steam train excursions are part of the Elkins Depot Centennial and Railroad Days celebration. Cass Scenic Railroad, the Mountain State Railroad and Logging Historical Association and the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad co-sponsor the excursions.
For tickets, departure times and other information, call the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad at (877) 686-7245.
Ticket sale proceeds will help finance historic rail and logging interpretation projects.
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