Cass Railroad State Park

Cass, West Virginia was founded in 1901 by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company (now known as Westvaco). It was built as a company town to meet the neds of the men who worked in the nearby mountains cutting hemlock and spruce trees for the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company.

In 1960, due to the decline of the timber industry in the region, the town of Cass was abandoned. The rail line at Cass and the Shay locomotives (the only locomotives capable of making it up the steep grade) were planned to be scrapped, but Russell Baum, a railroad fan, purchased the line and convinced the legislature to make Cass Railroad into a state park. in 1963, the first train filled with tourists instead of timber made its way from the Cass Depot, headed four miles up the line to the Whittaker Station.

The Cass Scenic Railroad train ride takes you 11 miles up the track which was laid in 1901 by immigrant workers. Traveling on steep grades of the Cheat Mountain, the train runs through switchbacks with a grade of up to 11% (a 2% grade on modern railroads is considered steep). Three trips are available: a two-hour round trip to Whittaker Station, a five-hour round trip to the ghost town of Spruce, and a five-hour round trip to Bald Knob, the second highest point in the state.

A logging camp has also been recreated at the park by the Mountain State Railroad & Logging Historical Association. This camp shows both the living quarters and the equipment used by the loggers.

Nowadays, the town of Cass remains relatively unchanged. The old company houses have been restored, adding an air of nostalgia to the town. There is a museum and a company store in the park which tourists can visit and buy souvenirs.