Cass Scenic Railroad State Park

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park operates an authentic steam-powered logging railroad in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, within the Monongahela National Forest—one of the last functioning examples of a Shay geared locomotive railroad in the United States. The railroad was constructed in 1901 by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company to haul timber from the Cheat Mountain and Back Allegheny Mountain ranges down to the company mill at Cass. At its operational peak the system comprised more than 150 miles of track threading through the rugged highland terrain of Pocahontas and Randolph counties, serviced by a fleet of Shay locomotives—geared engines patented by Ephraim Shay in 1881 and specifically designed to navigate the steep grades and sharp curves of logging railroads that conventional rod-drive locomotives could not manage. The accessible timber was largely exhausted by the late 1940s, and the final commercial timber train ran in 1960. The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources acquired the property in 1961, and the state opened the converted scenic heritage railroad to the public in 1963, preserving the original Shay and Climax geared steam locomotives, the restored company town of Cass (listed on the National Register of Historic Places), and the operating railroad infrastructure including the original switchback grades. The park currently operates two principal excursions from May through October. The Whittaker Station trip (approximately 4.5 miles each way) takes about two hours round-trip with a summit meadow layover. The Bald Knob excursion climbs to 4,842 feet—the second highest point in West Virginia—and takes approximately 4.5 hours round-trip, offering sweeping panoramic views across the Allegheny Highlands. Grades reach as steep as 11 percent, replicating the challenge that made Shay locomotives essential equipment a century ago. The historic town of Cass preserves the original millworkers' houses (some available as vacation rentals through the state park), the company store, and the railroad depot. The depot contains a small museum with photographs, maps, and artifacts from the logging railroad era.