If you want an exceptional train ride, then the Durbin and Greenbryer might be the railroad onder power woth a beautifully restore Climax. Got to ride this last year after the Cass Railfest. It is being connected to the Cass rail line as we speak/
http://trn.trains.com/photos-videos/videos/2016/08/trains-presents-durbin-and-greebrier
XXX
Really? When I rode it years ago, it just went to a campsite, where they dropped the caboose with a family in it.
Nice ride, cool locomotive.
What totally gorgeous scenery, that is only made better by the presence of a hard-working geared steamer! We really must spend some time back East one of these years.
Thanks for posting.
tac
OVGRS
Thanks for the ink Dennis. I went out to Cass last year and stopped in Durbin as I headed out in the morning. One of the RRers was in the engine house doing some prep work to the climax before they put her through her paces while they tested her. On my short list of places to revisit. 
Dave (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
When I was a young boy growing up in the West Virginia mountains, the state of West Virginia purchased the remains of the old Mower Lumber Company line and equipment and turned it into a state park. I spent the summer of 1963 working on the line as a high school volunteer for free room and board. As I recall, we stayed in a bunkhouse in Cass each night, and rode the geared locos up the mountain each morning to go to work. We restored the line from Cass up to Whittaker Station that first year. After that, I had college to attend to and never worked on the line again, but I have ridden it many times as a tourist. That is why – even though I primarily model Colorado narrow gauge – I still have a Climax and a 3-truck Shay operating on my layout.
Bob
The Climax is my favorite geared locomotive. I saw one when I was about 12. The thing was just flailing away, sounding like it was going 90 miles an hour, but I was keeping pace with it just walking along. Its just too “Rube Goldberg” to not love the thing.
What I was amazed with down in Durbin, was the switch and shed track were completely buried in dirt and overgrown with grass. All you could see were the rail-heads. I was amazed the the points would still move, and the the ties had not rotted out to the point where the track would not hold the Climax. I so want to model track-work like that. But the NMRA guys would probably complain about that too.
If anyone is interested in a caboose to staying in for a day or two while in Durbin, here is the website.
Sssssh. My mom said she wants to do that. I hope she forgets the idea.
Wow, that is too cool! Really gorgeous scenery and train.
There is a major effort brewing here that may not be common knowledge. The Durban and Greenbriar Valley RR http://mountainrailwv.com/ of course has taken over running the Cass Senic RR a few (?) years ago. They then began a slow but steady effort to rebuild some of the trackage in wild senic West Virginia and allow connection between their existing tourist trains (Elkins, WV and Durban, WV) with Cass. The connection of the Climax (Durban Rocket) with Cass and somehow with the Elkins lines is underway. I have not been able to find a comprehensive description of the plan or a track map, but I have heard that when completed, it could produce a 90 mile or so steam or diesel train ride through spectacular wilderness country and be one of the premier tourist train rides anywhere. At least I hope so! Little bits and pieces of information come up now and then such as
Jerry
Copied from the Cass track guide:
Old Spruce. A three-mile line cut sharply to the left up to the head of Shavers Fork, logged in 1901-05. In 1945-50, Mower went back with 13 miles of track and 20 skidder sets. The present track going off to the left actually follows the route of the main logging line that connected to trackage going into the Cheat and Elk River drainages at the long-abandoned mill town of Spruce. Northward, the track follows the Cheat River to Elkins. This trackage was abandoned by the CSX railroad in the 1990s and was purchased by the West Virginia State Railroad Authority. Their contractor, the West Virginia Central RR, now runs excursion trips out of Elkins and Cheat Bridge along this very scenic route. The track from this point to Bald Knob was actually just a logging spur and was never the main line. It was constructed to allow the last trees to be removed and was some of the last track remaining when railroad logging operations creased in 1960.
On the ride up to Bald Knob last year we met the Elkins train for our lunch bags and drinks. There was maybe 60’ of track and two switches to connect. But we did have passengers who traded trains to spend the night in Elkins.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
