To start this all off here’s the disclaimer; I’m a crappy photographer who only owns a cell phone for a camera.
So, I got married a week ago and part of our honeymoon was to go to Cass scenic railroad. All I can say is wow! Cass is a piece of living history nestled deep in the west Virginia mountains. To me it is amazing for many reasons. The same locos doing the same work for over a hundred years. The grades they climb. The sheer beauty of the mountains. The sheer size of the shays. if you ever have the chance to go, gear head or not, go. It is worth your time and every penny.
I took tons of (bad) pictures. I’ll try to group them together so i’m not all over the place. Also I’ll put them in smaller posts so they load faster.
For starters I have to throw a plug out to Larry Paula of the Chestnut Ridge Country Inn. It’s a B&B 6 miles from Cass. Rustic and beautiful. They were great hosts with a beautiful home and great food!! If you head that way consider giving them a call.
So I’ll start with some history. Cass was originally the W. Virginia pulp and paper company. The predecessors are still in business today. The adjoining company town of Cass got it’s name from the chairman of the board Joseph Cass. The railroad connected with the C&O. A few years back all the C&O’s lines that were abandoned were heavily damaged in floods so the state turned them into rails to trails. The mill which mainly did pulp for paper also had a planeing mill for the hardwood they brought down. Combined the two mills were said to have done 14 billion feet in 40 years.
here’s some shots of the mill. FYI, I put my notations under the pictures.
The mill was destroyed by a wildfire in the 80’s. What’s left is what wasn’t wood. I don’t know what the brick building was, but the metal building in the back was the boiler house. You can see all the pullies and drive shaft for the belt driven machinery.
Shot through the trees of the pulp drying kilns.
More of the old mill.
Boiler house.
Drying kilns. The closed doors are still full of lumber from when they shut down the mill.
Drive wheel.
Better pic of the belt system.
Again, dunno what this one was and forgot to ask.
Drying kilns again. In the third from left you can see lumber in the bay.
I’ll end this one for now and get started on the shops and facilities. Hope you enjoy them.
Terry
