Spruce to Cheat Bridge. Lettered for the Greenbrier & Elk River Railroad, the Cass Scenic Railroad's oldest Shay Locomotive hauls a couple of well-used gondolas across the Shaver's Fork of the Cheat River, about a mile and a half north of Spruce, as she runs toward Cheat Bridge. Although she's carried several railroad liveries over the past century plus, this 80-ton Lima Locomotive has never ventured very far from Cass Hill, and she's been operable for most of her 116 years. The line she's operating on this day runs north out of the old logging mecca of Spruce, WV, all the way to Elkins, just over 50 miles away. This is actually a rather scenic line, following the Shaver's Fork of the Cheat and crossing it numerous times. It's the ultimate place to put away the cell phone (there is no service anyway), breathe fresh air and relax. Unfortunately, this place is not exactly easy to reach, because the track speeds to get here from anywhere that's civilized are probably 10-15 mph at best......and if you're traveling behind a Shay as we were on this trip, speed is measured with a calendar, so if you decide to take an excursion up here, you'd better not have anything else planned for that day.
For aficianados of geared steam engines, it's "almost heaven." Here are some scenes from the park's annual Railfan Weekends, as well as some private charters.
