Western Maryland Shay 6 was the largest and last shay ever built by Lima, she is now in service on the Cass Scenic Railroad after being restored to operation in 1981

Western Maryland "Big 6" and a sold out autumn excursion climb the 11% grade into the Bald Knob overlook, the second highest point in West Virginia at 4,843 feet. Fall colors during the 2011 seaso... (more)

Breaking the silence of the mountains in Cass, WV, one of Cass Scenic Railroad's Shay locomotive navigates through the mountains with the whistle screaming. As the train slows down, Danny prepares... (more)

Local lore says that if you drink the water of the Leatherbark that you'll never leave Cass... It seems to be so!

Big 6 leads the day's train to Bald Knob upgrade at the upper switchback, meeting #5 leading the 11am Whittaker train downhill. Some of you may notice that it is unusual for a Cass engine to lead,... (more)

After arriving back at the Cass Shop, Western Maryland Big 6 undergoes servicing by engineer Danny Seldomridge and fireman, Andy Cassell. An MSRLHA event.

Cass conductor Gene Lambert provides hand signals to Big 6 engineer Danny Seldomridge as crews work to build a double header featuring both Western Maryland 6 and Shay No. 5.

Fireman Andy Cassell keeps Western Maryland 6 hot as it steams upgrade towards Whittaker.

Sounding like a 4-8-4 at 70 mph, Western Maryland 6 charges up Cheat Mountain towards Whittaker with engineer Danny Seldomridge at the throttle.

The business side of the "Big Six."

What you see is a small portion of the backhead of Western Maryland Shay 6 as it operates over the rails at Cass Scenic Railroad. Every oil can in this photo was used on a different location of t... (more)

Western Maryland 6 stands outside the Cass depot as night falls in Appalachia.

Western Maryland 6 fills the hills and hollers with coal smoke as it climbs up Cheat Mountain. Photographed on the Cass Scenic Railroad.

During Railfan Weekend's Shay runbys on Saturday morning, I went a little more "nose on" than most other folks, in an attempt to include all five Shay engines in the shot. (See No. 3 back there by... (more)