The Cass Scenic Railroad in West Virginia is a working museum of logging railroads. This state used to have over 3000 miles of logging lines, sadly they are all gone now, except for this 11 mile line between Cass and the summit at Bald Knob. This is the second highest mountain in West Virginia (4,842 feet). This logging line never carried passengers, it's sole purpose was to bring the logs off the mountain, to the mill at Cass, as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

To do this a new type of locomotive was needed, a Shay. This engine was different from "normal" engines, it had a drive shaft, allowing all wheels to be driven. This gave total traction on the slippery wet rails. The rails used be the loggers were often laid on un-even trackbeds and it would have been impossible for a standard locomotive to work in these harsh conditions. The Shay was never the fastest locomotive but it was the most sure footed. In total over 2,700 Shays were built, sadly today there are only 20 left working. Cass has the largest collection of Shay's and that number is 7.

To discover more about the history of this line, the double DVD is available from our website online shop at www.sprucestudios.com (less info)