Cass Scenic Railway Shay locomotive number 11, (C-90-3) passes through the crossing at Back Mountain Road as it starts the climb up the mountain, during the Cass Rail Heritage Photography Weekend, at Cass, West Virginia on November 5th, 2022
Founded in 1901 by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company (now WestRock), Cass was built as a company town to serve the needs of the men who worked in the nearby mountains cutting spruce and hemlock for the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company, a subsidiary of WVP&P. At one time, the sawmill at Cass was the largest double-band sawmill in the world. It processed an estimated 1.25 billion board feet (of lumber during its lifetime. In 1901 work started on the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard gauge railroad, which climbs Back Allegheny Mountain.
The railroad eventually reached a meadow area, now known as Whittaker Station, where a logging camp was established for the immigrants who were building the railroad. The railroad soon reached the top of Gobblers Knob, and then a location on top of the mountain known as ‘Spruce’. The railroad built a small town at that location, complete with a company store, houses, a hotel, and a doctor’s office. Work soon commenced on logging the red spruce trees, which grew in the higher elevations.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/4, 1/640, ISO 220.