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It was a photo special...the passengers were on the ground taking photos of it passing by. Even loaded still really didn't "need" a tripleheader...was just for photos. :)

Email. casshews@live.com

The problem is that Shay 1 was only 65 tons, that's smaller than any engine on Cass' current roster. Even Shay 4 at 70 tons rarely makes a run on the mountain today except for helper duties or the occasional lighter day Whittaker train (in the last 10 years or more she often sat in the yard as a backup until being assigned to the Greenbrier Express on the old C&O line to Durbin). The reason Shay 5 still runs frequently is because she's 80 tons, quite large and powerful for such an old Shay. I honestly don't know what they could do with Shay 1 apart from special occasions. She just isn't strong enough for most of the Cass trains today. It's the reason Shay 7 and later Shay 2 was brought in to replace her.

Yep, we really only chased the morning run on Saturday, and rode Saturday afternoon. I used to shoot video all the time, but have gotten back into still photography more of late. This was actually the only video clip I did, but I think its a good one! My friend group has gotten to be less intense as we've started getting a little older...we enjoy the hangout time as much as chasing the trains and getting the same photos that everyone else already got LOL (for us, its fun to get a few photos, but we're not as worried as we once were to get every shot because, like I said, I'm sure someone else already got the shot before me and probably did it better anyway!). I just watched your video...you really did great getting around! Did you chase both runs? Also, in the morning, did you encounter the Fox Hunt horses on Saturday morning near Swoope? They released the horses just as we were passing through and nearly cost us our shot at the overhead bridge, but we finally pushed our way through! Its a shame they don't think to collaborate with the railroad for a photo opportunity...would be an excellent scene with the train, horses, and blood hounds... :)

Geez I forgot I made this lol. We weren't trespassing but the CSX employees toward the end of the yard apparently got nervous that we were taking pictures of the train, and they ran out trying to get pictures of us taking pictures and of my friend's license plate. We conveniently places a camera case there and turned when we left in such a way they couldn't get it. Ridiculous that they were that worried about us taking photos. My friend had a train shirt on too, and I had a railroad hat. We obviously were just a couple of crazed railfans not terrorists. Morons.

Just never know! 😁

A conundrum moment where you are both right and wrong at the same time lol! This is a clip from a royalty free song I licensed years ago for use in my videos. I rarely make videos anymore, but still use those songs for the bumpers whenever I do. The song was not only sound alike musically, but they also creatively named them. This one was called "Lay Low", and you're right, they did a great job of dancing around the actual bars of "Layla" to give us something we could legally use! :D

@@thewvnetwork it sure sounded like the first few cords...lol

Hi Gary! Thank you for your comment. Yes, I was surprised to see they upgraded it a while back. I'm wondering if maybe their inspiration to do that wasn't from the the log truck-train collision the Cheat Mountain Salamander had a few years ago. That was too close a call in many regards, and Cash Valley Rd. is way busier than 250.

Yes it is. It is equipped with adapters to connect to an auxiliary water source, though.

@@thewvnetwork Gotcha, well if it's historically accurate, then all is right. Nice video. Thanks for uploading.

It is in fact the tender that has always been tied to 1309. She just never needed one that was any bigger.

@@CaptainCrutch Yup, thanks. I actually did quite a bit of research into it. Mainly looking at historical pics of the H-6 type on rrpicturearchives. No complaints from me if this is how she served back in the day. And it's always great to preserve our history. I'm going to try and get up to WMSR next fall and see her in person. I guess it just looked strange to me having a relatively small 4 axle tender on a large locomotive like this.

I can see what you're saying, but this was actually based on the earliest design of the Climax geared locomotive, ca. 1890s. Shay locomotives (like the ones Cass Scenic Railroad is famous for) also started out with a box like design, but, like the Climax, evolved into a more standard locomotive design...or at least as standard as a locomotive of this type can get. Cass also has an example of a more modern Climax in operation...you can see it in operation in my 2020 video "Return to Cass".

@@thewvnetwork Oh. I get it.

They were two different Betty Lynns. Loretta's daughter, also named Betty, died in 2013 at age 64. The actress from "The Andy Griffith Show" shown here was born in 1926 and was older than Loretta.

Obviously the smoke does pollute the air, but its important to remember that these locomotives were a product of the industrial revolution, and there are many fewer steam locomotives operating in the world then there were a hundred years ago. And, it is important to keep them running to provide an interpretive example for future generations. The pollution is already greatly reduced by the lower number of locomotives in the world. Also, carbon is actually good for trees and plants along the route--they use it for photosynthesis and create oxygen which we all need to breathe...

Same here. Part of my family from Cass. The other half Dunbar.

I don't think it's a SP 6 chine, there's a vid of the same day but closer and it's a NYC 6 chime

@@daniko4447 It's an RF&P 6 iirc