July 18, 2012 - Cass Scenic Railroad

Today we went to Cass to ride the train that is using one of three types of geared locomotives that were designed specifically for better traction on the rails.  An all wheel drive train . . . did you know there was such a thing?  If you look on the page above about steam geared locomotives you'll get to see pictures of each one and a brief description of them. 

Cass uses both Shay and Heisler engines on their rails.  Shay engine 11 is the one that pulled us today.

She was designed to prevent the train wheels from slipping on the track.  All the wheels were attached to gears that helped all the wheels from slipping.  The Shay 11 had three trucks and three large pistons on the side.  You can see them in the picture above on the left side of the engine and a close up shot of the gears below.

The drive shaft on the Shay was located on the side of the train.  As you can see in the picture below, it runs the length of the engine.

Moving on to the timber part of Cass, it was once a timber company that made paper.  Most of the hills surrounding Cass had been cut and used to make the paper.  At the first stop on the ride we were able to get off the train to look at some of the models of camp life.  Below is a picture of a typical camp shantie that the lumberjacks would stay in while cutting timber on the mountain.

The skidder that was used to pull logs up the hill was also on display. 

As we were making out way to the top of Bald Knob, you could see the change in eleveation through the changes in the types of trees in the forest.  Can you see in the picture below where the line of tree species begins to change.