
The Greenbrier, Cheat and Elk Railroad (GC&E) was a
logging railroad
A forest railway, forest tram, timber line, logging railway or logging railroad is a mode of railway transport which is used for forestry tasks, primarily the transportation of felled logs to sawmills or railway stations.
In most cases this f ...
in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
operating in the early 20th century. Its main line ran from
Bergoo to Cheat Junction, where it connected with the
Western Maryland Railway
The Western Maryland Railway was a small American Class I railroad (1852–1983) that operated in 3 Southern United States, Southern US States, Maryland (Western Maryland, Western Region), West Virginia (Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, Easte ...
(WM).
["Cass Scenic Railroad."](_blank)
''The Inter-Mountain
''The Inter-Mountain'' is a daily newspaper in Elkins, West Virginia. It is owned by Ogden Newspapers.
History
In 1897, a fire in the town did much damage to the early newspaper offices and other structures. Again, on August 7, 1974, ''The Inter ...
,'' 1988-06-17.
History
The railroad began c. 1901 as the Greenbrier and Elk River Railroad, which ran from
Cass
Cass may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Cass (surname), a list of people
* Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey
* Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie
* Cass, ...
to
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
under the ownership of the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company. In addition to the large lumber mill in Cass, the road also served a
pulp mill
A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or ...
, built in Spruce, beginning in 1904.
[Sparks, Richard]
"The Ghost Town of Spruce."
Mountain State Railroad & Logging Historical Association. 2008-11-28. In 1909 the lumber company was acquired by the
West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company
MeadWestvaco Corporation was an American packaging company based in Richmond, Virginia. It had approximately 23,000 employees. In February 2006, it moved its corporate headquarters to Richmond. In March 2008, the company announced a change to sta ...
(later known as Westvaco), which obtained a new charter for an expanded railroad. This new railroad was initially named the Greenbrier, Elk and Valley Railroad, and then renamed the GC&E in 1910. Spruce became the area's rail hub, as
tracks were extended west through Laurel Bank (
Slatyfork) and along the
Elk River to Bergoo by 1914; and north along the
Shavers Fork
Shavers Fork of the Cheat River is situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is long and forms the Cheat at its confluence with Black Fork at Parsons.DeLorme (1997). ''West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, M ...
valley to Cheat Junction by 1917.
The pulp mill in Spruce closed in 1925. Subsequently, the town declined and it eventually was abandoned.
In 1927 the GC&E was acquired by the WM.
In 1997 the
West Virginia State Rail Authority
The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) is the state agency responsible for transportation in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The Department of Transportation serves an umbrella organization for four subsidiary agencies which ar ...
purchased the GC&E line (then called the Tygart and Laurel Subdivisions) from
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...
, the successor to the Western Maryland Railway. The state established the West Virginia Central Railroad, which has contracted with the
Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad
The Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad is a heritage and freight railroad in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. It operates the West Virginia State Rail Authority-owned Durbin Railroad and West Virginia Central Railroad , as well as ...
(DGVR) to operate a
heritage railway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...
on portions of the line.
Out of the locomotives owned and operated by the company, two are preserved, both under ownership of the State of West Virginia. Number 1 (the second) is currently on display at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum, on Long term loan in exchange for Western Maryland Number 6 (currently operational at the Cass Scenic Railroad.) Number 5 is currently operational and running on the Cass Scenic Railroad, and is also the oldest operational shay in the world at this time. 5 is also the official state locomotive of the state of West Virginia.
Current operation
The DGVR operates ''The New Tygart Flyer'', ''The Cheat Mountain Salamander,'' and ''The Mountain Explorer Dinner Train'' over a 70-mile section of the line. The
excursion train
An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose. Examples are trains to major sporting event, trains run for railfans or tourists, and special trains operated by the railway company for employees and prominent custo ...
s run between
Elkins,
Cheat Bridge and Spruce. Also, the
Cass Scenic Railroad
Cass Scenic Railroad State Park is a state park and heritage railroad located in Cass, Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
It consists of the Cass Scenic Railroad, a long 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge heritage railway owned by the ...
operates on the section of the line from Cass to Spruce.
Plans
In February 2012, John Smith, the owner of DGVR, unveiled a plan to rebuild a 90-mile loop of currently unused or abandoned grade. This plan would see the abandonment of the Southwestern part of the GC&E, as the rails from that line would be repurposed for use on the loop. That section of the line, which runs between Slaty Fork (Laurel Bank) and Bergoo would then become the
Elk River Trail. The project is pending a $20 million grant from the State of West Virginia and, if approved, would be implemented by 2015.
[West Virginia Gazette. Charleston, WV]
"Plans for a 90-mile excursion train loop proposed."
Accessed 2012-03-07.
See also
*
List of defunct West Virginia railroads
The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of West Virginia.
Common freight carriers
*Appalachian and Ohio Railroad (AO)
*Beech Mountain Railroad (BEEM)
*CSX Transportation (CSXT)
*Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad (DGVR) operates Du ...
References
External links
Mountain State Railroad and Logging Historical Association* Maps, photos and history through the 1990s:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenbrier Cheat Elk Railroad
Predecessors of the Western Maryland Railway
Defunct West Virginia railroads