Railways around Spruce

West Virginia

The lines today

This page was first posted in 2007 when the following services operated:

The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad has the following operations:

• The West Viginia Central freight operation from Tygart Junction to Elkins, Dailey and Bowden, with a possibility of future extension to Slaty Fork.
• The Tygart Flyer diesel locomotive hauled passenger excursion train starting from Elkins or Belington and running to High Falls, with some journeys continuing back beyond Belington to Tygart Junction. The rehabilitation of the line above High Falls for freight service will make it suitable for locomotive hauled passenger services, but for operational reasons (not least the length of line that can reasonably be covered in one day) the service above High Falls is likely to continue to be provided by railcar for the foreseeable future.
• The Cheat Valley Salamander railcar operates from Cheat Bridge north to High Falls or south via Spruce to Big Cut. It is possible to take both trips in one day, on days when both are running.
• The Durbin Rocket steam hauled passenger excursion train from Durbin to Piney Island. Like the West Virginia Central, the line is owned by the State Rail Authority, as is the old trackbed of the Greenbrier Railway from Piney Island to Cass and beyond. Future extension is therefore a possibility, though there are no immediate plans for this.

The Cass Scenic Railroad operates from Cass to Bald Knob, and on certain days via Spruce and the West Virginia Central line to Big Cut. On days the Spruce train runs, the Cass Railroad does not run to Bald Knob and the Cheat Mountain Salamander does not run to Spruce.

These services remained in operation, with some variations, until the fall of 2010. In early 2011, a contract was awarded for an environmental improvement scheme known as the Shavers Fork Mitigation Scheme. As the site on the Upper Shavers Fork River has no road access, material will be brought in by rail from a loadout point at Cheat Bridge, utilizing about 12 miles of the West Virginia Central from Cheat Bridge to Spruce, and about 1 mile of the Cass Scenic Railroad from Spruce to Shavers Fork. Whilst work is in progress, all other traffic will be excluded from these sections of railway.

In 2011, the Cheat Valley Salamander operated from Elkins to Cheat Bridge, and the Cass Scenic Railroad operated only to Bald Knob. Both railways are expected to resume services to Spruce when works on the environmental scheme are completed, in 2013 or 2014.

Next Page: The railbus

© 2007-2011 Glyn Williams
Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad map from the website of Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad
Map of Spruce area by Glyn Williams based on maps published in the
Appalachia & Piedmont volume of the SPV Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America
West Virginia flag image from Wikipedia
Pocahontas County emblem from the Pocahontas County website
Special thanks to the Mountain State Railroad & Logging Historical Association
for providing much of the information used in this article
Thanks also to SPV for their excellent Railroad Atlases