Geared Steam Locomotives in Cass WV

[@65coro]

Without a doubt the coolest train whistle I've ever heard. The guy on the wistle is a real artist ! My 2 year old grandson loves this video & I do too. West Virginia is a beautiful state.

[@mikebaldwin2280]

My Dad was a fireman on one of these and could make a whistle sing , this brought a tear to my eye and great memories of wonderful times,THANK YOU!!!!

[@HugoDaWChadBoi]

ONE OF MY OLD CHILDHOOD VIDEOS ❤ THAT I NEVER FORGET...

[@JimTLonW6]

It's really good that this unique line is operating with these incredible Shay locos; many otherwise knowledgeable people have never heard that there were such amazing engines. Definitely a railway to see!

[@nathancorcoran5347]

There are a lot of many beautiful steam locomotives, along with the ones at the Cass Scenic Railroad.

[@ablethreefourbravo]

My grandpa always loved these. I never saw one moving until now, so I never really understood the attraction. We were both gearheads, but I didn't understand why he didn't prefer the larger steam engines, like the UP Big Boy, or one of the other mallets. Watching this one, I can understand why he liked these so much.

[@ucallthatatweet]

What's cooler than a steam locomotive whistle? The echoing whistle of a geared steam locomotive! Love the scenery too!

[@yaywhewclips242]

My family went to Cass, WV in the late 1970's & rode the train that surrounds the town. My father is a train enthusiast. What a wonderful idyllic town! Of course, most of WV is breathtakingly beautiful. Thanx 4 the memories.

[@scrambler250r]

From what I've read, they were designed for logging RRs in mountainous terrain. Because every wheel is driven with this design, they can handle much steeper grades & navigate poorer quality track without derailing. I saw one of these when I was younger, it was an awesome sight. All steam engines have visible moving parts but the amount that these have is insane!

[@colemanerik]

I love the sound of #5's whistle. Just echos in the wilderness so lovely

[@renegadeoflife87]

What you're hearing with the whistling is the engineer telling his train crew what he wants them to do, as well as warnings for crossings and people in the area. This train appears to have its brakes operated by hand, so among the whistle signal set are signals telling the brakemen when to adjust them. Steam locomotives typically operate their whistles at boiler pressure, and have their pitch determined by supply pressure and whistle geometry. Usually a skilled engineer gets a feel for the whistle cord on his engine and can make the wide variety of sounds you hear with it.

[@davetheelasticgoose4838]

The Shays broke conventions in steam locomotive construction in so many ways. Way ahead of it's time!

[@HadenHartz]

The enginier is a true musician, the music he makes with the whistles are just haunting!

[@kleetus92]

These guys are probably the best I've ever heard at playing a whistle out. Some of the whistles themselves aren't that pleasing, but the guy on the other side of the string can definitely make it talk!

[@AgonxOC]

I have been fortunate enough to have ridden the Cass Railroad on one of these majestic pieces. As much as I love flying, trains come a very close second.

[@Kiddman32]

Genuine proof that steam locomotives are not just machines... They are living, breathing beasts! Marvelous video!

[@awesomeapproved]

I can't stop watching this video. Huge locomotive + flatbed log carriers + caboose + awesome steam whistle = me and my Son (2yrs old) just looooooove this video. Thank you for filming and posting it. HD too, whew! Fantastic.

[@lessevdoolbretsim]

That's the greatest train whistle I ever heard. What is it that's so cool about those old trains? They're almost like seeing an old friend or something. Awesome.

[@CryptoidEngine]

Pardon the necropoke, but that couldn't be more accurate if you tried. :)

[@seawolf4846]

Sorry about the necro, but I think it has something to do with the fact that with steam locomotives, you can actually see the motion of the connecting rods and pistons. Visually, there's a lot more going on.

[@CryptoidEngine]

Man, I just can NOT get over that soulful, haunting whistle... It has this deep, moving effect on me that ain't a whole hell of a lot that compares. ♥ If I try, I can do a decent job of emulating this. I can't explain it well since it's more of a feeling than a thought, but it's just... Cathartic, in a way; like letting something out that you didn't know NEEDED out. .... That's probs gonna sound weird to peeps that don't quite get it, but eh. As many people as there is, SOMEONE'S gotta relate. :D

[@leehuff2330]

Loved the Shay passing the F unit and BL-2 lashup. Her whistle alongside the diesel horns was quite a sound.

[@MrRigger1112]

I love these whistles. I was lucky enough to be a kid and hear the Night of Ghost Whistles on Bald Knob in Cass, WV. Eerie and haunting, but absolutely magical. You could hear it echo for miles.

[@notsobrightfuture]

Fascinating! I'm 60 years old and never saw geared steam locomotive. Very nice video. Thanks for post.

[@vburke1]

That's the most mournful whistle I've ever heard, beautiful.

[@worldwiderailfanproduction2841]

Hands down Cass is one of the greatest locations in the world!!!

[@mattdotsonrailfanproductio266]

Worldwide Railfan Productions not only that but the whistle quilling is amazing

[@flemingmv1]

Nice video I was a brakeman there that year, now I plan the event and over the tours. These are beautiful machines and I love each and everyone! renegadeoflife87 yes the train whistle does give us brakeman and the conductor signals but we manually operate the brakes with no real whistle signals from the engineer except in certain areas, we learn the route and go from there. Very rewarding and unique job.

[@johnernestrushforth7784]

fantastic video,never seen a geared engine ,thank you for keeping the engines alive

[@donalfredisaac]

I´m 71 and had never seen before this type of locomotive. When young I used to travel to the beach in steam locomotives often in the summer, they were very old already, came from England I think, but they were the other type and were bigger. I´m from the Yucatan Peninsula SE of Mexico. Nice video.

[@trainzillamodelrailroading9905]

I'm 13 and your lucky I'm a steam fan as well but I will never get to see as Much steam locomotives as you did and also maby the reason you never saw any of these is because it's a wester loco :) but as I was saying, I'm a steam fan as well and I have a layout with many tyco locomotives. I have 3 engines that have a logging rout to bad I won't get to see as much real ones as up you did. I live in newton so not a lot happens in my life.....

[@trainzillamodelrailroading9905]

Also, now WE have the biggest locomotives we got the challenger and the big boy is near down with its restoration.

[@GooglFascists]

The Cass Steam Railroad came very close to being scrapped in the early 1960s. It had been an operating lumber business for 50+ years but they had cut all the Spruce trees off the mountains, so the railroad was no longer needed. Thanks to Governor Cecil Underwood the Cass Railroad became a WV State Park, then later a historic landmark. The Shay engines were saved and fixed up like new, & for 50 years now people can enjoy riding authentic steam locomotives up to Bald Knob mountain and back!

[@derekspender7948]

Beautifully composed filming. Magnificent scenery. Great locomotives and I loved those whistles. Full of character!

[@freeamericausa1]

I've been a train lover since my teenage years...in the 1960's. And now at age 65. I aim to make sure my 5 grandchildren get to visit, and ride on one of those Glorious Old Works of Art before I leave this world.

[@MrVinney96]

That whistle though. Sounds great.

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

they are shay type locomotives made by the LIMA Locomotive works, the gears and pistons on the right side drive a drive shaft on that same side, they were designed to climb steep mountain grades, negotiate extremely sharp curves, and operate on trackage that wasn't in the best shape. There were two other main types of geared logging locomotives that competed with the Shays, including the Climax, and the Heisler.

[@MrMikado282]

Always loved these engines thanks to the gear system they can really put the power to the rails.

[@Lahoreumar]

Eye catching screenplay and beautiful clear video. The shriek whistling of the steam locomotive is reminiscent of the golden days of Steam Trains.

[@rlrsk8r1]

What an impressive machine! And I didn't think geared steam locomotives ever caught on.

[@vrfan]

I've only ever seen Shay's static in a museum. Would be interesting to see one live, but great video :)

[@NorthEasternMotionProductions]

They’re quite a nice site. I’ve gotten to see them a lot in NH on the Clark’s Trading Post.

[@mathieuverberne]

What a, beautiful machine. Love the idea, never ever seen such a locomotive.

[@jprock1980]

What an awesome piece of machinery! My head is still trying to grasp the lack of the typical giant drive wheels one finds on a steam locomotive. Gorgeous scenery to be working in as well.

[@megatwingo]

A wonderful video. Great locations, cool engines and much steam. Everything well filmed and edited. I enjoyed especially the detailed clips of the crankshaft and driving shaft of the shay. Thumbs up! :)

[@mobius8002]

the whistle almost sounds like a warcry . excellent video.

[@escobarl103]

Glad I'm not the only that thought so.

[@kyrabrownlee7542]

+escobarl103 ,dc xx ,W2special x weather

[@ebutboy1]

This is an amazing sequence of videos. The locomotive is a fantastic piece of machinery. It's worth preserving for the whistle alone an eerie evocation of times long past. Marvellous.

[@jancarstenandreasen3019]

I'm over 50 year, and have never seen such a Loco

[@fredstuckmann]

Great video. Nice equipment and scenery, but what I really enjoyed was the engineer's artistry on his steam whistles. Thx.

[@skiddy8619]

I wish my grampa was still around he would have loved to see these kinds of videos. He had all kinds of lionel trains and track, and a very neat display. Wish I new about youtube back then. Thank You for sharing this beautiful video with us train fans.

[@USA1369007]

Thanks for posting this. I have never seen a geared locomotive, and I have been around this business for over 35 years now. Fascinating. Randal

[@tye1138]

Great video, nicely put together. I forgot how good the whistles are! All of my childhood videos the whistles were over modulated because they're so loud!

[@renegadeoflife87]

It was widely maintained among the loggers out west that a Shay locomotive could climb a tree if it wanted to. Glad to see that there are still some of the type in operating condition. I had wondered for some time how they looked when in motion, since the old photographs are not clear on the mechanism motions.

[@Bronywithguns870]

The sound of the whistle is just so haunting

[@flipsparr2175]

Trains are such a masterpiece of engineering and craftsmanship

[@thejdmguru621]

I last watched this video back in 2011, when I was 6 years old, this brings me back.

[@josephstanwell6715]

This is a fantastic video that shows the most amazing steam locomotive design that I have ever seen. As a bonus, the video shows the most beautiful countryside. The locomotive whistle has to be heard to be believed. Thanks to Amesh2009.

[@henerymag]

Beautiful. I too have never seen a locomotive with a drivetrain like that. Learned something new today. Thanks

[@jdonalds2001]

Best steam engine train video I've seen. Good job on positioning the camera. Great whistle sounds. Thanks.

[@kleetus92]

It's something to experience, but OH MY GOD is it LOUD! I rode in the cab of #7 and #11 for a parts trip I did back in 2003, and it was just a little shy of painful for how loud it was in the cab. I knew they were loud from the ground, and being further up the train, but in the cab was unbelievably loud. God Bless those men!

[@1DTNIfan]

GREAT VIDEO !!! One of the BEST looking & very unique running engines around...."The Ephraim Shay"... AWESOME !!!

[@ryanseals_]

How could anyone dislike this! Seriously!

[@taofledermaus]

Maybe they had their headphones turned up too high. lol

[@JawTooth]

I just posted a video of a shay racing a diesel. Please check it out.

[@tommyplays8483]

Ryan Seals .

[@MsMorgannMichelle]

Ryan Seals Cggdgftyfyhhuiiuii

[@Cacowninja]

TAOFLEDERMAUS You're a railfan?

[@Smedley60]

Great video. Great whistle. I loved the image at 2:20 as it came around a bend. Thank you for posting this unique treasure.

[@cathywhite1729]

"What a fantastic and awesome video, could only imagine living in those hills with the sound of "Old #5" coming around the bend, love that horn!!!, thank you for sharing"!!! 😉☺😎

[@Redhackle]

It makes me tear up and I can't explain it. I guess I pine for those simpler days. Thanks very much. Beautiful.

[@nathancorcoran5347]

I remember seeing this video as a young kid back then.

[@ElninhoKoji]

I've watched this 828 times my son who is 2 yrs old wants to see it every day!

[@haatveit]

I'm not really a train person or anything, not sure how I ended up here in fact. But, jeez, that whistle echoing is haunting... Beautiful.

[@ColonelCasey1]

Fascinating train and beautiful scenery - great video! My great-grandfather worked on the railroad in Cass, WV around 1910.

[@notstripey]

Thankyou for this great footage! My 2 year old son and I watch it and we are both mesmerised by it.

[@rickietube1]

Very nice vid. thank you for sharing. I go up to Cass at least every other year to take a ride. You video has me ready to go again, as soon as they open for the year. Those whistles give me chills down my spine. Love it.

[@vrfan]

Great view of a shay locomotive in action.

[@bill45colt]

Ive been and ridden. If you havent, you are missing a great thrill, not to be duplicated anywhere. Ridden several steam railroads in the US and they are all different in many ways. When you have time, go, and share in the memories. Your kids wont ever forget it either.

[@StubProductions]

Excellent video sir. Going to Cass is like stepping back in time! What a place!

[@buckarooski8998]

I remember watching this when I was a kid

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

Yes, the CSRR has 1 Heisler, and 1 Climax. Heisler #6 is operational; however Climax #9 is not, # 9 is being restored, and is hoped to be operational sometime in 2014. Climax #9 will be one of only four operational Climax type steam engines in the world. Two of which will be in the same valley, the Greenbrier Valley. A few miles from Cass there is the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad's Durbin point of operation, and Climax #3, like the Cass Scenic's #9, also an ex. Moore Keepel & Co. engine.

[@Xps3ubox60wii]

wow these steam engine designes are sooo rare to today (even in museums) im really surprised that they still have these running

[@MARKLINMAN1]

OMG, this was AWESOME! I think i want to do an HO LAYOUT with just Shays! I loved this video and would love to visit this place. Thanks a million for the coolest shay video EVER!

[@RStephana]

Adorei , não imaginava que ainda tinha locomotivas a vapor andando ainda , obrigado .

[@SJRailroader31]

Awesome video! I always wanted to ride this train!

[@LiminalTub]

I see these trains to be fascinating yet unusual at the same time

[@norbertpecheq3427]

It´s moving ,smoking,stinking and whistling..it´s great!!!And this whistle sounds like in old songs from Jimmy Rodgers!!!Beautiful!

[@JimTLonW6]

Awesome scenery and railway! What a sight to see these unique locomotives! I can't but help think that passengers needed showers after all that black smoke!

[@Pynaegan]

Loved this vid! This is the first one I've seen in action myself. It's a weird engine to be sure with its vertical pistons and "offset" boiler. I see that the tender when used is actually part of the drive train. I find that interesting to say the least. So are the drive wheels on the right tied to the wheels on the left through the axle or are the left side wheels "free spinning"?

[@fallingwater]

I like the triple-piston engine on the side, never seen anything like that on a train before. Love the turbine-like whirring noise at 6:40!

[@defbil73]

Nice video- very well done! I watched it with my 2 year old and 5 month old- we all enjoyed it.

[@retovath]

That is one Beautiful whistle

[@Shiraz354]

scenic gives pleasure and peace at mind. beautiful.

[@SMVvids]

What is it about Geared shays that's just so...Magical...

[@walterstrains5390]

Their whistles!

[@Idkjustgothere]

There unique design :D

[@rchrisholland]

I use the sound of this trains through my Bluetooth running on my model train board it's awesome what a wonderful video

[@calvinpagac5931]

Wow, this thing's got more power sitting still than all of the diesels got with the hammer down and full throttle

[@benjaminfamilywood]

As a British person, my favorite American loco is the PR K4 s steam loco

[@crookedriver2079]

+Benjamin Wood If you study Shays long enough they will grow on you. (ask me how I know)

[@JimTLonW6]

Awesome sights and sounds, I'd love to visit this line.

[@1935Gerhard]

Mit Abstand das Beste was ich eisenbahnmäßig in Amerika je gesehen habe.

[@xozyje]

alors là ! je n'avais encore jamais vu de locomotive de ce type , c'est formidable !

[@DoubleMrE]

I'd seen other film on geared locos before, but never realized until now that they only drive the wheels on the right side. Interesting. Thanks for the UL! ;)

[@bigshow196]

i just noticed that too. though something i have noticed and continue to wonder about, is why the wheels of the flatcars and other cars it hauls are geared? they have the same splines cut into as the shay's drive wheels

[@gravelydon7072]

DoubleMrE No gears on the wheels of the freight cars. Those are ribs on the back of the wheels that you see.

[@DoubleMrE]

gravelydon I think you meant to reply to Billy Hudson. ;)

[@gravelydon7072]

DoubleMrE Yes it was. :-o Shays only are geared on one side. Mostly the right side but there was one built with left side drive and there was one rebuilt so the boiler was on the centerline instead of offset. The owner of the centered boiler one, Henry Ford. Heislers were built with the gearing running down the center with siderods connecting the wheels on the trucks. Climaxes had all axles geared down the center. Cass actually has all three there. Last time I was there, the Climax was not in service as it was caught in the engine shop fire back in the early 70s. It was sad seeing the remains of the old shop after the fire.

[@DoubleMrE]

gravelydon That's interesting. I didn't know about those other types. Thanks for the reply! I guess it doesn't really matter that much where you put the gears since the axles are solid, but still, regular locos have solid axles too and the always drive the wheels on both sides (as far as I know anyway). I suppose there is some advantage to driving the wheels on both sides . . . like more even power application, so less wear on running gear?

[@capnclawhammer3024]

The Shays shown here could haul one heck of a lot more than is being shown; those three flatcars loaded with short-sawn oldgrowth logs are mostly just for show and really a pretty light load. Consists of twenty or more such cars each loaded with ten or so whole ten to twenty-foot-long topped and bottomed timber were the common load for such trains, back when these engines were the in their heyday (which was not that long ago, such were still in regular use on some logging lines as late as the mid-1950s).

[@maddennis55]

This type of loco was designed for steep and irregular track as used in mountain logging regions. The engine (cylinders) can run at a good, even speed, and the gearing makes for a strong, easy pull on rough and steeper grades.

[@hk-sf4kj]

1:40 2:20 Formula 1 Sounds Whistle Steam Train

[@deborahselof5534]

Beautiful! I've never seen a geared locomotive before!

[@daanbos5918]

Imagine having a train powered by a triple expansion machine

[@SantaFebuff]

I believe so. That is why signals and whistle talk became so vital. Also why diesel-electric locomotive were so popular when introduced to the railroad market.

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

To become a steam engineer, it requires more time in the cab of one, than the amount of time required in the cockpit of a plane to become an airplane pilot. Its usually about 20 degrees hotter in the Cab than it is outside. And there are a few safety hazards, but to those that love it, its all worth it, even though it can all blow up. Those who do love it, they should either volunteer at a local steam, or diesel railway, or get a job on one of the few that actually have employees.

[@caw1]

Thank You very much for this, I've never seen anything like this locomotive.

[@PennRailVideos]

Awesome work man.

[@martinweigel3833]

i´m so facinated of this technic, love this machine

[@drrgperrin]

Very nicely filmed. Thank you!

[@nathancorcoran5347]

It’s absolutely true.