The Greenbrier, Cheat and Elk Railroad (GC&E) was a

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

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 an American Class I railroad (1852–1983) which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM beca ...

(WM)."Cass Scenic Railroad."
''

The Inter-Mountain ''The Inter-Mountain'' is an afternoon daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wid ...

,'' 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, ...

Spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

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 ful ...

, 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 st ...

(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 88.5 mi (142.5 km) long and forms the Cheat at its confluence with Black Fork at Parsons.DeLorme (1997). ''West Virginia Atlas ...

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 West Virginia. The Department of Transportation serves an umbrella organization for seven subsidiary agencies which are directly respons ...

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 operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

, 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 (US 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) i ...

on portions of the line.

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 customer ...

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, an long heritage railway owned by the West Virginia State Rail Authority and oper ...

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.

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

History

Current operation

Plans

See also

References

External links