The Moyer Lumber Company closed its Cass operations in July, 1961. By 1963 the state legislature had made the
old lumber railroad a part of the
State Park system, and trains were operating 4 miles up the hill to Whitaker Station.
By May, 1968, the track had been rehabilitated all the way to Bald Knob, the second highest point in the state. An opening ceremony was planned, with Gov. Hulett C. Smith to drive the golden spike. Rail historian John P. Killoran convinced the C&O Railroad to run a special train,
The Mountaineer Limited, from Hinton to Cass.
Using a variety of C&O and privately-owned passenger equipment, riders could originate in Louisville, Cincinnati, Washington DC, Huntington, Parkersburg, and Charleston. (Interestingly, the route from Parkersburg to Hinton went east on the B&O to Washington, then west on the C&O.) The individual cars piggy-backed on regularly scheduled C&O and B&O passenger trains, arriving in Hinton during Friday evening and early Saturday morning.
The Mountaineer Limited departed Hinton for Cass at 6am Saturday morning.
The Summer 2013 issue of
Classic Trains Magazine has a 10 page article recounting the weekend, written by Bob Withers, who rode
The Mountaineer Limited in 1968 as a young man.
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