This week, we reflect on Dolly Parton’s passing and her legacy in the region. Also, the Adaptive Climbers Festival at Kentucky’s Red River Gorge feels like home for climbers with disabilities from around the world. And, a new book spotlights Appalachian plants and encourages readers to get in touch with nature.
Steam Engine Wins Train Race at the Ghost Town of Spruce
Share this Article
It’s been called the NASCAR of train races, and it takes place at an altitude of 3,853 feet in Pocahontas County.
Yesterday a crowd of 250 people gathered to watch as two massive trains, one departing from Cass and the other from Elkins, converged at the wilderness ghost town of Spruce. The two trains raced side by side for nearly a mile.
Cass State Park’s coal-powered steam engine, the Shay #6, crossed the finish line first, beating the Cheat Mountain Salamander Train “by a locomotive length,” said John Smith, the president of the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad, which owns the Salamander train. The Salamander is powered by a diesel locomotive #82.
The crowd then enjoyed grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. Musical entertainment was provided by the Ginsangers from Elkins.
Danny Seldomridge was the engineer on the Shay #6 and Gene Lambert was the conductor. On the Cheat Mountain Salamander Bob Robinson was the engineer and Josh Arbogast was the conductor.
The Salamander will make the ride to the top of Spruce 12 more times this year. This 9-hour round-trip train departs from Elkins.
This week, we reflect on Dolly Parton’s passing and her legacy in the region. Also, the Adaptive Climbers Festival at Kentucky’s Red River Gorge feels like home for climbers with disabilities from around the world. And, a new book spotlights Appalachian plants and encourages readers to get in touch with nature.
In the wake of Dolly Parton's death on Tuesday, her Imagination Library of West Virginia has had an outpouring of comments and calls about the late singer's impact.
One of the world’s rarest plants, the Peters Mountain Mallow, lives on only one mountainside, in the New River Valley along the West Virginia line. Last year, scientists counted just five plants still alive – and the recent drought means protecting it from extinction is getting tougher.