Cass Scenic Railroad
Webster Springs
Lancias in Weston (huh?)
And a side trip to
Ireland
June 2008
Starting out the trip on Rt 19 South out of
Clarksburg.
This was a nice view near Jane Lew.
After going through Weston, I took Rt 4 west. Starting to get interesting.
Rt 4 nearing Rock Cave. It’s getting better every minute!
After Rock Cave, I headed south on Rt 20. This is the entrance to Holly River State
Park.
I took a little detour and rode back into Holly River
State Park.
Back out on Rt 20 heading south toward Webster
Springs. Great riding!
I started out this ride on about a half tank of gas,
and thought I would stop about now to fill up.
The problem is, there are no gas stations open. By the time I find a station in Webster
Springs,
I was down to my last half-gallon.
After Webster Springs, I went east on Rt 15, south on Rt 219,
then east again on Rt 33.
Destination – Cass, home of the Cass Railroad. The train was just coming in.
You can ride the passenger cars up the steep mountain
to the overlook – Highly recommended.
The Cass Scenic Railroad station.
There’s a good
snack bar in the station if you want a burger or hot-dog.
Two fine machines and one old man.
The engineer was oiling everything before heading up
the mountain again.
Lots of steam pressure.
Off she goes – next stop is the top of the mountain.
Disappearing in a cloud of coal smoke.
I’d venture to
say this is more pollution than a hundred cars give off in a year.
Heading out of Cass, I went up the CR 1 right behind
the station. Also called Back Mt. Road.
All paved, but very narrow and lots of blind
corners. More horsies!
I’m glad it wasn’t named Broke Back Mt. Road.
Back on Rt 250 heading west into Huttonsville. Cheat Mountain overlook.
See, I told you I took a side trip to Ireland
(WV). Yes, they do have Irish festivals
here.
Coming back through Weston (pop about 5,000), I was
very surprised to see an old Lancia sitting in front of a warehouse.
Yes, the lighting is terrible, but you get an idea of
the old-world craftsmanship.
I poked my head in the open door to the warehouse and
discovered a treasure chest of cool European cars.
Citroens, Alfa Romeos, Porsches, Jaguars, and Deutsch-Bonnets.
This old Citroen was undergoing restoration.
A French Citroen 2CV.
There were thousands of these still running around
Europe when we were there 2000-2003.
The Deutsch Bonnet race car. This was one of only a few hundred made.
Fascinating!
For a history of the D-B cars, click here.
The Panhard and D-B Club of America
I think you will see this car on the second link (or one just like it)
The rear of the Deutsch-Bonnet.
Here is Jim Bandy, the owner of this garage and all
the cars.
He was
stationed in Europe for several years and became interested in European cars.
You can contact him at:
USAFrance Auto
PO Box 1409
Weston, WV
26452
Well, hope you enjoyed today’s ride. Thanks!