POCAHONTAS COUNTY, W.Va. — A new scenic train line connecting Durbin to Cass could open in Pocahontas County as soon as this fall.
Foundational and earth moving work was continuing this month, as the weather allowed, for the replacement of the Trout Run Bridge crossing the Greenbrier River.
The bridge was damaged in the 1985 Flood and never rebuilt until now.
As of Thursday morning, the Durbin side was finished and work continued on the Cass side.
The project is a cooperative effort involving the state Division of Highways, the State Rail Authority and the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad.
“I’m really happy to be doing this as we partner with DOH. We’re like the little sister to them and they’re always there helping us,” said Cindy Butler, executive director of the State Rail Authority.
To save money on what’s estimated to be a nearly $2 million project, the state Division of Highways, with Todd Schoonover serving as project director, is handling the first part of site preparation work.
Environmental protection steps at the bridge site have been an issue along with accessibility.
There is no road access leading to the bridge location which is six miles east of Cass and two miles west of Hosterman.
“We have to bring everything in by rail and this is rail that we’ve just put back,” Butler explained.
Delivery of cement via tram in specialized buckets, as an example, must be properly timed.
A flat rail car had to be retrofitted to support the transportation of a drilling machine weighing 86,000 pounds.
Recently, worked went on in ten inches of snow.
“The logistics of this has been more than just building a bridge. It’s building a bridge under really extreme circumstances,” Butler said.
By April, the goal was to put a contract for the building of the steel bridge superstructure out for bid.
After construction, it will be up to those with the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad and the State Rail Authority to put down the track.
“This private-public partnership is, I think, a really good way that we demonstrate DOT (the state Department of Transportation) is one agency,” Butler said.
Key to moving along the bridge replacement work, in her view, was the consolidation of train lines for West Virginia Central, Cass and Durbin under the same operator.
The State Rail Authority owns the railroads and now contracts with the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad to run excursion trains at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park and along the Greenbrier River from Durbin.
New options for travel packages will be available with a finished bridge.
Additionally, “There’s no way you can run winter trains up the mountain, but this will give us an opportunity to run some special events in the winter,” Butler said.
The old Trout Run Bridge remains in place as an historical piece.
“I always said every turn you take on one of our tourist trains is a postcard and you just can’t take enough pictures when you’re on these train rides,” Butler said.
With the link between Durbin to Cass, “I think that’s just another aspect that we’re going to have for the state.”