Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, USA

Next comes a cool train card from West Virginia (a not so often represented US state on this blog...and this is just my second WV card here, so it does deserve to be shown)

I received this one for the NA x World RR from Angee...lovely card! Angee says that the Cass Railroad dates back to 1901 but that you can still take rides on it.
A ride aboard a Cass steam-driven locomotive is an unforgettable thrill. The park, located in Pocahontas County, offers scenic excursion trips that give train lovers a glimpse of the state's vast Potomac Highland wilderness area. Restored early 1900's Shay, Climax and Heisler engines, pictured here, make Cass Scenic Railroad State Park America's authentic operating museum of lumber railroading.

word of the day: lumber

we have three nice stamps here from which I see the top right one for like the first time....errmm, I think...I don't wanna be mistaken like I was with those Industrial stamps...once mistaken and you start doubting yourself forever and ever :P
It is a FOREVER stamp from this year that commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Abraham Lincoln signed on January 1, 1863.
The stamp next to it is from that beautiful Earthscapes' set issued in 2012...and I guess you are familiar with George Washington's stamp from 2011.

West Virginia, USA

And a new US map card for my collection...and so far, at least on this blog, my first West Virginia card.

The card lacks the usual facts the majority of these map cards have on the backside. So I will leave those for some other time when I get such a postcard, and now Ill just give you something else.

A common story told about West Virginia is the folktale about how it got the nickname "West, By God, Virginia". According to the legend, a West Virginia native who was being inducted into the US Army during the First World War (some versions make it as early as the Spanish-American War), was repeatedly asked by his induction officer, "What part of Virginia?" And the soldier, finally getting fed up with the confusion, said "Not Virginia! West Virginia! West, by God, Virginia!". This story, whether true or not, has entered American folklore, and it is not unusual to hear not only West Virginians themselves, but other Americans, refer to the state as "West, By God, Virginia";, or often as "West By-God", or sometimes simply as "By-God". Many West Virginians, when travelling outside the state, or when abroad, enjoy paying homage to the legend by referring to their home state in this manner.

Makes me wonder, is the phrase "Behind God's back" common in other countries too? I know it has nothing to do with the above story, but just got me thinking into it....