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45 Years at Cass

John MeixelJohn MeixelOGR Forum Member

Last week a friend and I spent the week at the Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass, West Virginia.  The first time we were there was in September, 1972!  Since then Cass has always been my favorite train location.

Then and now you can ride a Shay powered train to Whittaker or all the way to the summit of Bald Knob.  We rented one of the company houses for four nights and has a great time talking on the front porch in the evening.

Many things have remained the same but some important things have changed.  I will explain.

Cass has been, and still is, closed on Mondays.  In the past Tuesday through Sunday you could always ride either one of the Whittaker trains or the one Bald Knob train.  Once in Cass we would decide which day to go to Bald Knob based on the changeable weather.

Today only the single Bald Knob train runs on Tuesdays and only the Whittaker train runs on Thursdays.  Both run on the other days.

We arrived in Cass on Monday evening.  When we went to the station Tuesday morning we discovered that only the Bald Knob train was running and it was sold out!

There are two reasons why it was sold out: 1. the train now only has a single locomotive and, because of this, is now only five cars long, 2. most tickets are sold online!  Based on our history we felt that "online" and "Cass" don't go together!  We were also upset then we were told that double headed steam is over at Cass which, for us, was one of Cass' main selling points!

We were able to get tickets for Wednesday's Bald Knob train although there were only 20 left.  For Tuesday we went on the shop tour and later visited the Green Bank Observatory.

Wednesday we rode the Bald Know train with Shay #2 as power which I was happy about since I have an HO brass model of it running in my office at work.

Unfortunately pushing five cars was a bit too much for her.  Her throttle was pretty much wide open for the entire trip up and, since we were in the car next to her, the volume of her exhaust was painfully loud.  It was almost as loud as the whistle.  Forget about trying to hear the commentary.  I believe this may be very hard on the locomotive forcing higher maintenance.

On Thursday we rode the Durbin Rocket which was great because Cass Heisler #6 was the power.  I hadn't seen #6 run for probably 20 years.  Afterwards we were able to get back to Cass to ride the last Whittaker trip with #4 as power pushing four cars which was easily within her capability.  I actually enjoyed that trip more then the Bald Knob one.

I understand and appreciate Cass's new train operator's, (the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley), efforts to improve the operation and keep it profitable.  However I think they should go back to the previous Bald Knob train configuration.  There were at least 10 people on Tuesday who were turned away to do it being full.  Most of them could now come back the next day.  With a longer, nine car, and double headed train that could accommodate 120 more people, (max 30 per car), and have happier customers.  Hopefully they will change!

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MK Matt KirschOGR Forum Member

I'm sure if money grew on trees they would gladly return to the old schedule, but I'm also sure that the decision to modify the schedule and train size was not taken lightly or made arbitrarily.

The economics are quite clear. One crew vs. two. One engine vs. two. Half as many cars to maintain. Fewer days per week to pay crews and operation costs.

I would bet that prior to these changes they regularly had as many as five empty cars on this run on any given day. By reducing the number of runs per week and the number of available seats they have sold out runs and probably a waiting list.

John MeixelJohn MeixelOGR Forum Member

Matt,

I agree with your logic but I think it may be more complex.  Yes there are two more crew members for the second engine plus whatever additional brakemen are required for the additional cars.  However the additional passengers may be enough to offset them and, hopefully, generate more profit.  Also I think they can have more than 30 people per car.

John MeixelJohn MeixelOGR Forum Member

Last week I sent the following comments to West Virginia's Department of Natural Resources.  I explained that I had their comment card but wanted to say more than would fit on the card.  I used the card's format for my response.  They were very helpful and said they would forward my comments to the appropriate people.  Their email is DNR.Parks@wv.gov.  I encourage others, who have been to Cass recently, to also provide comments.  Thank you.  

 

Park: Cass Scenic Railroad

Date of Visit: 7/24 - 7/28

Cabin #: 225

State Where You Reside: Colorado

What prompted you to stay at this park? Previous Visit

Do you think our rates are Reasonable

How would you rate the area overall? Excellent

How would you rate our services facilities?
Cabin: Excellent considering its historic significance
Font desk: Excellent
Trails: N/A
Grounds: Excellent
Activities: Good: will add more below
Meeting Facilities: N/A

Registration
Reservation was in order upon check-in: Excellent
Efficient and speedy: Excellent
Courteous and friendly: Excellent
Knowledge of the park: Excellent

How were your accommodations?
Physical conditions: Good
Cleanliness upon arrival: Excellent
Cleanliness during stay: N/A since we maintained it
Bedding: Good, I'm 6' 4" tall so larger beds would be great.  We got a house with two double beds but I still had to sleep diagonally to fix.
Television: Good
Heating/AC: Did not use
Campsite: N/A

How would you rate our restaurant?
Food quality: Good
Food Value: Good
Personnel friendly and attentive: Excellent

Would you stay with us again: Yes


What did you enjoy about your stay?

My friend and I have been coming to Cass since 1972 and it has always been one of our favorite places.  We are very fond of the trains and always ride both the Bald Knob and Whittaker trains.  We were very concerned about three significant changes that have been made with train ticket sales, train schedule and the Bald Knob train.

Ticket Sales and Train Schedule:

Because of the Cass weather we always wait until we arrive at Cass before we decide which day we will ride to Bald Knob.  We want to save the best weather for it.  We don't mind riding the Whittaker trip in rain or snow.  We arrived in Cass on Monday and planned to ride trains on Tuesday and Wednesday and then ride the Durbin Rocket on Thursday.  Tuesday morning we went to the Cass station when it opened.  There are no station hours posted on it, or anywhere else, so we kept walking there until it opened.  Once we arrived we were told that the Bald Knob train was the only one that operated on Tuesdays and that it was sold out!  In the past Both Bald Knob and Whittaker trains operated every day but Monday and we did not know a change had been made.  We were also told that most ticket sales are made online or via telephone.  We were forced to buy tickets for the Wednesday Bald Knob train which only had 20 seats available.  We spent the day going on the shop tour and visiting the Green Bank Observatory.   There were several other people who could not ride Tuesday and could not ride the next day so you lost customers who were upset, may not return, and will tell others about their bad experience.  If the Whittaker train was running we would have ridden that and they would have also.  Please run both trains on all operating days.  This means also adding the Bald Knob train on Thursday.  You also need to find a way to accommodate walk up sales.  On your website you say it is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance.  This needs to be more strongly worded saying that most Bald Knob trains are sold out before the day they operate.  On Thursday we rode the Durbin Rocket and were able to return to Cass in time to ride the Whitaker train.

Bald Knob Train:

One of the highlights of the past Bald Knob trains is that they use two steam locomotives.  There is only one other US railroad that regularly operates double-headed steam locomotives so this is a very special attraction. The current train has only one locomotive.  The train has been shortened to 5 cars which they locomotive can barely handle.  The engine works is extremely loud because it is working so hard.  We always ride in the car next to the engine so we can watch it work.  Unfortunately it was so loud that it made us uncomfortable and the audio commentary could not be heard at all in that car.  In the past the commentary was done only during the return trip when the engine was relatively quiet and it was easy to hear.  We rode the Whittaker train Thursday which had 4 cars and it was able to handle the load without much effort.  The engine exhaust was much quieter than the Bald Knob train.  Also, if the train had two locomotives it could have 9 cars and be able to accommodate 120 more passengers and alleviate the sold out problem which would prevent upset customers.


Were there any employees that made your visit more enjoyable?

Yes, I don't know their names but the woman and cabin check in, the restaurant waitress, and the Whittaker locomotive engineer were all great to talk to and very helpful.


Additional Comments:

Cass is a world-class treasure!  It is a very unique experience.  I understand that it has financial challenges but it is a wonderful asset to West Virginia.  I understand that changes are required to keep it alive but it is less than what it used to be.  Please make it at least as good as it was and hopefully make it even better.  If there is anything I can do to help please contact me.  My email is johnfmeixel@gmail.com

Thank you!  John Meixel

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