Cass scenic railroad

A club member of ours (Tallulah Falls RR Co) will hopefully chime in here soon - He went just a few weeks ago and the engineers let him ride the cab, blow the whistles, et. al. He was ridin' high!

Its a great place

I live a few minutes down the road.......I hope I can answer!!!

I don't have any 'con' other than if you live in a bigger city and are used to many conveniences you may feel a bit out of place. 

There are only a handful of gas stations in Pocahontas county (1000 sq miles)  and fewer places to eat. So a little prep helps.

It's a great place to visit. Check out their website for days they are running and when as they have trimmed their schedule some this summer. 

If there are questions you have please contact me at my e-mail address or here if you wish...I'll do my best!!

Amc Dave,I printed out a list of events with dates & times .I have driven past the greenbrier many times over the years but i have never been inside maybe this trip we will be able to stop and go inside.You say that you live near by,my wife is from Rainelle,W.V.,i think it is close to where you live,who knows i might even bump into you when we come down there.We aren't sure when we will be coming down possible early August. We are from the city,Bayonne,N.J.I will keep you in mind if we need any more information. Thanks for the offer of help.   Jerry  Marafioti

Don't worry about going to the Greenbrier......it was bought a few years ago and now it's a high dollar resort. Last time I was in the area you could not get on 'campus' without being a guest. At one time you could get into the hotel and go down to the Sulfur Spring. You can still tour the secret White House but it requires advance reservations and it's costly. 

Other great free things are the GBT....called the Great Big Telescope by the locals. It's really the NARO radio telescope installation. It's totally free, a museum, multi media show and bus tour of the grounds. (you can't get on the grounds with your own car)

Natural wonders, still free, are Cranberry Glades and Bear Town....both easy to find and more info on the net. Droop mountain Civil War battlefield is between all these....free to get on the grounds and the small museum is still free IIRC. 

All in all lots to do here as long as it ain't movies or mall shopping.....thank God!

PS....much of Pocahontas is 'DARK' as far as cell phones because of GBT and where they do work no 4G or any provider other than ATT!!

There really is a lot to see,the problem is we are only going to be there 2 or 3 days i'll have to wait & see what the inlaws have to say & how their schedule is.

About 5 years ago we took a ride up the mountain on the Cass and really enjoyed.  It seems like they had box lunches available to eat at the top of the Mt.  Here's a video I shot on the trip.  You got to love the way the engineer can make the whistle sing.

I inquired about the cab ride and was told, first to ask gets it

Cass Video

 http://s278.photobucket.com/user/TRAINS4U2C/media/CassRailroad2.flv.html?sort=3&o=240

Two suggestions: From Cass, take a short drive to Durbin and ride the DURBIN ROCKET behind a 2-truck Climax on a C&O branch

Go to mountainrailwv.com (no www.) and check out the DURBIN ROCKET and other passenger trains on the former C&O and Western Maryland. There is a WIDE variety and all of them are well worth riding.

Some scenes from the Cass Scenic Railroad:

The Durbin Rocket:

There was a thread started a month or so ago (maybe more) all about Cass.  Please look for it...quite a few pix.  

Having stated that, Cass is a RR experience that you WILL NOT forget!  BlimpMan and I were lucky to take the ride last October, and, OH!!, what an experience.

Don't miss.....  

It's been far too long since I've been to Cass, but nowhere else will you get such an appreciation of how a geared steam locomotive works.

Rusty

Cass = Art in motion! Amazing machines and the sights and sounds are wonderful.

That's a good explanation!  When you think most of the locos are over or near 100 years old and don't have a single electronic component and run like they do.....that is close to ART!

Doesn't get much better than that.

Flyfishing for trout and riding behind a steam engine.

I'm near Marlinton south of Cass. You local?? Not many model RR around but are a few.....I've bought stuff off ebay from two locals.......

Its a nice trip to take from every perspective.  For us is a pleasant weekend trip, so we've done it twice in the last  few years.  I do agree the area around the Cass RR is a bit sparse of comforts and such - you have to want to go there - but there is no hardship or anything and the rural scenery is part of the charm.   My wife loves the scenery from the RR trip and the fun of the Cass RR itself, as I do, and additionally I find the locomotives and rolling stock and the whole railroad thing interesting and a lot of fun.  The box lunches aren't much, BTW, but they are food.

Cass has the only Shays I have ever seen running or been around much, so it is very interesting from that standpoint.  Countryside is interesting enough.   The whole production - stations, countryside, locos and train, are not as big a deal or quite as grand an experience as, say, the Silverton to Durango trip or the Cumbras and Toltec, but then, for us, it's a lot shorter drive and the Shay locos are, for me, rather special. 

Good comments Lee.....but one exception.....The GIANT 3 truck Hiesler boiler rebuild has been finsihed and it is back in service. There is a Climax on site but don't know if it will be restored. BUT....just a few miles North at Durbin is a nice Climax runnig on the old C&O Greenbrier line.

The Climax has been getting worked on for a few years now.

As has Mountain State's Shay.....I hope I get to see them finished!!!!