Hi all,

My sister and her autistic son (he is passionate about steam locomotives) are planning a trip to visit Cass, watch (and ride) the Shays, etc. Doing Google searches really doesn't result in any decent info about a trip to Cass. I remember some folks posting tips/lessons learned about Cass (when to go, where to stay, greasy spoon restaurants to frequent or avoid, etc), here, but can't find it doing any searches.

Does anyone have any recent Cass information?

One particular question: can tours of the locomotive shops be arranged (or cab rides, for that matter)?

I've kind of lost track of how many times I've been there.

If you're traveling with a family and want a 'normal' motel with a restaurant open past 8PM, I'd recommend "The Inn at Snowshoe" which is at the bottom of the Snowshoe Resort road. The road to the top of the mountain makes a nice diversionary side trip too. The resort is very good and summer lodging is available if you want to pay the freight.

If you're game, the 'company houses' at Cass aren't bad. You get to be in Cass in the mornings and afternoons after the crowds have left, and that's quite different. The best Cass shot I ever took was a late afternoon shot as the locos were being put down for the night on the ready track - nice low light.

If you are at Cass, stay the extra day and take in the Durbin & Greenbrier Climax, the Elkins-Bellington excursion train, and/or the Mountain Salamander Edwards car to High Falls. All very different experiences. You also aren't THAT far from Cumberland and the WMSR, and the Potomac Eagle at Romney. Basically, you have six operations to take in in the region and all of them different rides. If you have a sympathetic spouse and family, you can railfan until you drop! And that was the goal - West Virginia is right up there with Colorado for concentration of railfan stops!

Definitely a great experience awaits if you never have been to Cass before! Outstanding scenery and a truly awesome train ride--the Shays (and Heisler) are incredible machines to see running in their "natural environment". By all means spend the extra time and money and take the longer (4 hour) trip to Bald Knob. Be forewarned it can be quite chilly up on the mountain at times (even in the summer) and a bring-along jacket might be a good idea even if its hot down in Cass. When the weather is clear the view from atop Bald Knob is spectacular!

As for meals and places to stay, there are a few choices. The state park has rental cottages (refurbished lumber company houses) right in Cass. Reservations are a must. The Inn at Snowshoe, up on Cheat Mountain, probably offers the most modern accommodations in the area (at a price). The Boyer Motel on Route 28 between Bartow and Greenbank has been around a long while and (I think) is the closest motel to Cass. The rooms in front are getting a bit worn out, but the ones up in back are still ok for a modest cost. Their railroad-theme restaurant is VERY good, even if you don't stay there. Boyer's is 12 miles from Cass--another 6 or 8 miles north on 28 (at Bartow) is the Hermitage Motel. Also nice with another good little restaurant.

The folks at Cass are very friendly! Yes, by all means walk down to the shops (to the left of the water tower), I'm sure shop forman Artie Barkely or someone would be glad to show you around. Of course most of the active engines will be outside. If you get a chance to talk with Artie it will be a rewarding experience--this man knows lumber railroading and geared steam like no other! Just beyond the Cass shop is the Mountain State Historical group's new shop (home to their restoration projects including a 3-truck Climax steam locomotive). If someone from that group is around, perhaps they will let you peek inside (hint: it doesn't hurt to leave a donation, they're a non-profit, separate from the state). I'm affraid due to liability concerns that cab rides are no longer allowed.

Do NOT leave the area without stopping by the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley RR on Route 250 at Durbin (about 20 miles north of Cass). A scenic ride along the Greenbrier River on 5 miles of the former C&O Durbin line. Of course the star of this show is their 2-truck Climax steam locomotive--one of neatest chooches out there! Also very friendly people running this operation, perhaps a better shot at a cab ride would be here.

Also I recommend visiting the National Radio Observatory (huge radio telescopes... "E.T. phone home!") on route 28 at Greenbank. Nice new visitors center and free daily tours of the complex.

Lastly, going once to Cass is NOT enough! After a "regular" visit, I recommend attending one of the charter railfan photo trips run every spring. There are 3 different charters: CALS from Baltimore, Carl Franz, and Mountain State's Railfan Weekend. All offer great experiences and better photo possibilities than the regular trips.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Jim Robinson

First, let me say, if your nephew is to young, I wouldn't recomend the longest of any of the trips at either Cass or the Durbin and Greenbrier.
Even for some of us hard core the Bald Knob trip is a bit much. What I would recommend is varity. A two hour trip to whittaker at Cass, a two hour trip down the river at Durbin. And a one hour (or at least that's what it was before the built the new visitors center) tour of the NRAO telescope, would be a full day for any youngster.
There should be tours of both the Cass shop and the MSR&LHA shop schedualed, but generally the scheduals are done on a weekly basis so a call ahead (meaning about 2 days) would be your best bet to get the times. In the past the shop has been open for any one to wonder up and look around. However last year there were roumors that modernism would soon set in and require things like hard hats, and restrictions on who could visit. Usually it takes about 2 years for things like this to happen so there might still be one last year for this.

As far as lodging, the aforementioned advise from other posters is correct. Snowshoe is your most normal bet. Hermitage and Boyer both have good food and "character". The Cass Houses aford you privacy, but book them early, they go quick.

1800 call wva For general Info (they can connect you to Cass)

1877 MTN rail For the D&GV

http://www.cassrailroad.com/

http://www.mountainrail.com/

http://www.destinationdurbin.com/

http://www.pocahontastimes.com/
(and some where on this page there should be information to the local tourism department, however I don't have the time to find it)

Feel contact me via email with any more questions you may have.

btrue@vt.edu
Ben

www.gottrains.com my buddy and mines site about cass scenic RR among other RRs in WV. I ride at least twice a year in the cab "friend of mine is an engineer at cass" I'v posted some pictures on the gottrains forum if you want to check them out.

Hope you and your family have a good time if you make to Cass you won't be disapointed


Scott

Scott/Ben/Ben/Jim/Randy-I can't thank you enough for the information! This is exactly the feedback I was looking for. This trip is going to be a big success, thanks to you.

John

I went there last august with the family. One thing to note is that the train doesn't run up to Bald Knob every day. We took the trip to "Spruce", that was the long trip of the day, and the site of the old and now gone town of Spruce. It was also the connection with the Western Maryland railroad if IRRC. The docent on the train at the time said that there was some effort to rehab that section of track and the USA 2-8-0 at Cass for that operation, but I think that it is unlikely. We stayed at "Whittiacher Campground" run by Harry Gumm on the road to Snowshoe. I would not recomend it, as it was much less than I expected and not good for a 31' Airstream. I ended up staying in Cass parking lot for $5.00 a night on the second night and never tried to get a refund from the other place. At Cass they leave the bathrooms open till 10:00 PM and as long as your self contained, it was very nice. We did head north on the way home, and stopped by the other operation that others here have spoken of, with the Climax. Shop tours are done every morning, but they are really spartan and most of the time was spent on the old mill, and very little time in the shop itself. Staying in Cass allows you to get the feel of the area after all the tourists have left for the day and you also get the whistles in the AM and all the activity around the depot and stores as the day is begun. I would also recomend taking a walk around the board walk sidewalks in town to get a feel of the town. I think that it is very worthwhile.