its hard for me to say yay/nay on this, if the state system is still gung ho on helping do its operations, then it has support, if there's a financial crunch which is rather prevalent today and the state may be looking for release of responsibilities, you would need to find just such a gung ho privatized person/system/group to continue its operations or establish a non-profit like IRM is to continue its operations. Cass is definately historical in its railroad roots as is the country it runs in. I would not think the state would hand it off to any one group without knowing its operations could be continued safe.

Who is behind this petition? I don't see a name listed anywhere. Strange that you want me to sign my name but you won't post your own.

and just seeing "change.org" automatically makes me inclined to not take your position seriously..

Scot

To echo Scot, I am leery of anything that "change.org" sends out. I once signed a petition for a cause that I believed in, and was very quickly flooded with other petitions for many other unrelated causes. They even assumed that I was a card-carrying member of a particular political party, which I most assuredly am not, even though the cause I signed a petition for had nothing to do with politics. Beware...


Train guy has a great point, by the way. ('Like" button clicked on.)

Hi All

My vote is with the group , Do Not Privatize Cass , Pat

An online petition!

That'll change something...

Read up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacktivism

This from another web site I read:


"Considering I live in Pocahontas county, have friends and family at the park and train....it has been a none issue so far. Is it possible change will come to the day to day operations of Cass??? It could....but no one here is filled with the DOOM offered in that post.

If you look at the other 'tourist' railroads operated in the county, out of Durbin and Elkins(runs into Pocahontas) they are run well, maybe better than Cass. (not a slam on the people but governments do not always know steam rail better than private sector) And the joint events that have been held between Cass RR and DGVRR have been very well received. My family rode the 'train race' train to Spruce where we met a Cass train and had a very nice day of food and fun. More than likely DGVRR would get first crack at Cass. They have huge plans, some public some not, for the region and building a tourist railroad empire like no other. And they are the only rail connection Cass has right now.

I'm in a wait and see mode. Change is never fun or easy....but I COULD see DGVRR running Cass and doing a GREAT job. Let's stay positive until it's proven otherwise."

____________________________

Yet another example of people equating "virtual" activity with real activity.

If you disagree with the proposed changes to Cass, I'd recomend you voice your opinion in more direct and personal ways, such as letters, e-mail message to those in a decision-making capacity, etc. This change.org petition could have 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 signatures on it and most people would ignore it.

Slacktivism does not equal activism.

David Wilkins
Find Kony, Utah

Cart before the horse.

First, one needs to confirm that the changes being opposed in this petition are actually being proposed, and are not the figment of someone's imagination or exaggerated misinterpretations of reality. What I've heard so far doesn't convince me.

David -

Great advice! When I worked with a state legislator, she said she paid attention to personal letters and gave an example of how a personal letter caused her to take a closer look at one of the 1,000's of issues that crossed her desk.

Wesley

Based on conversations I've had with officials of three state agencies, a consultant who has worked on similar projects in West Virginia and the president of the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley, I can say with confidence this whole thing does not even amount to a tempest in a teapot. It seems to be the product of someone with an overactive imagination and no access to the facts on the ground. I wouldn't waste my time on this petition.

So is practically EVERY political-activist movement of late. And too many of those "community organizer" and "paranoid" types are, nonetheless, advancing WAY too far up the political ranks, of late.

And Facebook, social media, and online forums, increasingly composed of people engaging in circular groupthink and agenda reinforcement, have dramatically exacerbated both wrongheaded/half-truth propaganda and the "slacktivism" that results.

Do not forget the "absence of evidence of the conspiracy IS evidence of the conspiracy!" circular logic.

David Wilkins
Grassy Knoll, Utah

Without a doubt, that's a legitimate question. The petition is the result of a collaboration of people who are sincerely concerned with the well being and longevity of the Cass Scenic Railroad. The unfortunate circumstances are that for a multitude of political considerations, they wish to remain anonymous at this time. The intent of the petition and its recipients are clear, however. It is posted here only to make people aware of it, should anyone wish to sign.



For confirmation that such changes are being discussed, please read statements by the West Virginia Commerce Department in the following media articles:

http://wvmetronews.com/2014/04/17/state ... t-options/

http://www.wvgazette.com/article/201404 ... /140419518

http://www.statejournal.com/story/25272 ... s-railroad

http://pocahontastimes.com/future-of-ca ... ial-media/

Please do not readily accept as fact that the Cass Railroad loses $1.4 million per year. 1.4 million is the annual budget for the Park. Not just the railroad, but maintenance of the town, company houses, and all the associated infrastructure. It does not account for revenue from ticket sales and house rentals, which are in the high hundreds of thousands. It also does not account for money spent elsewhere in Pocahontas County by Cass visitors. It is a pejorative spin on Cass's financial situation, likely aimed at making it sound far worse than it is. In reality the cost of running the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park is probably similar, if only marginally higher than West Virginia's other big state parks--Pipestem, Stonewall Jackson, and Canaan Valley, for example. Why is it that Cass--which is of much greater historical and social importance than any of these--is the one under the financial microscope now?

Something else to ponder: Why, in The State Journal article, does the Commerce Secretary indicate a vendor contract is under consideration for operation of the railroad and that talks to that end have been taking place with the Durbin & Greenbrier Railroad, yet in the Pocahontas Times article, John Smith of the D&GR makes a contradictory statement: "...we are just talking about how [the loop project is] going to interface with Cass and up at old Spruce when our train comes down the valley and meets the Cass train. Beyond that, there’s no other decision.” Why the contradiction? Why, years before completion of the loop project, is it necessary to have discussions with the Commerce Department regarding relatively simple logistics of railroad operation? And why did it take a bunch of rabble rousing via social media, phone calls, letters, and emails to West Virginia decision makers to bring out public statements? Would any changes at Cass, or a partnership with another entity have not met less concern and resistance if all parties involved had been team players, forthcoming and honest about their intent at the outset?



Public statements by the West Virginia Commerce Department have been made to the affect it is considering privatizing the railroad operation at Cass. That, in and of itself, is cause for many, many people who care very deeply about the railroad to be highly concerned about its future. Their imagination is not overly active; they're only reacting to statements by high ranking West Virginia decision makers. Please see comments left by signers of the petition linked to above, particularly those by West Virginians who do not want the Cass Railroad disturbed. Did the conversations you've had negate the statements about privatization? Did they indicate it is no longer a subject of consideration? Did these conversations indicate when a statement to the public will be made alleviating people's concerns about privatization?



Rest assured that the petition linked to above is not the only means of activism that has been utilized by the those concerned about the Cass Railroad, nor is likely even the best. It's a means of gathering names of people who agree that the railroad operation at the Park should not be privatized, and provide them with a forum for easily stating their reasons why. Letter writing, phone calls, and emails are also encouraged, and if anyone is interested in contact information for the appropriate people to address these to, it can be provided here.

Virtual activism is hardly worthless--it was the means by which mere rumors about changes at Cass were transformed into public statements by the parties involved. See the articles linked to above.



Comparing a change in management at Cass to a group like the IRM fails to come anywhere near an adequate understanding of what Cass is and the potential magnitude such a change could have for the area. The Cass Railroad is much more than an average tourist railroad or museum. It has been the established economic and social focal point of a community for over 50 years. What will the social and economic impacts of major changes like privatization be? And what will they mean for the community if changes bode poorly in comparison to state park management?