7/20/2011
CASS, W.Va. – It’s the “End of the Line for Brakeman Tom Hanson” at Cass Scenic Railroad in 2011. The murder mystery evening event is set in the 1920s in Pocahontas County. The mystery is written by Cass Trainmaster Fred Bartels and is the second in his series of Sheriff Lincoln Cochran Murder Mysteries.
Bartels’ first mystery, “The Murder of Lumberjack Johnny Parker,” which was based on a murder in the early 1900s, ran for two seasons. Passengers on Cass murder mystery evening trains become the special deputies for Sheriff Cochran and the cast presents the story. This year passengers are asked to find who murdered Tom Hanson, brakeman on the C&O passenger train that ran from Ronceverte, W.Va. to Cass, and who has been on the run for 13 years and has made some enemies along the way.
There are four murder mystery trains remaining on the 2011 schedule: July 29; Aug. 12; Sept. 2; and Sept. 23. The special train departs the depot at 5:15 p.m. and includes a train ride to Whittaker Station, the murder mystery, a self-serve buffet dinner at Whittaker Station, optional locomotive shop tour or Cass Showcase presentation and an optional self-guided tour of Camp Whittaker, a re-created logging camp. The packaged price for the Murder Mystery Evening Train is: adult $42; child 5-12, $32; child under 5, $22.
About Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
A former logging community turned tourist treasure describes Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. The cry of a steam whistle mounted on a coal burning steam locomotive calls visitors back to the early 1900s when the Cass community was the heart of a booming logging industry.
Daily trips to Whittaker Station, the half-way point on the climb up Cheat Mountain, are scheduled three times each day from Memorial Weekend through Oct.30, with the exception of eight mid-week days in September. Whittaker Station trips are at 11 a.m. and at 1 and 3 p.m. daily. Trips to Bald Knob, the top of the mountain, are once daily, Tuesday through Sundays, and always depart from the depot at noon. The train schedule is posted at
www.cassrailroad.com.
Contact Information
Fred Bartels, Cass Scenic Railroad
cassrailroadsp@wv.gov