6/28/2011
CASS, W.Va. – Special evening trains are part of the schedule and adventure at
Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in Pocahontas County this summer. “We’re proud to have four different types of evening trips scheduled for a series of twilight runs,” said Cass Trainmaster Fred Bartels. The four types of special trains are: Murder Mystery, Bluegrass Buffet, Ribs and Rails and the traditional Halloween Train. Daily train excursions began Memorial Day and continue through the summer.
Murder Mystery
“End of the Line for Brakeman Tom Hanson,” set in the 1920s in Pocahontas County, is written by Cass Trainmaster Fred Bartels. This second in his series of
Sheriff Lincoln Cochran Murder Mysteries debuted Memorial Weekend in 2011. His first mystery, “The Murder of Lumberjack Johnny Parker,” based on a murder in the early 1900s, ran for two seasons. Passengers for this new murder mystery become the special deputies for Sheriff Cochran. This year he asks for help 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.
The
murder mystery train departs the depot at 5:15 p.m. The event includes the 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 recreated logging camp. The packaged price for the Murder Mystery Evening Train is: Adult $42; Child, 5-12, $32; Child, under 5, $22. The dates are: July 1, July 29; August 12; September 2, 23.
Bluegrass Buffet
Bluegrass Buffet is a winning combination of a train ride, bluegrass music and self-serve evening buffet. “I’ve yet to hear anyone complain there wasn’t enough to eat,” Bartels said.
Allegheny Outback, a bluegrass band performs at Whittaker Station.
The Last Run Restaurant, located at the Cass Company Store, prepares the evening train meals. Optional tours of the Camp Whittaker are available and while in town, optional tours of the locomotive shop or Cass Showcase, the history of Cass, are part of the evening ticket price. The package prices for
Bluegrass Buffet Trains are: Adult: $36; Child, 5-12, $26; Child, under 5, $16 and reservations are required. Bluegrass Buffet Trains are scheduled on Saturdays and depart the depot at 5:15 p.m. The dates are: July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; August 6, 13, 27; September 3, 17, and 24.
Ribs and Rails
Ribs and Rails is offered July 22 and August 26. “This is a must for folks who enjoy storytelling, bluegrass music and good food,” Bartels explained. The evening features
Homer Hunter, who is a one-of-a-kind story teller and a local radio personality. Joining Hunter is “
Hot Mater Gravy,” a band that plays traditional bluegrass. The band's influences include Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Ricky Scaggs, Flatt and Scruggs, and Larry Sparks. Members of Hot Mater Gravy include Homer Hunter, Dana Moyers from Lewisburg W.Va. on the mandolin; Dewitt Daniell also from Lewisburg, plays a straight ahead Scruggs-style banjo; Bob Riggleman from Lewisburg is on bass; Bob's wife, Julie Riggleman is on vocals and a second rhythm guitar; and Dave Buck, from Pocahontas County W.Va., is on lead guitar.
Like other evening trains, the ticket prices for Ribs and Rails includes the optional tours and bar-b-qued ribs is the featured buffet entrée at Whittaker Station. “You can’t beat ribs and bluegrass for an evening on the mountain,” Bartels said. “And to top it all is a train ride powered by a locomotive that is part of the world’s foremost roster of working Shay engines. And with the railings of Homer Hunter, It just doesn’t get much better.” Ribs and Rails is scheduled for July 22, and August 26. The ticket price is: Adult: $36 Child, 5-12: $26 Child, under 5: $16.
Haunted Train
The stand-alone evening event is the
Halloween Train on Saturday, October 29, and it is the last special train of the season. The haunted train ride to Whittaker Station with ghostly surprises includes a rare night descent back to Cass. This is the only train that departs at 6 p.m. Passengers are encouraged to wear costumes. Like all of the special evening trains, reservations are required and the rates are $32 adult, $26 youth 5-12 and children under 5 is $16.
The last train in 2011 runs on October 30 and a new season begins Memorial Weekend of 2012. The Cass Company Houses – 20 restored dwellings – are open year-round. For more information about Cass Scenic Railroad reservations or ticket information, call 304 456 4300 or visit
www.cassrailroad.com.
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.
That same whistle today is music to a train enthusiast’s ears, as well as children raised hearing the story of “the little engine that could” and the enchantment of “Thomas the Tank Engine.” “Cass is preserving America's past for the future,” according to Fred Bartels, trainmaster at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.
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 October 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
304-456-4300