Last week I sent the following comments to West Virginia's Department of Natural Resources. I explained that I had their comment card but wanted to say more than would fit on the card. I used the card's format for my response. They were very helpful and said they would forward my comments to the appropriate people. Their email is DNR.Parks@wv.gov. I encourage others, who have been to Cass recently, to also provide comments. Thank you.
Park: Cass Scenic Railroad
Date of Visit: 7/24 - 7/28
Cabin #: 225
State Where You Reside: Colorado
What prompted you to stay at this park? Previous Visit
Do you think our rates are Reasonable
How would you rate the area overall? Excellent
How would you rate our services facilities?
Cabin: Excellent considering its historic significance
Font desk: Excellent
Trails: N/A
Grounds: Excellent
Activities: Good: will add more below
Meeting Facilities: N/A
Registration
Reservation was in order upon check-in: Excellent
Efficient and speedy: Excellent
Courteous and friendly: Excellent
Knowledge of the park: Excellent
How were your accommodations?
Physical conditions: Good
Cleanliness upon arrival: Excellent
Cleanliness during stay: N/A since we maintained it
Bedding: Good, I'm 6' 4" tall so larger beds would be great. We got a house with two double beds but I still had to sleep diagonally to fix.
Television: Good
Heating/AC: Did not use
Campsite: N/A
How would you rate our restaurant?
Food quality: Good
Food Value: Good
Personnel friendly and attentive: Excellent
Would you stay with us again: Yes
What did you enjoy about your stay?
My friend and I have been coming to Cass since 1972 and it has always been one of our favorite places. We are very fond of the trains and always ride both the Bald Knob and Whittaker trains. We were very concerned about three significant changes that have been made with train ticket sales, train schedule and the Bald Knob train.
Ticket Sales and Train Schedule:
Because of the Cass weather we always wait until we arrive at Cass before we decide which day we will ride to Bald Knob. We want to save the best weather for it. We don't mind riding the Whittaker trip in rain or snow. We arrived in Cass on Monday and planned to ride trains on Tuesday and Wednesday and then ride the Durbin Rocket on Thursday. Tuesday morning we went to the Cass station when it opened. There are no station hours posted on it, or anywhere else, so we kept walking there until it opened. Once we arrived we were told that the Bald Knob train was the only one that operated on Tuesdays and that it was sold out! In the past Both Bald Knob and Whittaker trains operated every day but Monday and we did not know a change had been made. We were also told that most ticket sales are made online or via telephone. We were forced to buy tickets for the Wednesday Bald Knob train which only had 20 seats available. We spent the day going on the shop tour and visiting the Green Bank Observatory. There were several other people who could not ride Tuesday and could not ride the next day so you lost customers who were upset, may not return, and will tell others about their bad experience. If the Whittaker train was running we would have ridden that and they would have also. Please run both trains on all operating days. This means also adding the Bald Knob train on Thursday. You also need to find a way to accommodate walk up sales. On your website you say it is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance. This needs to be more strongly worded saying that most Bald Knob trains are sold out before the day they operate. On Thursday we rode the Durbin Rocket and were able to return to Cass in time to ride the Whitaker train.
Bald Knob Train:
One of the highlights of the past Bald Knob trains is that they use two steam locomotives. There is only one other US railroad that regularly operates double-headed steam locomotives so this is a very special attraction. The current train has only one locomotive. The train has been shortened to 5 cars which they locomotive can barely handle. The engine works is extremely loud because it is working so hard. We always ride in the car next to the engine so we can watch it work. Unfortunately it was so loud that it made us uncomfortable and the audio commentary could not be heard at all in that car. In the past the commentary was done only during the return trip when the engine was relatively quiet and it was easy to hear. We rode the Whittaker train Thursday which had 4 cars and it was able to handle the load without much effort. The engine exhaust was much quieter than the Bald Knob train. Also, if the train had two locomotives it could have 9 cars and be able to accommodate 120 more passengers and alleviate the sold out problem which would prevent upset customers.
Were there any employees that made your visit more enjoyable?
Yes, I don't know their names but the woman and cabin check in, the restaurant waitress, and the Whittaker locomotive engineer were all great to talk to and very helpful.
Additional Comments:
Cass is a world-class treasure! It is a very unique experience. I understand that it has financial challenges but it is a wonderful asset to West Virginia. I understand that changes are required to keep it alive but it is less than what it used to be. Please make it at least as good as it was and hopefully make it even better. If there is anything I can do to help please contact me. My email is
johnfmeixel@gmail.comThank you! John Meixel
