Large Scale Central

East Coast Rail Tour - 2008 Version

Prototypes
#1

My interest in railroading that lead to outdoor model railroading was piqued in 1995 with a RR tour of Pennsylvania that included the RR Museum of PA, Strassburg RR, Altoona Railroader’s Memorial Museum and Horseshoe Curve (I missed the EBT on that tour). That was followed up in 2000 with a trip out west that included the Durango & Silverton, Cumbres & Toltec and the Verde Canyon RR.

This year’s family vacation was planned a while ago to West Virginia and was to include a stop at Cass. The itinerary has just been finalized and it looks like a pretty good tour of eastern railroad sites that I’ve never been to before.

We start with 3 nights just outside of Cumberland, MD where we will ride the Western Maryland Scenic and walk the towpath of the C&O Canal, hopefully through the Paw Paw Tunnel. From there we travel to Elkins, WV for 4 nights. I plan to get to Cass at least twice and with a little luck we’ll see or ride the Durbin Rocket and the Tygart Flyer or the Cheat Mountain Salamander.

Of course there will have to be a few non-RR activities. The Green Bank Observatory is one on the list.

#2

Oh yeah…Greenbank is pretty cool…And schedule PLENTY of time to poke around Cass…its not just a trainride ya know!

#3

I concur!

#4

Thanks. It was a hard sell at the dinner table last night. They agreed to ride the WM Scenic but it looks like I’ll have go down to Cass on two days. Once with the family to take the short 2 hour ride to Whitaker Station, and then on another day alone to poke around the ruins and take the longer run to Bald Knob. I might also be able to sell them a Climax ride at Durbin since it’s short, but the 9 hour Cheat Salamander ride got unanimous raspberries. The Mountain Explorer Dinner train (same route as New Tygart Flyer) was an easy sell, but at $65 a head I’m not sure that will fit in the same budget with $4/gal gas. If we skip the dinner train that leaves time for me to do the Salamander alone. I’m not sure I want the whole 9 hour trip - I might just do the abbreviated ride from Cheat Bridge.

Too many railroads, too little time :frowning:

#5

That’s my problem…too little time and way too little money.
Sounds like a great trip you have planned none the less.
Ralph

#6

Chuckle - “unanimous raspberries”, indeed! I have this image of you sitting at table, red fruit flying at you from all directions. LOL!!!

#7

Getting close… We leave in 5 days. The route has been finalized and the itinerary is shaping up. Once I explained that the long ride on the Cass Scenic is to the second highest point in WV and that there is a sightseeing stop, I got renewed interest - so it looks like 3 tickets for Bald Knob, and I’ll try and rearrange the schedule so I can get to Spruce alone. Here is the route map. Kind of hard to read at 640 pixels, so there is a link to a large version. [url=lsc.cvsry.com/EasternRRTour08.JPG]

(http://lsc.cvsry.com/EasternRRTour08-640.JPG)

[/url][color=blue]IE: Right Click Photo and select Open Link in New Window -OR- FF Click to Enlarge[/color]

#8

Sounds like a good plan.

At Cass, they DO have FREE shop tours, as well as a FREE walking tour of the old town.

#9

Looks like a great trip, Jon.
Not going to Baltimore and the B&O Museum?
I haven’t been to Cass yet. First on my “to do” list.
One of these days I’ll catch Amtrak in Spartanburg, SC. and ride up to Baltimore and the B&O Museum.
Have a great trip and take plenty of photo’s for the rest of us!
Ralph

#10

The B&O Museum has been on my list for a while, but can’t fit it in this trip. I was all set to go to their big event the summer after the roof collapsed, then the roof fell in and put a damper on museum functions for quite a long time.

#11

Jon, may I wish you and the family a “Bon Voyage” and that you we’re truly missed at the Invasion. Drive safe and take plenty of pix. We look forward to your return.

#12

Thanks Ken,

I was disappointed not to be able to do both, but vacation time off and budget wouldn’t allow it, so we opted for the new experience this year. Sure would have liked to been there - it sounds like the trains ran too smoothly without me running interference :smiley:

#13

Jon,

You will definitely enjoy Cass. 2 days, one with family and one independent should work out fine. You won’t need the car the day you solo and by spending considerable time just being around the area gives you a tremendous feeling of what it was like in that valley.

We also missed you guys, but totally understand.

#14

Thanks Ric - We missed you guys too (sniff) :o

Take a look at that map. Where we turn back East in WV is almost exactly half way to Carlyle. Could this be a first step toward a Midwest adventure?

EDIT: Of course, we’d take the more direct route, I’m speaking distance wise. Google says just under 1000 miles or 16 hours by the best route. We’d have to add 2.5 hours for gas stops plus 3 or 4 hours for food stops and at least one overnight along the way.

#15

Yeah, it is about a 13 hour drive for us to York, PA. We can and have done it in 1 day, but usually use an overnight stay somewhere along the way to not be so worn out after arriving. We drove from Erie, PA straight through to home on Tuesday. Wanted to get here before 5:30 pm to get critters out of the pen, so kind of pushed it with few stops. We paid for that yesterday, but did get the grass cut and stuff put away. Today, I’ll let the marina know I’m back in town. Let the fun begin.

You’ll enjoy the break and I hope can savor the time at Cass. It is a great place to slow down and imagine life in an earlier time, while having the money and convieniences of today to be there. I would imagine many of the people that did live and work there may have spent their lives without travelling outside of the county.

#16

Geee…I gotta a yard…big enough fer a camper…and its gotta railroad in it…and a couple of spare rooms…and I’m almost EXACTLY halfway between Ric’s and York…and there’s a local SUPER 8 …Cough Cough…hint hint…

#17

And I suppose you’d want a ride to Carlyle too :smiley: :smiley:

Prolly would have to be a summer time trip - next year at the earliest. Would like to hit the spring or fall ops session, but it’s during the school year so it makes it tough to get extended time away from home.

#18

It will take a least a couple of more years before “Ops” can be had in a “boating season” time of year. Special exceptions are always considered.

#19

Sunday was spent riding the Western Maryland Scenic in Cumberland, MD. Nice campsite just north of Rock Gap state park. The WMS was nice and Mountain Thunder is cool, but is seemed like a pretty sterile experience to me. Closed air conditioned cars were nice for conversation, but not for the “steam” experience. I finally moved to an open windowed section of the combine and that was more like it, Came home with a pound of cinders in my hair.

Today we went to Cass and rode to Bald Knob. HOLY CRAP Batman !!! The sounds, the smells and the mountain were just incredible. Rode in the open car at the head of the engine from Whittaker to Bald Knob. Most if my pictures came out less that I had hoped for, but I’m going back again before we head home and will try and adjust to the new camera.

Came back to camp today through Durbin, but the Climax was hiding. Saw the depot and some of the cars.

Back to Cass either tomorrow or Friday. Can’t decide if I want to ride to Spruce, or take the short trip to Whitaker and spend the rest of the day at the bottom of the mountain. I think they run 4 trains a day this time of year.

#20

If ya get the chance take th shop tour. They have a few engines in the shop at various stages of reconstruction. Very informative guides too.