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Trains News Wire FLASH: New operator to take over operation of Cass Scenic
The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley can’t even maintain their Climax#3 in Durbin, on that note they can’t maintain a fleet of 6 operational geared locomotives. This WILL hurt the operations of Cass, and it needs to stop, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Now Susan, have toured the WDW Railroad Shops? Fascinating.
If it is not broken, don’t fix it
Cass is ,as is, the finest railroad in its class.
A Cass fan since 1967!
I hope it stays open! Is Durbin & Greenbrier Valley a good operator?
Bad idea cass does a greay job!
Bad idea cass does a greay job!
Cass is a world class operation. I hope they do not Disney-fy it!
I don’t know why WV wants to let go of this historical operation. It tells the story of West Virginia’s logging operations!
Just so you know…I am a Cass fan. Been there many times and consider Cass to be a Premier Family Destination.
Just what is going on? The Department of Natural Resources wants to convince Cass Officials to change the equipment and operating lease to the Department of Rail Authority. Why? Is there a turf war going on? Budget games being played?
There is no better example of Shay operation and history anywhere in the world. So, guess you could say this is a “World Class” Operation. Why make a change away from the group that made it so?
Here is what I have learned from different sources:
The West Virginia State Park, located in the highlands of Pocahontas County, has historically operated at a deficit, according to Keith Burdette, cabinet secretary of the West Virginia Department of Commerce.
A recent federal audit of Cass shows the need for substantial maintenance in the next few years. It adds up to $1.4 million for repairs to the tracks and another $700,000 for the park. That’s a steep price for state government when budget cuts are already underway on essential services.
Burdette said if the state can team up with a private company it could cut costs. The state government is not looking to sell the facility, but perhaps have an operational agreement that would help sustain the railroad over the long-term.
“We are trying to figure out how we can make the railroad sustainable because the deficits are fairly substantial for that operation,” he said. "We are talking with several parties, including the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad, to see if we could have some tie in where we could create a much more sustainable plan for Cass Railroad. “If we do anything, we would probably do it as a vendor’s contract,” he said. "We would still maintain ownership of the Cass property within the state park system. We simply are looking for some kind of scenario to operate the railroad itself. We’re just trying to explore our options to make sure we’re good stewards of the taxpayers’ money and at the same time we retain a first class attraction at Cass,” said Burdette
In closing, Burdette wants to quell any rumors that Cass Scenic Railroad is on the auction block. “The most significant difference that we’ve looked at is simply a vendor contract to operate the railroad itself, not the park or anything about it. There are no bids out. There’s no RFQ. There’s no offer to sell. In fact, we wouldn’t sell the rail under any condition!”
Mr. Gauthier seems to have the proper explanation from what I recall from reading a previous article on this site. Having visited last year, I found accommodations lacking. As I noted in a prior posting I believe the state could cut the losses if there were better overnight rooms and meals available. That would mean deviating from the historical realism, but careful planning could make that work.
My wife and I have been visiting Cass regularly since 1971. If I, like many others, had their “rathers”, I’d prefer to keep things the way they are. Unfortunately, leasing the Cass Scenic might be the only option to prevent a total shutdown in the not-too-distant future. There are a couple of insightful posts on a Cass fans facebook page (google “casshews facebook”)
My wife and I have been visiting Cass regularly since 1971. If I, like many others, had their “rathers”, I’d prefer to keep things the way they are. Unfortunately, leasing the Cass Scenic might be the only option to prevent a total shutdown in the not-too-distant future. There are a couple of insightful posts on a Cass fans facebook page (google “casshews facebook”)
Is the state operation of the Cass too expensive because of government employees and does the state believe that they will get the same production for less money by turning the operation over to the private sector?
How much would you be willing to pay to insure that it stays a world-class operation? An extra $10 to ride on weekdays, $15 on weekends? The company house rates are cheaper than many cabins in other WV state parks; how much higher would you pay for the current amenities versus needing more amenities to charger higher rents?
I noticed that only one person so far is from West Virginia; that’s whose taxes are subsidizing this. Should WV charge more for out-of state visitors, like some states do with their state parks, to keep the Cass financially and operationally viable in the future?
i was at the cass scenic over the holiday weekend and had a wonderful time as always and I strongly suggest that if you have never been there that you need to do so before the end of the 2014 season. I asked a lot of questions about the future of the railroads operations and shop maintenance while I was there. shay #2’s rebuild has been terminated at this point. shay 11 would have been the next in for its 1472 at the end of the season, that wont happen. the railroad employees have been told as of November 1st, they wont have a job. so take what I have said however you’d like to but the cass you know and love will not be the same after this season so if you’ve put off going for whatever reason over the years, now is the time to visit. blow up the wv governors phone or whatever you can do to try and stop this but I believe change will happen and cass will not be the same as you’ve all known and loved.
For all practical purposes the government makes a profit only on tax collection so the profit angle doesn’t wash. The prices could be increased at Cass and would still be a good deal. They probably have several state parks that do not make a profit. Something is going on which is not known by the public. D&GV has done a snow job by manufacturing incredible projections of the amount of business they can generate.
Here we go again. IT’S BROKE, IT’S BROKE We can fix it. We will sell it to some operator, that has NO idea on how to run a railroad, and then we will wonder why it falls on it’s face!!! And to do this we will run off the people that run/operate the railroad EVERY DAY!!! Probably bring in some 25 year old with an MBA, who’s last job was operating a video arcade. And has NO idea what Cass is or even what a steam (especially a geared engine) engine is. Let’s get the Government involved…YA BUDDY!!!