Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
Cass Scenic Railroad State Park is known as a summer and fall attraction – with trains running up the mountain to Whittaker Station and Bald Knob – but now, with the addition of the Greenbrier Express, which runs from Cass to Durbin, the train is open to new experiences and new seasons.
This winter, the Greenbrier Express has added a winter ride for weekends in January and February.
Since the cars on this train are enclosed – and heated – it is possible to take a wintry ride on the historic train.
This past Saturday, my mom, Linda, and I, boarded the train and took a ride we will never forget, thanks to the incredible views, funny mishaps and new friends we made along the way.
First, it must be said that when you are dealing with old train cars and even older engines, things happen. The excursion left the depot a little later than expected due to a maintenance issue, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the passengers.
They were excited for the experience ahead of them. The commentator on the ride, Rhonda Funkhouser, was – in a word – amazing. She kept us entertained and educated as we traveled the 15 miles from Cass to Durbin.
She told us we were lucky to be taken up the track by the 120-year-old Shay No. 5 that has spent its career taking train cars up and down the tracks in Pocahontas County, never once leaving the Birthplace of Rivers.
As we traveled, Funkhouser would point out the areas and names of the former lumber towns as we passed through them. Locals may still refer to them as Wanless, Hosterman and Nottingham, but they are no longer the towns they once were.
During the height of the timber industry, those towns were home to woodhicks and their families. As the timber left the mountains, so did most of the families, and the towns became little more than a memory.
The train follows the path of the Greenbrier River which was frozen over and, in most places, still covered in snow. There were patches where the river was seen to be flowing, but for the most part, it was a sea of white with shimmering ice peeking out.
There were spots where deer tracks told the tale of a daily routine, running back and forth across the frozen river. We were lucky enough to see a couple deer make the trek during our ride.
On the opposite side of the train was the cliffside, which in some places was so close, it seemed the cars would graze against the rocks, but it didn’t. The icicles that formed on the rocks were another story.
Several spots were covered in a blanket of icicles and there was the slight sound of scraping as we passed by one of those spots. Several passengers joked that it was like the Titanic, but fortunately, the train was sturdy enough to withstand the encounter.
As the train entered Durbin, it entered a triangle of track in which somehow –I still think magic is involved – the train turned completely around.
We had a respite of one hour in Durbin where passengers with the red sticker were shepherded to Station 2 for lunch and those with the green sticker went to Simply Sweet.
After lunch, there was time to explore the town a little bit before everyone returned to the train for the ride back to Cass.
Again, we met a bit of a snag where Funkhouser joked that we must have gotten a flat tire. In truth, the train stopped to get water for the ride back and the spring it usually takes water from was completely frozen.
The train crew quickly worked out a way to smash up the ice and get the water to the train, so we weren’t too late getting back to the depot.
Again, the beautiful view of the snow-covered river and fields was a delight, as was the conversation among the passengers. We entered the train that morning as strangers, but by that afternoon, we were exchanging contact information and saying we hoped to see each other again.
While the views and conversation – and a crochet project – are enough to keep the adults entertained, the train cars have boxes of games and coloring books for the youngsters who don’t bring their own devices or entertainment of some sort.
I do recommend you bring a camera or phone because you will definitely want to capture the sights along the way.
The winter train is a fun and new way to experience the Cass locomotives, as well as the Greenbrier Express.
To check availability and reserve tickets, visit mountainrailwv.com
