A Trip to Train Paradise

We just came back from a family vacation.  A vacation to Train Paradise.  A vacation that was right up the alleys of both Jeffery and Jakob.  A vacation which left Dave in awe....and a vacation that we now need to experience again but this time with Papa (my dad) as this is something that would leave him in wonder.  

We recently traveled almost 4 hours to Cass, West Virginia.  Basically, you go to Staunton, get off the interstate, and just keep heading west into WV.  The "mountains" were stunning and I have half a mind to drop our lives here in RVA and move to Monterey, VA and/or Highland County because it was some of the most pastoral landscape I've seen in a long time.  

Cass, WV was founded around the 1890's as a logging town.  The trees cut down from the neighboring mountains were pushed down the Greenbrier River and made their way to Covington, VA where they were made into paper.  The logging company built the town around the turn of the century and the first train arrived in 1902.  Because of the steep mountain grades, narrow gauge engines were needed and Shay Locomotives and Heissler Locomotives (all steam engines) fit the bill.  They are geared locomotives which is very different from your normal steam engine.  The ones that have been restored here at Cass are the only ones of their kind left in the United States.  The company closed in 1960 and the WV State Park system took over operations and the first tourist excursion on these historic steam trains was in 1963.  

The incredibly cool thing about this state park is not just that there are steam trains to ride on.....but that for accommodations, you can rent one of the original company homes for less than a hotel stay.  We stayed in the house you see below.  It was a 2 story, 3 bedroom home with all of the comforts of home....except AC.  Let me assure you -- we were not roughing it in the slightest.  :)  There was absolutely no cell phone service (regardless of your provider) and I'll get into why that is later on....but there was free wi-fi.  There was a TV....which we disconnected on purpose.  There were box fans for every bedroom and a porch swing outside.  It was blissful!

Our company home!

Looking down the boardwalk from outside our house

Dave setting up in the kitchen

Mornings on the porch swing were heavenly!

Our first full day was spent taking a 2 hour excursion on one of the trains up to Whitacre Station -- an old logging camp.  We made the mistake of telling Jeffery the day before.  Why was this a mistake?  Because....the child who sleeps 12 hours at night and isn't up usually until after 8am....was up at 6am and calling for us.  He was so excited that he just couldn't sleep anymore.  :)

Jakob was unaware as to what was going to happen but I think Jeffery's excitement covered both of them.  As we waited for the train to arrive, Jakob was just content to toddler next to the display Shay #3 engine.  

Jakob out for inspection

And then the train arrived......and both Jeffery and Jakob were so excited that they could hardly stand it.  The Shay #6 arrived and we felt very lucky to have him as our engine.  He was the last Shay to be built....in 1943...and was the biggest locomotive at Cass.  Jeffery and Dave insisted that we be in the car right in front of the engine (the engines push the cars for the most part instead of pulling them).  Boy was the whistle loud!  But it didn't phase Jeffery or Jakob in the slightest.  They were the calmest kids on the train.

Train Brothers 

My Engineer Bear

The trip up to Whitacre Station was fantastic.  There were crossings where the train laid on the whistle.  We passed the Cass Maintanence Yard where we got to see a lot of the other engines waiting to be used.  We saw dense woods and gorgeous vistas.  And then we had about 30 minutes to stretch our legs at Whitacre Station.

The Steamie is letting off Steam.  

HAPPY HAPPY Pedersens

Steam billowing up from Shay 6

Here is the train coming to a crossing.  LOVE this sound!

Post trip inspection by the head engineer

The depot was about a 5 minute walk from our front door.  We came home after our trip, put the boys to bed and then listened to the train leave for the afternoon excursion.  In front of the depot, there was a fantastic park that sat on the banks of the Greenbrier River.  It had beautiful rolling green grass, a fire pit, plenty of swings, and train play area.  We went there every night after dinner.  Jakob almost always opted for the swing....Jeffery the train.  :)

Everyone is happy!

You should have heard Jeffery boss Jakob around as he was the engineer

The boys loved Cass!!!

I mentioned before the lack of cell phone service.  I'm not kidding.  Nary a bar on our cell phones.  But never fear!  There were pay phones ALL OVER this part of Pocahontas County.  The reason was simple.......

First working pay phone I've seen in almost a decade

......it is because of this.

This is the Green Bank Telescope.  It is located about 5 miles from Cass and is the largest movable structure on Earth.  No kidding.  It is a radio telescope....that searches for radio waves in outer space. It is so sensitive that it can detect the energy of a snowflake falling on the ground.  Because it searches for radio waves, any radio waves on Earth can be a cause of disturbance.  Think about your microwaves, your car beepers, your phones,.....even a dog's warming blanket emits radio waves that can interfere with this telescope's work.  I had no idea but there is a National Radio Quiet Zone.  Class and Green Bank....and parts of Virginia even...fall in this zone.  Any new radio station, any military exercises....anything that could interfere with the radio telescope has to be approved by the Green Bank facility.  

We toured the facility and then went in a bus (the highlight of Jeffery's day) and saw the 8 radio telescopes on the grounds.  It was amazing!  The biggest....the one pictured above, can fit 2 football fields inside of it.  It was impressive to behold....even on a muggy day!  On a side note: you can get the BEST salads at the center's cafe.  We brought our own food to eat while staying at Cass but it was difficult....almost impossible....to find something healthy if you wanted to eat out.  Keep in mind that Pocahontas only has 7,500 people in the county.  Not a lot.  And from Cass...if you want a grocery store, it is about 45 minutes and the nearest Walmart is 1.5 hours away.  Your choices were aisle after aisle of processed food at the nearest convenience store.  Seriously......I've never seen so many bricks of Velveeta Cheese in my life.  But the salad at the Green Bank Telescope was AMAZING!!!!  :)

Thursday was our final full day in Cass.  As a surprise, Dave bought tickets for him and Jeffery to go on the train again.  This time, it was the Shay #4.  Jeffery was beside himself with excitement and had no problem telling me and Jakob "goodbye".  :)

Saying goodbye to his brother on the train

Cass is a truly magical place....for anyone of any age.  We ended every night with a trip to the playground and then came back to the house where we sat outside and watched for fireflies and deer.  And to see the joy in the boys' eyes was a truly magical thing.  

So happy

Train boys

All too soon, it was time to come home.  We packed everything up and headed down to the depot one more time so we could see the first train come in for the day.  It was the Shay #5.  

Goodbye train

Jeffery climbed up into the Shay #3....the one on display...and had his fill of playing fireman and engineer and looking for trains on the track. 

Building up steam by adding coal to the fire

Looking down the track

And then it was time to wave goodbye to our beloved Cass and return home.  The parting was hard and emotional for some but I view this as a successful trip because of the emotion involved.  :)

At lunch, on our way home, Jeffery said that we should go back to Cass the next day.  We should go back to Cass and have Oma and Papa join us because Papa would just love the trains and would ride them everyday with little Jeffery.  So....our mission (as we already know we will return next year)...is to get Oma and Papa to come with us.

We love you West Virginia.  We love you Pocahontas County and can't wait to learn more about you. We love you Cass!!!!!!  We'll be back!