Cass is great. I've been there multiple times. Not only are the locomotives Shay types, which have great running gear with pistons on the side of the loco, visible con rods and shafts out to the gears at the trucks, they also burn coal (unlike some steam RRs that have converted to oil or propane). Also, unlike most steam excursion trains where you ride in a closed passenger car far from the loco, at Cass you may have the option of sitting in an open car right in front of the engine (it both pushes and pulls you in the course of the run.) A few times we have ridden in the fall, the front of the engine about 20 feet away, feeling the heat of the boiler, hearing the engine working, watching the steam and coal smoke boiling up through the trees. They don't always run the open car, but when they do its really a blast!
It looks as if this year management of the operation has shifted from West Va State Parks to the Durbin and Greenbrier company. And so far, they have not posted dates for the 2015 operating season. I'll be watching to see if a ride to Cass would be an option for the early May West Va get together.