Public Camping/Overnights at ToM (or elsewhere)

[John McNamara]

Ah but, opening the trail to Porcupine Palace will lessen the wilderness experience of finding one's way there. Further, visitors to Top of the Mountain will be wanting to go there to use the luxurious restroom facilities that were unfortunately revealed at the left in one of the pictures included above.

[Stephen Lennox]

Nothing is sacred anymore.....

[John Kokas]

You guys have been a bunch of busy Beavers 

[Mike Fox]

Showing the potential at the palace..even roughing it when using the facilities. Some people would pay bigtime for that experience

[Fred Morse]

Some day maybe the caboose will park where the camp is, it's nice and level. It's also where the siding is headed. Maybe make a little money from overnight guests as talked about in the past. A little stream running just below the camp and also a swimming hole nearby.

[John Kokas]

Always thought it would make for a nice RV park for members.  Just don't know if its in the purview of the museum to fund the improvements needed. (roadway, power, water, septic)

[Roger Cole]

Some day maybe the caboose will park where the camp is, it's nice and level. It's also where the siding is headed. Maybe make a little money from overnight guests as talked about in the past. A little stream running just below the camp and also a swimming hole nearby.

The Durbin & Greenbrier currently has 3 cabooses (cabeese) outfitted as RVs on wheels and is set to bring a restored camp car back as the 4th.  Pre-COVID, The cabooses were booked solid for the year in the first couple weeks of reservations being accepted.  My family and I spent one night in "the Castaway Caboose" back in 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The best part for me was being taken from our departure point in our caboose to our own siding by steam.  It's a money maker for the D&GVRR and probably could be for the WW&F.  The Cass Scenic Railway (operated by the D&GVRR) also has a stationary caboose on top of the third highest mountain in WV, Bald Knob.  Instead of being pushed up and pulled down in the caboose, you take the regular daily steam-powered train to Bald knob along with your luggage and transfer to the caboose for your overnight stay. 

https://mountainrailwv.com/tour/castaway-caboose-overnights/

[Fred Morse]

That's what we always had in mind.

[Wayne Laepple]

I have thought for some time that the field at TOM would be a nice place for a Scout group to camp for a weekend. The area around the Porcupine Palace could also be nice. Clean out the PP and put in a self-contained camper toilet and you'd even have a latrine with privacy.

I'm not sure our caboose could serve as an overnight accommodation since the benches are too narrow for anyone to sleep on comfortably. If we want to go that route, perhaps one of the boxcars could be set up with a couple of regular beds and maybe a bunk bed for kids, a table and some chairs. Install a big screen over the door on one side and a screen with a doorway on the other and build small deck and a fire pit outside. A couple of solar panels for some lights inside. That would be something people would pay to use.

[Bill Baskerville]

Randy and I stayed in the very first Cast away Caboose the first year they had it.  That caboose was renovated by a couple who lived in Virginia and loaned it to the Durbin & Greenbrier.  It was a great experience.  When they chugged away up the river we were 3 miles up the tracks from the nearest house and there was no cell coverage there.  When night fell it was really, really dark.

This provides an interesting opportunity......

[Roger Cole]

If there's some sort of road to TOM, you could truck in a standard gauge caboose and outfit it similar to the Castaway Caboose. If there is no road, perhaps it could be moved sans trucks on a flatcar.  Two lengths of rail would be placed at TOM to standard gauge width. It would be stationary like the one on Bald Knob at Cass, WV.  It could produce quite a bit of extra revenue (the Castaway Caboose rates are $330 per night for 1 to 6 people).  The items to be worked out would be water & sewer as well as someone to clean the caboose between occupants.  Saturday occupants could take the scheduled train to the caboose and return on the Sunday train.  Occupants for other nights could perhaps be shuttled by the Model T.  The video link below shows the amenities on a Castaway Caboose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er4H0yFgT9U

[Mike the Choochoo Nix]

I think the caboose/ cabin is a good idea, however we are a volunteer organization and maintaining it would be problematic. If it was done, I think the best idea would be to lease it to someone local and let them take care of renting and cleaning it. As part of the arrangement we could provide transportation via the railroad.
Mike Nix

[Carl G. Soderstrom]

Sounds like a plan Mike Nix.

Do not let the Museum get  bigger than can be maintained - nothing worse than a bad experience.

[Roger Cole]

This one would have been a good fit period-wise, but someone just saved it from the scrap heap.  When these opportunities come up, organizations have to be able to act quickly.

http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=45261