Steam & Excursion > Western Maryland steam refunds

OK, with the recent bad news from Cumberland, I have removed my Pollyanna sunglasses and realized this project won't be happening for a long time, to say the least.

Part of this includes me requesting a ticket refund for the November, no, make that February, no make that whenever trip.

Snarky comments aside, has anyone on TO requested a refund and been denied? I'm trying to figure out if I am really and truly out $500 or not. I just requested a refund today.

I don't want this to become a bash-the-restoration-crew thread, just asking if anybody out there has actually been stung for five hundred bucks.

What does the fine print of the purchase agreement state?

There isn't any fine print. But when they announced the first delay, their email told me that I could get the refund at a later date, if I so chose. Now, I'm choosing.

If you paid with a credit card, time to talk to the card issuer about the refund. You'll get a credit on your bill and that will be that. If you want to make a donation, do so, it's tax deductible.

With all the bad news about the WM Scenic Railroad, my one hope that I pray for is that somehow, someway, this organization will get this restoration resolved. I realize that there have been many, many mistakes, probably a mistake from the beginning as this locomotive needed so much more work than anyone really understood. But keep in mind that this railroad helps with the tourist industry in Cumberland and Frostburg. I personally am worried that the State of Maryland, which owns the actual railroad, will step in and shut the whole thing down, which would be a darn shame. I just hope that someone, from the State of Maryland, the City of Cumberland, somebody in authority, will get involved to get this thing straightened out so that the money that has already been spent will not go in vain. Here in Maryland we do not have any other genuine tourist railroad of this type with the scenery and mountain climbing, and hopefully with a mainline steam locomotive again. I have made several monetary contributions this year and in previous years and I am willing to do so again; but somehow things must get on the right track (no pun intended).
John in White Marsh, Maryland

I think many including myself would have been willing to donate their payment if they were confident the money would go to the right place and that sooner rather than later the locomotive would be completed so everyone who donated could enjoy it. I had no confidence that any of that would happen so I choose the refund which eventually turned up after one failed mailing attempt.

I would guess ( repeat guess) that as of the current cash situation there will be no further refunds. As previously discussed here at length let's hope it's a good lesson to future restoration administrators to NOT be selling participation until the machine in question is FINISHED, DEBUGGED and back running reliably.

Especially in the case of a locomotive as complex as this one that had sat out in the elements for decades.

I hope they can come up with a way to get back to work soon otherwise folks will begin to write this off as another failed project.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

I requested a refund by phone yesterday. The folks were very polite and helpful, no excuses or delaying tactics. They told me the refund will be by check even though purchased with a credit card. I was told it would take one to two weeks to process. I was impressed with the professional way they handled this matter.

I would not expect the State to come in and shut the doors but a thorough top end house cleaning could result.

JW

ClubCar Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> With all the bad news about the WM Scenic
> Railroad, my one hope that I pray for is that
> somehow, someway, this organization will get this
> restoration resolved. I realize that there have
> been many, many mistakes, probably a mistake from
> the beginning as this locomotive needed so much
> more work than anyone really understood. But keep
> in mind that this railroad helps with the tourist
> industry in Cumberland and Frostburg. I
> personally am worried that the State of Maryland,
> which owns the actual railroad, will step in and
> shut the whole thing down, which would be a darn
> shame. I just hope that someone, from the State
> of Maryland, the City of Cumberland, somebody in
> authority, will get involved to get this thing
> straightened out so that the money that has
> already been spent will not go in vain. Here in
> Maryland we do not have any other genuine tourist
> railroad of this type with the scenery and
> mountain climbing, and hopefully with a mainline
> steam locomotive again. I have made several
> monetary contributions this year and in previous
> years and I am willing to do so again; but somehow
> things must get on the right track (no pun
> intended).
> John in White Marsh, Maryland



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/17 15:27 by ChessieSystem.

JayK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I requested a refund by phone yesterday. The folks
> were very polite and helpful, no excuses or
> delaying tactics. They told me the refund will be
> by check even though purchased with a credit card.
> I was told it would take one to two weeks to
> process. I was impressed with the professional way
> they handled this matter.

thanks, that is somewhat reassuring. 

I sent an email requesting a refund (the phone line was busy) and quickly got a very polite reply saying I would get a check in the mail. I wish them the best, and hopefully something good will happen.

JBWX

jbwest Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I sent an email requesting a refund (the phone
> line was busy) and quickly got a very polite reply
> saying I would get a check in the mail. I wish
> them the best, and hopefully something good will
> happen.
>
> JBWX

Would you (and others asking for refunds) mind posting your experience if/when you receive your refund? WMSR sticking to their word to issue refunds would do a lot to improve the public's faith in them.

What I find very frustrating is the WMSR's lack of communication and candor. Why do I have to get my info either here or from Trains mag. There is still no mention of the work stoppage on their website. I can understand running out of cash and not being able to refund money (which hopefully will not be the case, but is at least understandable if it happens), but I cannot understand their unwillingness to be transparent and let folks know what is going on. Donors don't like that, from a fund raising standpoint they are committing suicide.

JBWX

jbwest Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What I find very frustrating is the WMSR's lack of
> communication and candor. Why do I have to get my
> info either here or from Trains mag. There is
> still no mention of the work stoppage on their
> website. I can understand running out of cash and
> not being able to refund money (which hopefully
> will not be the case, but is at least
> understandable if it happens), but I cannot
> understand their unwillingness to be transparent
> and let folks know what is going on. Donors don't
> like that, from a fund raising standpoint they
> are committing suicide.
>
> JBWX

If you look at the way John Garner communicates to the public, it's almost exclusively through media that are one-way communication. Remember when the WMSR Foundation was an active organization where information on 1309 was pretty regularly posted on Facebook so the public could see what was happening?
Replaced by videos on a blog site with no real discussion capability and the content is controlled by John Garner. Trains magazine articles? They reach masses of people who may or may not critically think and take John to be speaking absolute truth as there is no debate or investigative reporting. His video appearances have stopped, and he even had one of the contractors do one of the last video updates on 1309. Ever wonder if the reason is he knows his credibility is gone? But regardless, all tightly controlled to only let you see what he wanted you to see. Control the media and you control the perceived truth but sometimes at the cost of credibility.

Back on the original topic, I received an email from WMSRR a few minutes ago, informing me that a refund check will be mailed shortly.

That's prompt and courteous service, and over a holiday weekend at that.

So regardless of the progress or lack thereof on restoration, the company itself is honoring its obligations. Let that be known.