It was a dinner and the “Late, Late, Late Show” while riding our favorite scenic railroad through the mountains of Western Maryland, filled with comedic improvisation and interactive murder mystery fun!
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| The conductor welcomes us aboard. |
We were seated at our table in one of the two “heritage” dining cars for the evening’s journey. The performance started as we pulled out of Cumberland. During the journey up to Frostburg, we enjoyed a 3-course meal consisting of salad, choice of entrée — either filet mignon, crab cakes, honey-glazed salmon or vegetarian lasagna, and a signature dessert of Chef’s choice. Wine was option; we opted.
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| Station security officer and erstwhile investigator Anthony Tenna is on the case! |
As we dug into our salads, we learned that big changes are taking place at a small local television channel! A desire to compete with bigger networks by new station owner and General Manager G.I. Lovecash has prompted changes that have shaken up the whole staff at WMRB TV.
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| General Manager G.I. Lovecash dismisses Beancounter’s concerns with a wave of his hand. |
We traveled west from downtown Cumberland, through a natural cut in the mountains, around a horseshoe curve, over bridges, and through a tunnel. Along the way, servers started bringing out your main entree (which you pre-order when you purchase the tickets). We rode past scenic ridges, valleys, and small towns, ascending 1,300 feet in elevation to Frostburg.
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| Chef Georgiou Georgioupolis is upset that Lovecash is cancelling his show. |
As we munched our bread, we learned that the network that once prided itself on wholesome family-oriented programming with shows featuring beloved local personalities such as the “Grecian Gourmet with Chef Georgiou Georgioupolis” was replacing those shows with the likes of Goria de Vamp, “the Gothic Goddess” who has been surrounded by controversy her entire career because of the raunchy, gory movies she shows and her outlandish, graphic and over the top stunts she performs in between segments, all in the name of ratings.
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| Gloria de Vamp, the Gothic Goddess goes over the top about everything! |
The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad is a heritage railroad based in Cumberland, operating on former Western Maryland Railway track to Frostburg and back using diesel locomotives.
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| There are no bad seats in this theater! |
Then, as we sipped our wine, we discovered that station accountant and mail room clerk Ira Beancounter has been noticing some peculiarities in financial reports, strange invoices coming to the station, and missing petty cash and that Beancounter enlisted the help of company Security Officer Anthony “Ant” Tenna to investigate the station and the people in it, and to report any unusual occurrences.
Meanwhile, as we’re savoring our entrees, we learn that Georgioupolis’ new, very very sharp cutlery has gone missing and that Lovecash is accusing Beancounter of stealing.
So when Lovecash shows up dead — rather hilariously, bloodily so with a long, drawn out dramatic and delightfully over-extended death scene right after desert was served — who was the murderer?
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| Dying General Manager Lovecash pauses to have his picture taken during his death scene. |
For a long time, we wanted to enjoy a murder mystery dinner on the rails, so when we had a free November weekend, we purchased our tickets for the event. We’d enjoyed Romance on the Rails dinners before, in fact, twice! So we knew it’d be a fun daytrip!
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| Still dying 10 minutes later, Lovecash and Tenna pause to have their photo taken! 🙂 |
The shows change periodically, and gives us a reason to come back for more! There are also a variety of other excursions, including more family friendly ones.
Getting there: 13 Canal St, Cumberland, MD 21502
Hours: Please check the website below for excursions and departure times.
Website: https://wmsr.com/
Looking for other scenic railroad adventures?
- Cass Scenic Rail Road
- Romance on the Rails
- More Romance on the Rails
- Murder Mystery on the Western MD Scenic Railway
- Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad
