C&O / GAP Forum

On New Years day I stopped in for breakfast. I ordered waffles and bacon. When the waitress brought my order and placed it on the table, she asded if it was too dark. It was, in fact the waffle was burnt, and the bacon dark. I said yes it was too dark. Without saying a word, she returned it to the kitchen. About 3 to 5 minutes later, the waitress returned with the order and placed it on the tabel and walked away. The waffle again, appeared dark and when I turned it over, I found that it was burnt. It appeared to be the same waffle. I again told the waitress that it was too dark. She returned to the kitchen, at which time I heard the cook yelling. I motioned to another waitress to have the order canceled because I could hear the cook yelling. A few minutes later, my waitress walked by my table and said to me, "You can pay for your coffee at the register." She did not say she was sorry for the burnt food, have a good day, nothing. I paid for the coffee and left.
I will not return, nor recommend your restaurant to my many friend and family that visit.

Appreciate the head's up. Thanks for the post.

Yes I totally agree with the person who got the waffles, In the past I have to ask for silverware, refill on drinks, napkins, these people get into their little groups and gossip, I have seen this many times.

The restaurant should apply for federal money so they can continue this poor service indefinitely, sorta like Amtrak

Sorry, couldn't help myself

For a good meal you never need to venture further than Weaver's. Good food, fair prices. Someone mentioned elsewhere in the forums that their serving breakfast several mornings a week. We always stop in for lunch or supper. The waitresses are very friendly and the locals eat there!

When I travelled in the Northeast Corridor I used Amtrak quite a bit. I always found them to be professional, courteous and on time.
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Not sure why Roy felt the need to drag politics into a discussuon about a restaurant. Maybe they didn't serve Tea. :)

Sometimes a joke is a joke, however poor. Sorry Frank Burns that you took it so seriously.

I've used Amtrak when I travelled and have never had any issues. What's with the poor service comment? Did you ever use Amtrak, Roy, or are you just spouting Tea bag rhetoric?

Roy, please take your politics elsewhere. This website is about the C&O Canal.

I agree. Roy, if you don't have anything positive to contribute to a discussion about the C&O Canal, then take it elsewhere.

Does"take your politics elsewhere" apply to Jim as well?

I agree with the Weavers recommendation. The food and service are great.

As for Amtrak, no thanks. The bathrooms are filthier than your worst port a pot at the end if a fair day.

I too have been treated well on Amtrak, and Roy I agree sometimes a joke is a joke, the rest of you need to get a life and leave Roy alone he is entitled to same rights under the 1st Amendment as the PC police atleast for today

If one is narrow minded enough to limit the definition of service to how one is treated personally, then maybe my post was out of line. The employees aboard my train were great. However, I'm able to think beyond self and define service in a broader scope.
Thus, Amtrak unnecessarily limits choices to the customer, is federally funded (that makes the statement political? please don't show yourself so poor a thinker)and may therefore be considered in this instance to offer poor service. In private sector businesses similarly offering poor service may go out of business, bringing about my poor attempt at public humor in relating the one instance to the other.
I'll not choose to eat at Little Sandy's restaurant either BTW...pretty risky Frank. Hope you enjoy. And all related to the trail and one's ability to enjoy and how one may utilize the same, thus appropriate to the board.

John Owings and Roy from Middletown drop it. 1st Amendment? Come on, lighten up.
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It's Summer and vacation Season. Keep the discussions about the Trail. Plenty to discuss.

"John Owings and Roy from Middletown drop it. 1st Amendment? Come on, lighten up."

What does the 1st amendment have to do with it. Roy exercised it and other disagreed with what he said. My take is that Roy hasn't said anything to indicate he actually knows anything about Amtrak, rather is only echoing what he has heard. If he would like to learn about Amtrak I suggest he go to

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/forum/3-amtrak-rail-discussion/

Lighten up Paul. Stop trying to pick fights on this forum. A-Hole!

I've been watching this thread since Jan. WHY DONT YOU ALL GIVE IT UP. Second graders don't do this.

Can anyone suggest a safe place to park for 4 days at Harpers Ferry?

I plan on riding out from Harpers Ferry, two days out and two days back. Need to leave my truck somewhere in Harpers Ferry.

Thanks

I went to the visitor center above downtown and asked them if I could leave my car in their lot. They said fine. I gave them my name,address,phone #, left it there for a week and it was fine when I got back..Just understand its left unattended and they are not responsible for anything.

Thanks.

The Rangers and Staff at Harpers Ferry (and the Visitors Center) are really good people and very helpful. Just make prior arrangements and it will be fine.

It looks like the question has been answered. But I did notice that there are 120 long term parking spaces at the Amtrak station. There is no agent, so no one is to know you are biking.

I can't answer the "Is is safe?" question, but I routinely leave my van at Illinois and Iowa stations for a month at a time.

"Is is safe?" question usually get answered at

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/forum/3-amtrak-rail-discussion/

Three of us are biking to DC in July and ticketed to come back to Pittsburgh on AMTRAK. We would like to bring the bikes along. In DC, where does one get the boxes to bring bikes along back and what is the cost?

Get your box right at the Amtrak ticket check-in. $15.00 for the box and $10.00 for checking it in. Be sure to take tools to remove your handle bars and pedals, tape and a black marked for the box. Buy your ticket more the 24 hours before leaving or the price goes way up. All the info you need is at http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak
Have a nice trip.

Stillriding--Thank you. Very helpful on the details tape, tools and all. We already have our tickets, so we'll need to pay an additional $25 per bike on boarding. Until AMTRAK does the take bike on board policy, we'll go with this.

I'm pretty sure you pay for the bike and box at the ticket counter, but you get the boxes, and check the boxed bike at the baggage department. It is around the corner from the ticket counter, facing the departure gates.

Also, I've never had to remove threaded stem drop bars, just loosen them and rotate them parallel to the bike. It's the threadless stem mt/hybrid handle bars that stick straight up in the air when you rotate them, and you have to let them dangle loose in the box.

We are doing this very thing next month. Buying the boxes from AMTRAK, etc does anyone know if the information we got is accurate in that we do have to remove fenders and racks? This will make a big difference in our approach. We are bringing loaded touring bikes w front & rear panniers.

The boxes are 70 inches x 41 inches x 8.5 inches As the saying goes, if it fits, it ships. Can't be over 50 pounds. Here is the Amtrak web page for all the information. Hope this helps. http://www.amtrak.com/bring-your-bicycle-onboard

Thanks for the link Stillriding. While we can read their stock answers, when it comes down to the day of, I know from my travels, it's who you are looking at face to face who can & will make the final determination.

We will measure. We were told we cannot put our panniers or any luggage inside the box, so hence the question, it sounded to me they were micromanaging what you can add to a box, so logically we are curious about our bike touring fixtures. I would love to really hear from someone who has done this very thing.

Bluebearee I understand your concern and hope someone with more info does a comment. I am doing this ride in May and taking the train from Pgh. to DC. You should go on youtube as they have a few videos that show riders boxing up there bikes with the racks still attached and some panniers going inside the box. I plan on doing the same thing but I also am using an old suitcase to hold everything else that don't fit in the bike box. You are allowed one free bag. When I get to DC. I plan on giving the suitcase to a homeless person or throw it away. If you don't already have an old suitcase just go to a local flea market and pick one up. Just a suggestion and hope it helps.

Thanks - I had a typo in my OP : we were told we did *not*have to remove fenders and racks. Box size seems ample. Plan is to bring gear and flattened panniers inside a duffel which we'll stuff into our panniers and carry back. Or else give to my husband's cousin who we have convinced to pick us up @ 11:45pm!

What goes in the box depends a lot on the mood of the guys at the baggage station. I tossed in the pannier with all my tools after I took off the pedals and detached the handlebars. Racks and fenders stayed attached and went in with no trouble. The baggage guys had tape and markers and a $5 tip for their help made everything pleasant. I thought Amtrak was a strict about the two item carry-on bit from the website until I watched people bringing many garbage bags worth of stuff into the coach, so three panniers (or even four if I hadn't tossed it in the box) didn't cause a stir at all.

Can you get your boxes from Amtrak in advance, then pack'em(under 50lbs) and take them to the train station?

Yes and sometimes they have good used ones that are free.

Since I appear to be the Amtrak veteran here (14 nights in a sleeping car in 2013 and 8 already in 2014 as of May 31) I would like to qualify a few of the comments.

"Buy your ticket more the 24 hours before leaving or the price goes way up." Not necessarily. Amtrak uses what is known as a bucket system, with about 5 buckets, whereby each bucket contains a certain number of tickets at a given price. When the lowest bucket is empty, you move up to the next higher bucket and so on. So if the train is almost sold out on the day of travel, your comment is correct. If it's almost empty, then you could be getting low bucket. In recent years, Amtrak has gotten smarter, On certain routes at certain times, if it thinks it can sell out, it doesn't place any tickets in the lower buckets. Then, if it doesn't sell well, it puts some in the low bucket, effectively lowering the price. Also, when someone cancels, the price call also drop. If your travel plans are flexible, check out amsnag.net to find the best deal. It also has a fare watch option that notifies you if the price drops.

" We were told we cannot put our panniers or any luggage inside the box, so hence the question, it sounded to me they were micromanaging what you can add to a box, so logically we are curious about our bike touring fixtures. I would love to really hear from someone who has done this very thing." This sounds like the ticket agent/baggage handler was making things up as they went along. There is nothing that says you have to pack the box within the agent's sight. Usually, they are too busy to pay attention to what you are doing. As long as you tape it securely and don't go over the weight limit (I've never seen them weight bikes (checked baggage, yes), you should be good to go.

" You are allowed one free bag" Checked baggage: 2 Bags - 50 lbs. — 75 Linear Inches, Additional Bags — $20 Each. Carry on: 2 each not to exceed 50 lbs. (23 kg), 28 x 22 x 14 inches (700 x 550

Looks like there is a character limit per post. So I'll finish here.

" You are allowed one free bag" Form Amtrak.com. Checked baggage: 2 Bags - 50 lbs. — 75 Linear Inches, Additional Bags — $20 Each. Carryon: 2 each not to exceed 50 lbs. (23 kg), 28 x 22 x 14 inches (700 x 550 x 350) plus laptops, purses, etc. The real rule for carryon luggage is that if you can schlepp it on without creating a ruckus, you are good to go. With the exception of Viewliner sleeping cars, there is plenty of luggage space.

" I thought Amtrak was a strict about the two item carry-on bit from the website until I watched people bringing many garbage bags worth of stuff into the coach" Absolutely. The only time I've had a problem was when I tried to board a superliner coach on the California Zephyr in Chicago with a folding bike inside an "airline legal" suitcase. Problem was someone had gotten a red cap to board 3 oversized tupperware tubs that took up the whole community luggage rack and the coach attendent refused to let me put it in the large empty space in the front of the downstairs seating area. The conducter gave me a hard time. The total linear inches of my bag was 2" less that Amtrak's limit, but one demension was 2" to wide, not that he knew that. But both the conductor and attendent went on to more important tasks and soon I was able to put the bag on top of a pile of junk which in the meantime had filled the open space.

Finally:

For quite a while Amtrak hasbeen promising the GAP crowd roll-on, roll-off bike service on the Capitol Limited when the new Viewliner II baggage cars go into service. Due to technical difficulties (lack of qualified stainless steel welders?) or cash flow problems, the producion order continues to be delayed. Finally, one baggage car emerged from the factory and has been sent to the New York area for testing; and if all goes well, they should begin seeing service this Fall. But who knows which trains will get the first ones.

I did see a picture of one still in the factory.

http://history.amtrak.com/archives/viewliner-ii-baggage-car-interior-2013

I hope the bicycle in the picture is an indication of things to come, not just a factory worker finding a nice place to stash his ride.

For the remainder of the weekend train season (Thursday through
Sunday), riders wishing to take their bikes to Frostburg and enjoy a
leisurely downhill trip back into Cumberland along the Great Allegheny
Passage, will also experience a 50% savings in carrier fees when
purchasing tickets 48 hours in advance. All standard bicycles will
now be charged only $5.00, with additional fees applying to trikes,
carts, tandem, etc., added onto the cost of the ticket. The former
stand-by rate has also been cancelled. Local residents may benefit
even further by taking advantage of the $25.00 package rate with
advance reservations.

Frank Fowler, General Superintendent, for the WMSR, is pleased to
offer this benefit and fully understands the economic benefit this
partnership provides to our region, but offers this caution, “Since
our computer reservation system isn’t designed to handle this
promotion on the internet, local residents must call the reservation
center at 1-800-TRAIN50 for reservations.”

“Ridership (cyclists and their bikes) is up 35% over July 2009 with
nearly 480 bikes being handled month-to-date as opposed to only 168
last year. Season-to-date (May through the current month), over 1,065
bikes have been handled compared to last year’s 362,” notes Fowler.

With a capacity to handle approximately 60 bikes per excursion, this
is a wonderful way to enjoy the full benefits of rail/trail
experience, but planning ahead is key. Fowler adds “it is important
to note space is restricted during October weekends when 600
passengers take advantage of a relaxing way to admire fall foliage.”
Don’t get lost in the steam!

This is an old post but has anyone ever used this service to get to Frostburg and how was it?

My wife and I did this once, just to say we did it. We rode the train to Frostburg and then rode our bikes to Meyersdale and stayed at the Levi Deal mansion. We rode back to Cumberland the next day. If our memories are correct, we called ahead but bought our tickets that morning, (the train was not even close to full). We rolled on last and were last to get off. That is about all I remember from that trip. It was fun!

We did it last October to ascend the steepest 16 miles of our westward trek. The other cyclists on the train were doing the loop back to town as the article suggests, some with rental bikes.

For us, it was a great way to travel. We only had 8 miles of uphill left to the Continental Divide.

But we had to schedule this on a weekday, because during some peak travel weekends (all of October due to the fall colors), they do not offer bicycle service. Not sure if other holidays are affected. Definitely check in advance.

Our Friday train was full, especially since we were the last to board as JJB noted below.

A plus was that it didn't leave until 11:30, so we got to sleep in and have a lazier start that typical on the trail. Also, the deli upstairs in the train station was excellent. Much better than what one might expect in such a setting. We ate lunch on the train and were ready to roll when our bike was (finally) unloaded.

Has anyone ever taken the time to hike up "Lovers Leap" in Cumberland, MD. Are the views worth the hike?

One thing I haven't seen a list of in any C&O/GAP forum or guide books is what trail towns have public libraries? My phone has been unreliable with keeping a charge and I will not have a replacement in time for my trip. I am wondering what towns along the trail have libraries where I could send and check e-mail to stay in touch with family? Public libraries have served touring cyclists and long distance hikers well. I have to figure there is a list out there for the C&O/GAP that I haven't stumbled across yet. Thanks!

get a battery

The thread was about libraries along the C&O/GAP. Care to list any?

Confluence's library closes at 2:00 PM. Frostburg's is open 'til 5:00, maybe later.

2 years ago I rode between PAW PAW Tunnel and Hancock and had no coverage on T Mobile. Maybe it's better now? Or maybe other providers are better.

Thanks for the replies. Looks like Hancock, MD has one too: Mon - Thu: 9am - 9pm, Fri: 9am - 6pm, Sat: 9am - 5pm, Sun: 1pm - 5pm. Cumberland, MD also has one: M-Th Monday 10am-8pm, F-Sat 10am-5pm, closed on Sunday.

Connellsville does as well:

Carnegie Free Library
299 S Pittsburgh St
Connellsville, PA 15425
Phone: 724-628-1380

Monday & Wednesday 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Tuesday & Thursday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Friday & Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Thanks for the info.

Spent the night their earlier this month; Dennis had a crew installing a new deck in the bunk house. Looked great. Had a wonderful stay, breakfast at Weaver’s before hitting the trail again. You can’t beat $10 a night. Highly recommended just remember this; it’s not the Waldorf Astoria. It’s a BUNK HOUSE!

I'm camping the entire DC-PIT trip the first week of June except for one night and that will be at the Bunkhouse in Hancock! Can't wait!

Bunk House in Hancock, Tea Horse Hostel in Harper's Ferry: why pack the extra camping gear weight if you're doing the C&O over 3 days/2 nights? Both are great places to stay!