Reply to Western Maryland Scenic Railroad promotion

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.