I'm very tentatively planning a trip to see the capitols of Charleston WVa and Columbus Ohio (what has me dithering about the trip is the need to take Greyhound again). Anyway, I have a few questions
(a) When leaving Columbus, I can take a Greyhound to Cincinnati and catch the eastbound Cardinal there. However, unless I work it so that I overnight for 1-2 nights in Cincinnati, I doubt I'll be able to see much of the city, because I won't have a place to leave my luggage.
(b) If I do overnight in Cincinnati, where do you recommend I stay? It would need to be convenenient to sites, as I won't have a car.
(c) I can also take the bus back to Huntington (from Columbus) and overnight there, catching the eastbound Cardinal in the AM. This seems easier than middle of night stuff Cincinnati, but I'm afraid I might miss too much good scenery. What do you think--is the scenery important west of Huntington?
Posted by Geoff M (Member # 153) on :
Unless the situation has improved in Cincinnati since a few years ago, I'd recommend booking a taxi before you arrive. We had to wait over an hour for the single taxi to make three round trips from the station to various parts of the city before we managed to get a ride.
We stayed in a posh business hotel at the weekend which meant that the rates were really cheap. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of it! It was city centre and we walked everywhere - it's not THAT big a city for the main sights.
Geoff M.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
Hey Sojourner
I'm great at suggesting alternatives.....contributing to the original topic not so much.....
BUT -
Here's an option you might want to consider if you're willing to forego Cincinnati for a future trip - You could take Greyhound from Columbus to Ashland, KY and spend the night at the Ashland Plaza Hotel.
The hotel is a short two block level walk from the 1914 C&O freight station which both Amtrak and Greyhound use. There is a riverfront park across the tracks from the station and the Cardinal's eastbound departure from Ashland is at a much closer to reasonable hour than from Cincinnati.
You would have to do Greyhound in from Columbus because that's the way their route runs. If you wanted to go to Ashland from Cincinnati Greyhound would send you to Columbus first where you would have to change buses.
Of course Ashland is no Cincinnati.
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
David, I think Ashland might be a fine suggestion, as long as the station seems safe--I just have to decide if I want to do Cincinnati on this trip or save it (and if I do it, I'll need to do Frankfort too I think, so it becomes a much longer and costlier trip). But I still have the same quesiton: If I board the train eastbound at Ashland in early to mid April, will I get to see most of the nice scenery on the eastbound Cardinal? I took this train from Indianapolis not so long ago, as you know, but for some reason I cannot remember exactly where the nice scenery starts, and where Ashland is in relation to it. I do remember the Ohio River being kinda foggy in the early morning . . . .
But what about Ashland station--are there people there? My Amtrak book seems to indicate there is no ticket agent; how deserted will it be? Will the bus people be there? You say Ashland is "no Cincinnati," but what is the town like? I don't want to feel alone or uncomfortable like I did in Indianapolis station, where I really was quite edgy waiting in the middle of the night, I'm sorry to say.
I am resigned to the fact that I'm gonna have to do Greyhound to get to Columbus. At least, I haven't found anything else, yet. Maybe there's some kind of shuttle from Cincinnati airport, though, I ought to check. But if I'm coming in from Charleston WV I am sure it's gonna have to be Greyhound. That is the bus line--Charleston to Huntington to Ashland to Columbus to Cincinnati. . . .
Geoff, are you talking about arriving in Cincinnati on a train or a bus? I'd be arriving on the latter; not sure where the bus station is in relation to the train station; does anyone know? Also, any remembrance of the Cincinnati hotel would be helpful, even if I do that part of the trip at another time. Thanks again!
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
Between Cincinatti and Ashland the line for the most part follows the south bank of the Ohio River. I rode it in 1971, so my memory is not exactly fresh. It was interesting and fairly scenic, but then the train had a dome at the time. You do have the potential of being "treed in" so that all you see is the trees next to the tracks and little to nothing of what is on the other side of them. Also, there is nothing really memorable in the scenery. I would say that Ashland to the east would be much better, and still gets you some riverside scenery.
Can't tell you anything about Ashland, itself or the station.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
The station at Ashland does not have an Amtrak ticket agent. There is a Greyhound agent on duty when buses are scheduled (not sure if that would coincide with the Cardinal but that could certainly be checked out on their website) and the local bus system (which is tiny) has offices there......of course they would not have anyone there that early.
I would presume that Amtrak has a caretaker about to open the building up. It's not creepy like Indianapolis but I can't think of much to see in Ashland other than a fairly small downtown which still retains a 1950's or 60's look since the town is off the beaten path. That area has an oil refinery and there is lot's of interfacing between coal coming out of the mountains by rail and being transloaded onto barges on the Ohio River.
I'm thinking an early afternoon bus arrival followed by going out on the train early the next morning would be enough.
Posted by Geoff M (Member # 153) on :
quote:Originally posted by sojourner: Geoff, are you talking about arriving in Cincinnati on a train or a bus? I'd be arriving on the latter; not sure where the bus station is in relation to the train station; does anyone know? Also, any remembrance of the Cincinnati hotel would be helpful, even if I do that part of the trip at another time. Thanks again!
Sorry, I meant arriving by train.
With regards to scenery I think the best part of it is east of Montgomery, WV. It's often dark by this time anyway. Having said that, even at night there are highlights like the colourful city lights on the approach to Cincinnatti. http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/routeguidecardinal.pdf is more descriptive than I remember.
I believe the hotel was The Westin Cincinnati. As I say, it was at the weekend and we got a great rate.
Geoff M.
Posted by cassrr (Member # 1834) on :
Try the Ramada Inn Downtown in Cincinnati...four blocks from Union Station, just on the fringe of downtown area. Cardinal departs rather early in the morning (4am) so all the beautiful scenery eastward in West Virginia will be seen in daylight hours. Leaving Cincy the Ohio River will be on the left side of the train until Ashland. From there to Charleson it's mostly suburban views of the Huntington/Teays Valley area. At Charleston the Kanawha River is on the left all the way to Gauley Bridge. For a few miles the "dry's" area of the New River remains on your left. At Hawk's Nest the train crosses the New, keeping the river on your right until Hinton. April is a great time to roll thru the New River Gorge, with lot's of flowering shrubs and, usually, fairly high levels of water for great whitewater shots.
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
The more I look into the Greyhound Station in Columbus, the more I do not want to make this trip at all! Friends of mine in the area say the station is bad news, and I see lots of people on the Internet have posted to the same effect.
I thought maybe I could take that new Megabus from Columbus to Cincinnati, since it purports to stop in both cities--but the only Megabus that stops in both cities on the same route stops in Cincinnati in the middle of the night for some bizarre reason; the other one from Columbus just goes to Indianapolis and Chicago! (And no, I don't want to go back to Indianapolis and catch the train, the Amtrak station there in the middle of the night was scary and unpleasant. I would maybe go to Chicago on the Megabus, but it's a long trip out of my way just to get to Columbus, and outbound I'd have to overnight in Chicago because I cannot rely on Amtrak getting me there in time to catch the 11AM Megabus to Columbus!)
Really, in my opinion, the state of Ohio does not even deserve my tourism, it has such very crappy intercity transit. And it is the KIND of state that really ought to have lots of good intercity transit--a state with lots of urban centers, densely populated, comparable to Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania--I just don't understand it!!!
Posted by palmland (Member # 4344) on :
Sojourner- It seems Ohio has been talking about improving intrastate transit for a long time, but that's all it is. I agree the state is a natural for linking their large cities via rail.
I guess you will still take the Cardinal trip to Charleston which should make for a nice daylight ride in both directions. One option is to take the thruway bus from Charlottesville to Richmond to take another look at that gracious city and then return on the regional.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
Now that you mentioned it, I can't remember the last time I wanted to go anywhere in Ohio either.
Take that back, the Cedar Point Amusement Park near Sandusky has a little railroad with several two-foot guage live steam locomotives that's worth another look.
Trying to interface between Amtrak and other modes of mass transit in Ohio is kind of an exercise in futility though.
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
Actually, I loved the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, and I rather liked Cleveland as a whole. But of course, there is a TRAIN there!
Re Richmond: I'm waiting for the capitol to reopen, so that I can tour it. Last I heard it was still closed for refurbishing.
Posted by AHALL (Member # 3515) on :
I would love to come to the defense of my State of Ohio relating to inter-city transportation, but you are correct. Surrounding states have set great examples, but Ohio only talks about it, and develops impressive non-funded plans. Ohio has several metropolitan areas that could be connected, obviously the Three-C cities of Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati. On the other hand, the 29 southeastern counties of Ohio that are considered to be in Appalachia have lost so many rail connections, especially former B & O connections now gone forever.
I would encourage a visit to the State Capitol in Columbus, it received a $ 100 million dollar restoration connecting the 1861 Greek Revival building with a 1902 annex, and making a spectacular complex surrounded by the skyscrapers of the 20th century. And yes, down the street is the awful Greyhound Station, and like elsewhere Greyhound has abandoned many routes in Ohio, completely dropping my city.
OHIO, round on both ends and high in the middle, and not a state-supported passenger rail service in site.
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
Although I was born in Cleveland, I totally agree with y'all about Ohio! Look -- the 2 largest cities (Cleveland and Cincinnati) have AMTRAK service only in the middle of the night, and there is ZERO (nada!! zip!!) passenger rail service to Columbus (the capital city) any more. Does anyone remember the old National Ltd which served both Columbus and Dayton (EARLY days of AMTRAK.......)?
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
quote:Originally posted by RRRICH: Although I was born in Cleveland, I totally agree with y'all about Ohio! Look -- the 2 largest cities (Cleveland and Cincinnati) have AMTRAK service only in the middle of the night, and there is ZERO (nada!! zip!!) passenger rail service to Columbus (the capital city) any more. Does anyone remember the old National Ltd which served both Columbus and Dayton (EARLY days of AMTRAK.......)?
I remember the National Limited in the timetables and from pictures. It's one that I would have ridden before it got away if I had had the chance. At least I got the Floridian from Chicago to Jacksonville (in the dome no-less) and the Hilltopper from DC to Catlettsburg before they got away.
Posted by TwinStarRocket (Member # 2142) on :
I rode a small section of the National Limited in 1977, -Warrensburg, MO to KC. In fact it was the first night of our honeymoon. Back then they had through transcontinental sleepers transferred from the National Ltd. to the SWC. Our sleeper served as our hotel room in KC for a few hours.
It didn't work coming back though. We had to take a cab to Greyhound in KC and a bus to Warrensburg.
Posted by palmland (Member # 4344) on :
What we really need is the real National Limited - B&O's St.Louis route via Parkersburg, Athens into Cinci. A first class train all the way. Sadly the train, railroad, and track are long gone.
So I'd settle for a decent schedule for the Cardinal with a connection for the short trip to Columbus. Then all we'd need is for Ohio to stop talking and put some money on the table. Heck, I'd even settle for a thruway bus continuing on to Cleveland.
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
Also back in the 70's. AMTRAK ran the Shenandoah from Washington to Cincinnati via Cumberland, Keyser, Parkersburg, Athens, and Chillicothe, into Cincinnati. I didn't realize that was the "original" National Ltd route. You say the tracks on that subdivision are now gone too? Too bad -- that was a pleasant route...........
Of course, AMTRAK's version of the National Ltd, as I recall, ran from Pittsburgh west through either Wheeling or Steubenville (I forgot which) through Columbus, Dayton, Richmond (IN), Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Centralia (IL), and eventually to St. Louis and Kansas City, the STL-KCY portion of course being the route that AMTRAK's "Missouri Mules" and Ann Rutledge operate over currently.
Posted by AHALL (Member # 3515) on :
The former B & O route from Grafton, WV through Parkersburg, WV to Cincinnati was removed about 1985. From Clarksburg to Parkersburg the right-of-way remains with rails removed, some of it is a trail. The huge bridge over the Ohio River at Parkersburg remains and is in use to serve industries in Ohio accessed by CSX whose line follows the WV side of the Ohio River, but the route to Athens, Ohio is not only gone, but is now under the pavement for the new four-lane U.S. 50 and Ohio 32. The right-of-way was quickly grabbed to construct the widened highway.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
quote:Originally posted by AHALL: The former B & O route from Grafton, WV through Parkersburg, WV to Cincinnati was removed about 1985. From Clarksburg to Parkersburg the right-of-way remains with rails removed, some of it is a trail. The huge bridge over the Ohio River at Parkersburg remains and is in use to serve industries in Ohio accessed by CSX whose line follows the WV side of the Ohio River, but the route to Athens, Ohio is not only gone, but is now under the pavement for the new four-lane U.S. 50 and Ohio 32. The right-of-way was quickly grabbed to construct the widened highway.
Well........since I generally drive when I'm in Ohio (rather than stepping down from an Amtrak train in the middle of the night), I suppose I am the beneficiary of these improved highways.