Post by umpdan31 on Jun 22, 2020 12:40:35 GMT -5
Thought I would share my experiences with our trips on the AutoTrain. It leaves Lorton, Virginia or Sanford, Florida at 4:00 p.m. each day and arrives either at Sanford or Lorton around 8:30 a.m. the next day. (The trains pass each other somewhere in South Carolina. They change crews in Florence, S.C. but are not there at the same time.) However, you MUST be there by 2:30 or you'll miss the loading of the train. They are very strict on this as it takes some time for them to load the cars onto the auto racks. You will start boarding the train sometime around 3:15. and, if everything is loaded up before 4:00, they will depart early. You have 4 options on accommodations, Coach, roomette, bedroom and family room. The first time we went we selected coach. It's the cheapest but forget about sleeping since there are always people that just don't know how to get in, sit down and shut up. People constantly going to the bathroom or dining car where you can purchase snacks or just want to take a leisurely stroll, opening the car doors that connect to the next car. Very frustrating. The second time we got a roomette, which will hold only 2 people but doesn't have a toilet or shower so the third time we got a bedroom that will sleep 3 and it does have it's own shower and toilet. Never used the family style room so can't give you any info about them. The attendant will turn down your bed when you ask them to. They serve both dinner and breakfast for any type of accommodation. The food is very, very good and is included in the ticket price. When you board the train, you will be assigned a seating time for dinner. Breakfast is served starting at 6:00 a.m. and you can go whenever it suits you. The service is top notch throughout the train. When the train arrives at its destination they start unloading the cars and announce what number cars are ready for claiming. This number is given to you when you first arrived at the departure station. Your car has a magnetic card attached to the side with your number on it. (Here, I will say it's fun watching how they load and unload the cars.) It isn't the smoothest riding train as Amtrak doesn't have their own tracks all the way. They use some CSX right of way, which CSX doesn't care how smoothly their freight cars run. As for cost, I have compared total costs with flying and if you take the train one way and drive back, which I like to drive anyway, 'till you factor in the airfare, cost of parking your car at the airport and renting a car, it is pretty much a wash. The real advantage is having your own car loaded with as much stuff as you can fit into it. Extra luggage, golf clubs, fishing gear, whatever you want to take without having to pay any additional fees. Being a train guy, I love it, My wife says it's ok because the clickity clack of the wheels sometimes wakes her up. She does admit it's a heck of a lot better if you don't ride coach. If you have been toying around with the idea of taking the AutoTrain, at least give it a try. I'm pretty sure you'll like it
