I am posting our experiences for both directions on the Auto Train in one post. I do these trip reports for our own reference. If anyone gets some new information from them that's great. Sue

<center>Auto Train from Lorton, Virginia to Sanford Florida</center>

Thursday, February 3
Sunny, 35 degrees
We drove to Lorton, VA the day before we were to take the Auto Train. In previous years we have been out running either an ice storm or a snow storm. This year we had an ice storm the day before we were to leave. Fortunately, by the next morning the ice was gone and roads were fine.

On the way to Lorton, we stopped at the Shamrock Restaurant on Route 15 in Maryland. We’d eaten there before. The food is very good, but the portions are way too large.

We stayed overnight in the Comfort Inn in Lorton. It seems to have been purpose built for the Auto Train. It is less than a mile away from the station, has exactly the same artwork that is on the Auto Train ticket folder, and has an Auto Train rate.

Friday, February 4
Cloudy 40 degrees
We arrived at the train station at about 10:45 and went inside to check ourselves in and requested a 7:00 dinner seating. They start checking cars in at 11:30. Once the car is checked in you cannot leave the station with the car.

In the station we found a place to wait and then did our lunch in shifts since there is no place to sit in the snack bar. There is a shelf that you can use to put your food and beverage down while you are eating. I like to stand at the end and watch them loading the cars. Boarding is usually at 2:30. It was around 3:00 when we were able to board.

This year instead of taking coach we opted for a roomette.

When we checked in we were told that there was complimentary wine, cheese tray and veggie tray served in the lounge car from 3 to 4 o’clock for sleeping car passengers only. We made our way to the lounge car and fortunately were one of the earlier arrivals. It was very crowded later on. At around 4 the bar tender came around and told us that the train was so full that they were going to need to use the lounge car for dinner.

There were some very definite differences between coach and the sleeping cars that we noticed immediately. The first thing we noticed was that there was bottled water in our compartment, and it was readily available at the step area in mid-car. There was also a high end machine in mid-car for coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

Neither of us had any concept of how small the roomettes are. The roomette is 2 facing seats that later are made up into the lower berth. Because of lack of space, foot placement had to be coordinated so we were not in the other one’s way.

We noticed that the sleeper cars were much quieter. There did not seem to be as much wheel/track noise, and of course no problems with loud passengers that continue their conversations when it is obvious other passengers would like to sleep. No surround sound snoring this year either. There still was a lot of stopping and starting which is very jarring with more stops for freight trains than on any of our previous trips and still lots of rocking, jerking, etc. when the train is in motion.

When we came back from the wine and cheese tasting, the car attendant came around and asked us what time we wanted him to convert the seats to berths. We opted for 10:00 and headed for dinner.

There was a considerable difference in the table settings and the food between coach and sleepers. The wine glasses were glass, the plates were pottery, and the cloth napkin was nicely folded in the wine glass. Wine is served in a carafe in coach. In the sleeping car diners the bar tender comes to the table with the actual red and white wine bottles and serves the wine of your choice. It flows pretty freely in both.

The menu offered beef tournedos, cooked to order, Eastern Shore crab cakes, herb roasted chicken and a vegetarian pasta. Interestingly the desserts for both coach and sleeper were the same.

Our attendant showed up right at 10:00 to convert to berths. After he converted them, he explained the harness, etc. for the upper berth and what to do when we were ready for him to turn the lower berth into seats. You simply press the call button when you leave for breakfast. When you return, the seats are back in place. (There is a call button in the compartment for the attendant. There is no way to contact anyone in the coach cars, unless you walk to the lounge. We were told that after I asked on one of our trips what to do if there was an emergency).

The upper berth is pulled down from the ceiling and there are 2 very high steps to get up to it. On the top step you have to turn around and scoot your rear onto the berth. There is a harness that hooks to the ceiling to prevent you from falling out of the berth. Anyone that did would have gotten stuck between the lower berth and the door which was a space of no more than 1 foot. Paul used the upper berth because the steps were too high for me to manage, nor would I have been able to hoist myself into the berth. There is nothing to grab while performing this maneuver.

Paul did not sleep at all (Or so he says. I heard him snoring), and I slept very little. My comment was it was just a more comfortable way not to sleep. One of the problems was that the only light control was at the head of the lower berth beside the window. That meant that anytime he needed to get up he had to let me know so I could turn on the light. The other problem was that because of the motion of the train the door to the compartment only stayed shut if it was locked so I had to wait for him to come back to open the door for him. (I was not comfortable just leaving it open). I did sleep for about 3 hours in the berth, and then fell sound asleep for awhile after the berth had been converted back to a seat while we were at breakfast. I’m not sure how long I slept.

Saturday, February 5
Sunny 80 degrees
We arrived in Sanford right on schedule and waited about 90 minutes for our car. There were 450 passengers and 230 vehicles so unloading was really pretty fast. By noon it was 80 degrees, bright and sunny.

When we got in the car, Paul mentioned that the windows on the driver’s side were full of mist and needed to be cleaned. When I got into the car, I realized that the steering wheel, the shoulder strap of the seat belt, and the rearview mirror were wet. The instrument gauge was also wet and needed to be wiped off. Cars are loaded with the driver’s side window down and keys in the car. We did see rain out the window of the dining car last night, and we think that rain must have come into the freight car. It couldn’t have been condensation, because it was all on one side of the car and the rearview window. By the time we had lunch everything was dry.

<center>Auto Train from Sanford Florida to Lorton, Virginia</center>

Saturday, February 26
Sunny 85 degrees
Today we head for Sanford and the Auto Train. Neither one of us is looking forward to the trip home, and hope that somehow this trip we will be able to get some sleep. We have agreed that if we cannot sleep, we will spend the night somewhere and delay our trip by a day.

We got to the station about 10:45 and went into the station to check ourselves in. Back to the car to turn off the alarm system and to wait go check our car in.

The Sanford Tourist Association offers a free shuttle from the train station to the tourist center every 20 minutes. They even provide lockers for carry-on luggage. We talked about doing that next year, and going someplace for lunch instead of doing a balancing act at the station.

The Sanford station has been modernized and expanded. It looks like it now has more seating than the station in Lorton. The check-in, snack/convenience store and waiting area are all now in one large area. There are a few tables and some seating outside on the train platform. For some inexplicable reason the ladies restroom is smaller than the old one.

Boarding was right on time. We opted not to go to the lounge car for the wine and cheese. We thought it was just more trouble than it was worth. Once again lots of bottled water available as well as a coffee/tea/hot chocolate machine available in each car.

We have no idea why, but an announcement was made that the 5 o’clock seating for dinner in coach only would be delayed for about 1/2 hour. Anyone holding coupons for that seating was asked to wait to come to the dining car until the announcement was made. We wondered if they would run all meals 1/2 late or push the 5 o’clock seating. They must have pushed the 5 o’clock seating because the 7 and 9 o’clock seatings were on time.
The menu was exactly the same as it was on the trip to Florida.

We both apparently got a small amount of sleep because neither of us recall the stop in Florence, South Carolina for crew change, and other train related business.

The train was moving at a crawl when we headed for breakfast. While we were eating breakfast it came to a complete stop in Fredericksburg, VA. About 7:30 an announcement was made that we were ahead of schedule and would have to wait until the train station opened at 8:00 and the employees had their safety briefing.

We were one of the last ones to get our car, but still were on the road by around 9:30 and home by 2:30