Because we were gone for almost a month I am going to post this report in 4 posts because our trip had 4 parts. We mostly do these for ourselves to help us remember where we went and what we did, but if any of it is of any help to someone that would be good.

Part 1: Amtrak Auto Train

Because Paul had knee replacement surgery in September, we felt that driving to Florida this year just might be too much. We decided to try the Auto Train. We made our reservations through AAA in June and received a pretty good discount. Note that you must buy a ticket for your car along with your tickets.

We decided to travel by coach for 2 reasons. 1. We thought the berths were very expensive. 2. The less expensive and the vast majority of the berths in the sleeper cars required climbing a ladder to get into the upper berth. This was not something either one of us felt we could do. We decided to look at it as a long plane ride.

The northern departure point is Lorton, VA, a Washington, DC suburb. Because freezing rain was predicted for our actual departure date we left for Lorton a day early. It is good thing we did because friends that take the Auto Train told us it should take about 3 hours to get there. In reality it took us 4. Had we gone with our original plan we would have missed the train.

We were unable to get overnight accommodations in Lorton so spent the night in nearby Woodbridge. We were in the car check-in line at 11:00 A.M by pure blind luck. Car check-in starts at 11:30 A.M. with the last car accepted at 3 P.M. As you pull into the outside check-in, you must show your tickets; and your car is issued a claim number. You are told to pull into Lane 1, Lane 2 or Lane 3. Cars are not loaded according to check-in time, but by size. You have no access to your car once you leave it, nor does anyone else once it is loaded on the train.

After removing any carry on items from the car, you go into the station for people check-in. The station in Lorton is new, clean and spacious. There is a small and expensive mini-store there where you can get sandwiches, etc. as well as magazines, newspapers, etc.

We requested a "quiet car" (the meaning is different on the Auto Train than on commuter trains). This simply means that you are away from the lounge and dining cars. We were told that we would have to walk about 5 cars to the dining car. We didn't think that was problem. We then had a choice of 3 dining times: 5:00, 7:00 or 9:00. We choose the 7:00 seating. We noticed that late arrivals did not have a choice of dining time, but got what ever was left.

Boarding started at about 2:30 P.M. The cars are double decker with handicap access seating and bathrooms on the lower lever. To get to the upper level coach seats it is necessary to climb a set of narrow, steep stairs. If you need to use " the facilities" you have to go down the stairs. There was a handicap access bathroom, a bathroom that was identical to those on a plane, a changing room with a bench in it, and a Ladies Lounge that had 2 sinks a vanity with 2 stools and a toilet. Considering the high volume of use, the restrooms were clean and checked frequently.

We found the reclining coach seats to be quite comfortable. There was plenty of room between the seats and the seats had both leg rests and foot rests. Blankets and pillows are provided. They were sealed in plastic bags when we got on in Lorton, but not when we got on in Sanford. Getting up to walk around was not a problem at all. Because everyone on the train is on vacation and not in a hurry, people tend to be friendly and stop to talk to one another.

Each dinner seating for the dining car is announced. Whoever you are in line with when you enter the dining car is who you sit with for dinner. Food was not gourmet, but good and there was a carafe of wine on the table which was refilled.

The lounge car has a full bar (extra cost), and free coffee, tea and snacks. They show a movie in the evening. There are tables and booths so that if you wanted to play cards, use a laptop or just get out of your car you can do so.

Sleeping was problem. I did not sleep at all on the way down; although, Paul did sleep some both going down and returning. I was able to sleep a little on our trip home.

There were no seating times for breakfast, and we found that to be a bit of a fiasco. They started serving at 6:00 A.M but no announcements except when they were getting ready to stop serving. As the dining car filled, they asked the next group to wait in the lounge car until everyone in the previous group finished. They then filled the dining car with the next group. We don't know what was served for breakfast other than it is continental because there were muffins, coffee, and tea in the lounge car. So we had our breakfast there. The other problem was that both heading south and then coming back north when we went for breakfast we were going over some very rough track. (Paul said switches). I ended up wearing some of my coffee before I could get a lid on it.

We arrived in Sanford around 8 A.M, but did not get off the train until about 9:30 because of uncoupling, switching, etc. The Sanford station is old and very small. It was clean. Even though the train was not full, there was not enough room for everyone to fit in the station. When we were leaving to come home we found a large outdoor seating area. That would not have done us any good on arrival in Sanford because it was cold and rainy. The day we left was one of the nicest we'd had in 3 weeks in Florida.

The freight cars for the cars are also double decker. The train cars are arranged so that when loading the cars, they drive up a ramp to one of the levels and then just drive through the train cars. Cars are driven out of the train cars the same way. You are warned that you might have to wait up to 2 hours for your car. We only waited about 45 minutes both in Sanford and on our return to Lorton. As cars are unloaded the claim numbers are announced and you can then pick up your car. It seemed to us that they were unloading in groups of 4-6 with SUVs and vans first off.

We saw our car coming off the ramp before it was announced in Sanford. You cannot see the cars being unloaded from inside the station in Lorton.

An excellent map was available at the Sanford station so that you could find your way to what ever roads you needed for your Florida destination. There were also maps in Lorton, but not as good. They apparently were being asked frequently how to get to XYZ because they came on the PA system and gave detailed directions to the major roads especially I95. There was a serious problem with the PA system in Lorton when we returned, and people were having difficulty hearing their claim numbers. That problem still had not been resolved when we picked up our car.

One of the things that we really liked on our return trip was that families with children were in certain cars and those of us traveling without children were in other cars. When we checked in in Sanford we were told that "There are a lot of families with children going home from spring break so you don't want to be in cars XYZ." Both time we checked in we were told how many cars we would have to walk through to the dining car and very nicely asked if that would be okay. Amtrak personnel sometimes deservedly get a bad rap. However, we have nothing but nice things to say about everyone we encountered on this trip.

There was a scheduled stop in Florence, SC for crew change and to add water and fuel to the train. You are told at the outset of the trip that Amtrak rents the tracks from CSX and CSX has the right of way. Therefore, they must stop and let them through. That was not a problem heading for Florida. However, returning to Lorton the train stopped 3 times for freight trains, 1 time for some kind of a track problem and the scheduled stop in Florence. Consequently, it was over 2 hours late returning to Lorton. That was not a problem for us because we returned to a really bad snowstorm and once again spent the night in Woodbridge. We'd called our son and had gotten a blow by blow weather forecast so made our motel reservations before we left Florida.

As with most things there are pluses and minuses, but we are giving very serious consideration to taking the Auto Train again next year

Sue