# Auto Train Round Trip Report



## Dovecote (May 19, 2013)

My wife and I recently completed round trip travel on the Auto Train (AT). On 4/29/13 we traveled from Sanford (SFA) to Lorton (LOR). Our return trip LOR>SFA, after spending time with family and friends in the northeast, was on May 15. We are frequent travelers on the AT. Our trips total twelve since we began traveling this route in November 2009.

Here are some facts on these two trips:

The SFA>LOR trip was sold out. Actually I had quite a time securing a reservation. About a month out from the trip I was a daily visitor to the Amsnag website to see when an open date was available. About three weeks from the trip there was an open date listed and I immediately called Amtrak Guest Rewards to reserve space. An AGR reservation was my only option as the price with a roomette was close to $1000. The snowbirds heading north were in full force. The sold out train had 479 passengers (191 in sleepers, 288 in coach). There were 282 passenger vehicles and 2 motorcycles. The check-in process took the longest time in any of our prior trips at 45 minutes. The line snaked outside the building. Our attendant was Donnie. He is yet another attentive SCA in a long line of attendants that have served us. Actually Donnie is a jack of all trades. He was working coach on our return trip. Our attendant on our return trip mentioned he also serves as the Onboard Chief. Our Onboard Chief was John. He is our favorite.

The LOR>SFA trip was far less crowded than our northbound trip. The passenger count totaled 236 (111 in sleepers, 125 in coach). The announced vehicle count totaled 129 (126 passenger cars, 1 priority vehicle, and 2 motorcycles). We again stayed in a roomette on the lower level, our preference of choice. I was able to secure the low bucket fare (about a month out from the actual trip date) of $491 with an AAA discount. We had another attentive SCA, Spencer, a 16 year veteran of the AT. Ginger was our Onboard Chief. Nice and cheerful. It was an uneventful but pleasant ride. Lady luck was against us in the unloading process when our vehicle was in the last car to be unloaded. It was about an hour overall in waiting and in the scheme of things not a big deal.

Now some observations:

Priority Vehicle Offloading on the northbound trip, although not announced on the train, totaled the maximum 20 compared to 1 vehicle on the southbound trip. The passenger talk within the station was mostly negative towards this enhancement.

Oversize Vehicles no longer are assigned an “AV” designation for their vehicle loading number. All passenger vehicles, regardless of size, receive only a numbered designation for their vehicle at check-in. The 2:00 PM deadline for Oversize Vehicle loading has been eliminated. The Informational pamphlet guide provided at the entrance book confirms a 3:00 PM deadline although 2:00 PM is preferred for all vehicles (2:30 PM is the deadline for priority offloading). Motorcycles are specifically listed as a 2:00 PM deadline. This information is also pretty much verbatim on the Amtrak website.

In-room meal service should be requested at the check-in process inside the station. The agent at the desk will note that on your boarding papers that you will present to the SCA when entering the car. The SCA will present you a menu and will take your order for both dinner and breakfast. I have never had a disgruntled SCA annoyed in providing this service on the AT.

Until next time,

Dovecote


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## MrFSS (May 19, 2013)

Thanks for the report -

In some regards it sounds like the AT is a different railroad from Amtrak. All those nice, cheerful people. Be something if the entire system ran this way.


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## jimhudson (May 19, 2013)

:hi: Nice Report Rich, thanks for the Info/Update! I probably won't ride the Autotrain again unless someone in the East has a Car and wants to share a Room going to Pennys Place in Orlando for a Vacation! :giggle:


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## ScottRu (May 24, 2013)

Fun hearing about the AT, which we have taken often -- and always experienced a pleasant journey. Thanks for posting.


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## sitzplatz17 (May 29, 2013)

Dovecote said:


> Priority Vehicle Offloading on the northbound trip, although not announced on the train, totaled the maximum 20 compared to 1 vehicle on the southbound trip. The passenger talk within the station was mostly negative towards this enhancement.


Interesting! What did people say that was negative? I assume the people that were negative towards it were the ones that hadn't opted for this option?


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## Dovecote (May 29, 2013)

sitzplatz17 said:


> Dovecote said:
> 
> 
> > Priority Vehicle Offloading on the northbound trip, although not announced on the train, totaled the maximum 20 compared to 1 vehicle on the southbound trip. The passenger talk within the station was mostly negative towards this enhancement.
> ...


The fact of the matter was the expense of this feature. Sentiment was It was not worth the $50 charge to be one of the first to leave the station. I myself feel this way and the talk among the passengers in the station was pretty much the same.


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## VentureForth (Jun 3, 2013)

I guess you didn't hear much from the folks that paid the $50 . . . because they were already gone?


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