# 9/24 and 9/27 Auto Train trips.



## Green Maned Lion (Oct 2, 2008)

I had the same exact consists for both trains, so let me write them both down here. The train car numbers are the same for 52 or 53, so 5244 is also 5344. The sleepers had their names removed as per PhV, but the huge "SUPERLINER", "Amtrak" and car names were still visible as fade shadows. Car names were still visible on the end doors. The entire consist was in PhV paint. It was pulled by 2 P42s, one of which was 196 on both runs- I didn't catch the other engine or engines number(s).

The southward run had 18 auto carriers. (140 Axles, 8 from 2 P42s, 60 from the passenger cars, and 72 from the autoracks) The northbound run had 22, I assume, since the passenger car consist was the same, it ran with 2 engines, and had 156 axles. There were fewer people coming up than going down. I suspect they were positioning some autoracks in preparation for snowbird season.

1) Superliner II Transition Sleeper 39002- NT#- had a large dent in its side, too large to not affect the interior. I suspect it was involved in the Auto Train derailment.

2) Superliner II Sleeper 32087- 43 - _Maine_

3) Superliner II Sleeper 32116- 41 - _West Virginia_

4) Superliner I AutoTrain Lounge 33104

5) Superliner II Diner 38054

6) Superliner II Deluxe Sleeper 32503- 40 - _A. Philip Randolph_ (I coulda sworn this was 504, but that was the name on it!)

7) Superliner II Sleeper 32102- 42 - _North Dakota_

8) Superliner II Sleeper 32101- 44 - _North Carolina_

9) Superliner II Coach 34127- 10

10) Superliner II Coach 34119- 11

11) Superliner II Coach 34129- 12

12) Superliner II Coach 34131- 13

13) Superliner I AutoTrain Lounge 33103

14) Superliner II Diner 38067

15) Superliner II Diner 38053

We went down on the 24th, arriving on the 25th ahead of schedule, and came back on the 27th, arriving very early on the 28th. Operationally the train was generally well run. The conductor and engineer that assembled the consist in Sanford had some communication problems, though. The conductor called out wildly inaccurate distances several times and the engineer believed him, resulting in some impressively hard couples- the clanks seemed loud even from within the rear Superliner I was looking out from. The jolt on coupling the whole train almost threw me off my feet, and I was intentionally braced for it.

Another interesting thing was that in dividing the cars up in Lorton, they kept the 2 diners, the lounge, and one coach seperate from the other 3 coaches, resulting in almost 45 minutes of not being able to purchase food- I would have thought Amtrak would have them split them up coach and sleeper seperately. Also, I figured some kind of service car would separate the first coach from the last sleeper, but this was not the case. Which was a benefit, because it gave me access to the handicapped bathroom- the other SII bathrooms are too small for me to utilize comfortably.

On the southbound journey, I was in a roomette with Audrey. Our car attendant was a nice guy, but not particularly good at his job. He neglected to make our beds- he put them down, put the bottom sheets on, and left us to sort them out. It was like that for all passengers in this car. He did not seem to receive the large tips I noticed the older passengers tend to give on the Auto Train.

We were in coach for the northbound journey. I wanted to see if Superliner coach is livable, because I wanna travel the western routes, but can't afford to do so in sleeper at the moment. Our coach attendant was a nice guy, but ran a loose ship. Several times I found the vestibule window unlatched, and I saw a guy standing in front of it (closed) with an (unlit) cigarette in hand, and it did still smell vaguely of smoke. Also, the blankets are fantastic, lightweight, wonders of heat insulation. Does anyone know where I can buy a few? Superliner coach is livable- certainly more so than Amfleet II coach. But I will never do it again on the Auto Train for reasons I will mention.

Now for some comments on food service onboard the Auto Train. Alan, you've occasionally made comments that run contrary to what I experienced. There is a steak on the first class menu- a fairly crummy strip steak. My girlfriend had it. I had the surf&turf, which was much better. The wine was of pretty decent quality in First Class. I drank too much of it. Audrey had soda. However, which I did notice last time I rode the Auto Train, the portions are smaller than on other Amtrak trains, and left me still hungry (I admit, out of fairness, that I weigh 300 lbs and probably need more food than most). I had cheesecake A la Mode for desert- the ice cream on the Auto Train is not haagen daz. It is a full service diner, with linen table cloths, china plates, and glass glasses.

The Coach diner is very different. VERY different. They do NOT offer steak. They offered a short-rib, which I had, Tortilini Alfredo, which Audrey had, and a few other items I don't recall offhand. The tables are covered in that vinyl stuff you find at some diners. The plates and drink wear are plastic.

There was one wine, in a carafe, and it was a heavily watered down white. Yech. The only other drink option was water. Audrey drank the wine with me. It shocks me they don't offer some other form of soft drink for children- they don't even offer soft drinks at extra cost. When we asked for it, we were told (somewhat rudely) we had to get it in the lounge.

When I ordered my dessert, I ordered the same thing and was told "A la mode is not on the menu, but with a smile, anything is possible" I smiled and got my dessert, which was nice. It was about the only nice thing. Both of our dishes were clearly microwaved from texture, mine was over cooked. My shortrib was pretty short, let me tell ya. It was about an inch and a half square. I got a tiny smattering of corn and veggies, and a tiny scoop of crummy instant mashed potatoes. Audrey's pasta was cold. When I say cold, I don't mean not hot enough. Some pieces were COLD COLD COLD. I admit we didn't ask for these things to be resolved, so I do not hold it to the server.

When this was done, I was left with the feeling that they expected coach passengers to make up for the limitation of food offered by ordering food in the lounge car. Well, apparently they weren't. She was out of food by 9:00. I had the last 2 hot dogs. I was shocked, and I happened to see her inventory form, which I studied.

The train is loaded with plenty of drinks. It also had a total of 2 cheeseburgers, 2 hot dogs, 2 pizzas (one plain, one pepperoni) and so on. This is the extent of the food they stock the train with. No bloody wonder they run out, eh? Many people asked after I got my hot dogs, by the way. I don't know what kinda morons decided to stock the train like that, but they need to be bashed over the head with dunce caps.

Conclusion? The First class section of the Auto Train is a class act, well done, well executed, and generally the crown jewel of Amtrak's fleet. The coach class section is a much more poorly run operation.


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## Hanno (Oct 2, 2008)

Thanks for your extensive report. I will be taking the Auto Train in December and found your report especially interesting for that reason. Also we will be in first class (bedroom) which is a good thing according to your experience.

One thing you mentioned concerned tipping which prompts the following question. What is an appropriate tip for good service? In other words, how much have others given?


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## Green Maned Lion (Oct 2, 2008)

Hanno said:


> Thanks for your extensive report. I will be taking the Auto Train in December and found your report especially interesting for that reason. Also we will be in first class (bedroom) which is a good thing according to your experience.
> One thing you mentioned concerned tipping which prompts the following question. What is an appropriate tip for good service? In other words, how much have others given?


For food, estimate what you think a meal would cost were you paying for it. I'd say about $25-30 a plate for the meal on the Auto Train. Then decide if the service merited a 10 (bad), 15 (average) or 20 (good) percent tip, and give 10, 15, or 20% of $25-30. Like you would in any restaurant.

For the car attendant, it varies depending on what they do. If they do a poor job, give them nothing. They make plenty of money, and there is no reason to give them tips they don't earn. If they fill their job requirements, I'd say $5/person/night. If they do a good job, $10/person/night. If they do an exceptional job, use your judgement. Personally, if someone makes my life more enjoyable, and less stressful, I am overjoyed and want to pay them accordingly.


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## AlanB (Oct 3, 2008)

Green Maned Lion said:


> 1) Superliner II Transition Sleeper 39002- NT#- had a large dent in its side, too large to not affect the interior. I suspect it was involved in the Auto Train derailment.


It was indeed part of the consist that derailed in April of 2002



Green Maned Lion said:


> 6) Superliner II Deluxe Sleeper 32503- 40 - _A. Philip Randolph_ (I coulda sworn this was 504, but that was the name on it!)


A. Phillip Randolph is indeed 32503.



Green Maned Lion said:


> Alan, you've occasionally made comments that run contrary to what I experienced. There is a steak on the first class menu- a fairly crummy strip steak. My girlfriend had it. I had the surf&turf, which was much better. The wine was of pretty decent quality in First Class. I drank too much of it. Audrey had soda. However, which I did notice last time I rode the Auto Train, the portions are smaller than on other Amtrak trains, and left me still hungry (I admit, out of fairness, that I weigh 300 lbs and probably need more food than most). I had cheesecake A la Mode for desert- the ice cream on the Auto Train is not haagen daz. It is a full service diner, with linen table cloths, china plates, and glass glasses.
> The Coach diner is very different. VERY different. They do NOT offer steak. They offered a short-rib, which I had, Tortilini Alfredo, which Audrey had, and a few other items I don't recall offhand. The tables are covered in that vinyl stuff you find at some diners. The plates and drink wear are plastic.
> 
> There was one wine, in a carafe, and it was a heavily watered down white. Yech. The only other drink option was water. Audrey drank the wine with me. It shocks me they don't offer some other form of soft drink for children- they don't even offer soft drinks at extra cost. When we asked for it, we were told (somewhat rudely) we had to get it in the lounge.
> ...


Very interesting and contrary to what I've been told, but I will admit that I've never done coach on the AT. For that matter, I rarely ride coach on any LD, in fact I think this summer's trip on the Star between TPA and MIA was the first time I've ever taken a ride in coach on an LD.

I am very surprised about the soda issue though. Either this is a recent change or you got a bad crew, and Amtrak does try pretty hard to avoid bad crews on the AT. And with a different contract from the rest of the system, it's a bit easier for them to do that too.



Green Maned Lion said:


> The train is loaded with plenty of drinks. It also had a total of 2 cheeseburgers, 2 hot dogs, 2 pizzas (one plain, one pepperoni) and so on. This is the extent of the food they stock the train with. No bloody wonder they run out, eh? Many people asked after I got my hot dogs, by the way. I don't know what kinda morons decided to stock the train like that, but they need to be bashed over the head with dunce caps.


That I don't understand at all. :blink: I agree with you, why would anyone send out a train with only that, even when meals are included in the dining car.


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## amtrakwolverine (Oct 9, 2008)

wow either the kids get water or nothing to drink in coach. and only 2 hot dogs etc total. what was amtrak thinking. this is supposed to be amtraks best paying train. so if you take the autotrain either go sleeper or don't take it at all.


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## HP_Lovecraft (Oct 9, 2008)

I've been on a few trains where the delivery truck arrived late, and "missed the train" so to speak, leaving the cafe very understocked. Then tried to make other arrangements to catch the train mid-route with another truck.

Perhaps it is a space issue? Maybe they look at the lounge as a "service" rather then a profit-making system. And without profit, there is a motivation to use the space/staffing for higher priority tasks?


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## AlanB (Oct 9, 2008)

HP_Lovecraft said:


> Perhaps it is a space issue? Maybe they look at the lounge as a "service" rather then a profit-making system. And without profit, there is a motivation to use the space/staffing for higher priority tasks?


Definately not a space issue. The cafe can hold enough food to go two days from Chicago to the West Coast, so it certainly should be able to hold enough food for 16 hour ride.


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