I Rode On A Train...AmTrak's AUTOTRAIN! Why Can't I Tell Everybody? Apr 25 '01    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet The Bottom Line Amtrak's Autotrain is a neat but expensive way to travel up & down the southeast coast. I went & wrote this review before doing my homework - Epinions no longer accepts reviews for Amtrak, darn it! Now I’ve got this essay saved in my Word file & nowhere to put it. I’ve searched for a proper place & I think this is a suitable category. Autotrain: Autotrain is a non-stop train between Lorton, VA, & Sanford, FL, owned by Amtrak. Trains depart daily at about 4:00 PM from each city & arrive at about 9:00 the next morning at the destination city. Only passengers who pay an extra charge to load their vehicle onto the train may ride Autotrain. Cars, minivans, & motorcycles are allowed. Small pickups would also fit but I am not sure about full-size pickups. RVs are definitely not allowed. I have such mixed emotions about our trip to & from Florida on Amtrak’s Autotrain last August. There were so many things I absolutely HATED about this ride. On the other hand it was pretty awesome riding in a train down the East Coast with our car in tow… Lorton is a town in Northern VA near Washington, D.C., so the first battle is getting to the station on time. Luckily we live south of Lorton &, therefore, south of the D.C. area so we had no trouble with traffic. For those having to venture through D.C., on the other hand, travel can be a bit hectic. Amtrak asks you to arrive no less than 2 hours before departure time if you have an oversized vehicle (that includes minivans) & no less than 1 hour before departure for regular-size vehicles. Our first problem was not getting to the station on time but having to wait an extra 2 hours (on top of the 2 hours we had allotted per Amtrak’s requirement) for the TRAIN to arrive at the station! It wasn’t Amtrak’s fault that heavy rains caused flooding in Georgia &, therefore, delayed the northbound train but it was painful having to wait in the station for such a long time. Luckily the Lorton station is quite nice & fully air-conditioned. It is modern with plenty of seats, clean restrooms, water fountains for drinking, a snack area, a small outside play area for children, & space to roam. The station in Florida, as of Aug. ’00 anyway, is old, small, & a bit run down. Passengers have the choice of riding in coach seating or purchasing a “room” in a sleeper car. Now let’s get something straight … the sleeper cars do NOT have rooms for sleeping but rather cubbies! We traveled with 6 in our party: 3 adults & 3 children aged 2, 4, & 7. We bought 3 sleepers that had 2 beds each. They do offer larger cubbies that even have a sink & maybe your own toilet in them. They also have a few family “rooms” that hold up to 4 individuals. We found that it was less expensive to buy 3 small 2-bed cubbies instead of 2 larger cubbies. We booked our trip early so were fortunate to have the 3 cubbies in the same car & very close to one another. Anyway, back to the issue of the cubbies … as I said they are small. By day it consists of 2 seats facing one another & a door with curtains that can either be left open or closed. (Quite comfortable & nice.) By night it consists of 2 bunk-like beds & about 5 inches of floor space for standing! If the upper bed is pulled out there is no headspace for standing! (Quite cramped!) I peeked into one of the larger cubbies & saw that they had significantly more room during the day. I’m not sure what happened at night when the beds were out, however. We shared a tiny lavatory with the other passengers in our car. There are several lavatories & also a couple shower stalls on the lower level for those daring enough to use them in each sleeper car. Amtrak serves 2 meals on this ride – dinner & breakfast. There is also a snack car that has simple items like cookies & fruit around the clock. Coach & sleeper passengers eat on separate dining cars & meals are included for those who have sleepers. We all thought that the food served on each of our trains was pretty good. Portions were plentiful, food was cooked appropriately, servers were attentive, & it tasted great. They do have vegetarian meals for each dinner but I would specify any special meal requests when you make ticket reservations. They also have a child’s menu. Dessert is included for sleeper passengers & it is good! Breakfast consists mainly of dry cereals, juice, coffee, muffins, & fruit. The biggest problem with Autotrain is the ride itself. I had always thought that Amtrak would be a nice, smooth ride. It’s not! I was up all night because of the jerking & bumping. I thought all that would lull me to sleep but it didn’t. And I wasn’t the only one … I met up with several others who were awake in the wee hours too. I arrived in Florida exhausted. On the positive side, sitting in my cubby looking out the window at all the small towns we traveled through was exciting. I was sneaking a peek at small-town America when its townspeople were at home tucked in bed. Antique storefronts closed for the night, firetrucks racing to a call, a car full of teenagers waiting at the railroad crossing (witnessed in several towns!), dogs chained & barking. And then, between towns, the view was total darkness. It was awesome. And then there’s the benefit of being able to travel such a distance & yet be able to get up & walk around. Have to go to the bathroom? No need to stop at a rest stop – just get up & go! Kids cranky & want to get out of their car seats? Not even an issue on Autotrain! (I do not know how you would travel with babies on Autotrain since there was no room for cribs or playpens for sleeping.) Then there’s the benefit of having your own vehicle with you at your destination without putting all those miles on your car. It’s like taking your car on vacation with you since it does so little work! Autotrain is not an inexpensive way to travel. You’ll spend big bucks but there are several perks… Remember that you won’t need to spend money at hotels or on food (if you get a sleeper) or on gas. You’ll put little wear & tear on your car & you won’t have to rent a car in Florida. One family we met chose to drive TO Florida but took Autotrain home. That would certainly be less expensive & you’d still get the train ride experience. Er, should I say your KIDS would get the experience! Yea, that’s right! **I had this review in an inappropriate category for a long time until someone suggested I put it here. I moved it to Gen Itineraries - USA on April 25. Thanks.**

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