[skyguy79]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

Perhaps they have gotten more efficient since the one time we took it from Sanford Florida to Lorton Virginia back in 1973.........hopefully so.

Our experience was not pleasant.........very very long wait to board.
Ditto for unloading. Hubby could have made better time driving the 900 miles......and overnighting in motels.......but it was a novel experience, which no doubt has been improved upon since 1973.

Also, we had a five year old and a two year old with us.........
We were extremely polite to the dining car help, but back in those days they were extremely rude to us......even when I just asked for some milk for the children.......

They definitely had an "attitude"........so it is not a trip we repeated.
After that we always flew to Florida. However, this one time we were moving back and had to take our vehicle.

We had driven from Satellite Beach to Sanford......and it was a very very long wait to board..............and then to disembark in Viriginia........
Our children were very patient little ones.......not screamers.
Still, it was hard to believe they couldn't find them (or us) something to eat in the dining car.........as it was the dinner hour. Again, circa 1973.

What you state is of no surprise since Amtrak's Autotrain was in it's infancy at the time and is basicly not the same Autotrain we know today.

Amtrak was authorized by Congress in October of 1970 and operations began on May 1st, 1971. The Autotrain began operating under Amtrak on December 6, 1971 and operated until April of 1981. Prior to December 6th, 1971, a similar service was provided along the Atlantic Coast, but was under private ownership using the Seaboard Coast Line Rail Road (1967-1983) until the change to Amtrak in 1971.

After the hiatus, the Amtrak Autotrain resumed operation in 1983, but this time while under government funding. Despite the government getting involved, the service has grown and improved over the years into what we know as today's Autotrain and has done so under under governmental pressure to improve their bottom line while receiving comparatively bare bones funding when compared to the subsidies received by the airline industry.

Disclosure: I'm a long time passenger rail user having logged in over 43,000 passenger rail miles, a member of the National Association of Railroad Passengers and the Amtrak Guest Rewards Program with enough credits for my wife & I to travel from Florida to the Pacific Coast and back twice, or four trips on the Autotrain at no cost... and that includes a handicapped room & all meals.