[angel222]

I'm thinking of taking the auto train north...looking for good and bad experiences to help me decide. I'd be heading for NY so I'd still have a drive ahead of me. I will be traveling with my small dog if it's allowed. Any help would be appreciated....thanks!

[EdV]

Sorry Angel, they don't allow pets on the Auto Train.

[REDCART]

We've taken at least six trips on the Auto Train. As you might expect fares vary considerably with both the time of the year and particularly how far in advance you book your trip. If at all possible you want to book your trip at least 60 to 90 days in advance. Today, fares in Sept and Oct are half of what they're selling for currently in May. Not sure about refunds but if your travel plans change, Amtrak will give you a credit on another trip.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by angel222

I'm thinking of taking the auto train north...looking for good and bad experiences to help me decide. I'd be heading for NY so I'd still have a drive ahead of me. I will be traveling with my small dog if it's allowed. Any help would be appreciated....thanks!

No animals allowed at all. You can't even have a cat in your vehicle.

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by angel222

I'm thinking of taking the auto train north...looking for good and bad experiences to help me decide. I'd be heading for NY so I'd still have a drive ahead of me. I will be traveling with my small dog if it's allowed. Any help would be appreciated....thanks!

No recent trips, that is why I'm surprised they are still in existence.
Is it the one out of Sanford, Florida to Virginia????

We took it once back in 1974 when returning north after living in Florida for one year.......our moving truck left at the same time. It took forever for them to load the cars onto the train.........ditto for getting them off.
Guess it was a popular innovation back in 1974.

The thing that remains uppermost in our minds was the RUDENESS of the wait staff on that auto train.........we were traveling with two little well behaved mannerly children and expected to be able to order something from the menu in the dining car ,....for the children to eat........the wait staff all had chips on their shoulders and "talked down" to all the passengers. Not just us. It was not a comfortable feeling. After the very long wait to load the cars onto the train.........they made us wait hours for any kind of food, no matter how nicely we explained tha the children were hungry. Again, this was the early 1970's so I'm sure times have changed. Of course, nowadays we all travel "well prepared".......but it was advertised as having a dining car which we had used prior on amtrack and was very nice. Never took auto train again........although the Montrealer that goes from N.Y.C. to Canada is quite nice, comfortable and nicer workers onboard.

Hubby thinks it would be nice if it would go further up, rather than stopping in Virginia......at least through N.J. and some of N.Y.

[Mudder]

Things have changed quite a bit since 1974 !

[KathieI]

I have had 2 friends take the autotrain recently (within the past 2 months) and both have spoken of a wonderful experience, service and quality of food were excellent. Accommodations were excellent,,, they are cheap, however.

I've also had a niece take the Amtrak from NY to Orlando in Dec and back again in Jan. Again, its not cheap and she did upgrade her status being that she was/is pregnant. She couldn't rave about it enough. It was a wonderful experience for her.

[REDCART]

Originally Posted by Mudder

Things have changed quite a bit since 1974 !

As mentioned earlier we've taken at least six trips on the Auto train since 2006. We've never had a bad experience on the train. We've learned a few lessons along the way. Sitting anywhere for 18 hours takes it's toll on your butt and having a cushion to sit on helps considerably. We use earphones both for the music and to cancel the normal noise of the train and the conversations of other passengers. In our experience, earphones help you to fall and to stay asleep. The bathrooms are clean at the beginning of the trip but can become pretty disgusting by morning. I have euphemistically described the Auto train trip as like an MRI, "It's not exactly pleasant but you know you can get through it," and it saves 855 miles of driving, and a motel. The Auto train continues to be a profit center for Amtrak and that speaks volumes. It was not always profitable and that probably why things have improved since 1974.

[another Linda]

We've taken the autotrain down and back every year since 2007. I credit it with preventing murder and/or divorce. We first started out in coach seats then upgraded to roomettes after a year or so. This past year I decided I really wanted my own bathroom, so we upgraded to the "full" bedroom. It is still snug but do-able. It isn't cheap but my DH is still alive and hasn't divorced me.

[KathieI]

Originally Posted by another Linda

We've taken the autotrain down and back every year since 2007. I credit it with preventing murder and/or divorce. We first started out in coach seats then upgraded to roomettes after a year or so. This past year I decided I really wanted my own bathroom, so we upgraded to the "full" bedroom. It is still snug but do-able. It isn't cheap but my DH is still alive and hasn't divorced me.

LMAO!!! Very cute Linda....

[skyguy79]

We've traveled a bit over Amtrak, over 42,000 rail miles (including pre-Amtrak) for me so far. A number of times it's been via the AutoTrain. Here are a few comments I'll like to contribute:

• Traveling with a pet is out of the question unless... the animal is classified as a companion pet, like with seeing eye dogs or even those who need the companionship for psychological reasons!
• You can reserve up to 11 months in advance. For room accommodations the sooner the better. The quantity of rooms is limited especially in the H (accessible) rooms.
• Fares are based in what's called a "bucket system." As rooms become reserved, the higher the price goes! I'm not sure however it that applies to the vehicle carrying fees on the Autotrain. Time of travel can also affect prices as someone already noted.
• Sanford, as someone already stated, is the southern terminal and Lorton VA is the northern terminal. The Autotrain terminates in Lorton because it cannot go further north from there due to their inability to pass through tunnels any further than Lorton.
• Frequent travelers can join the Amtrak Guestrewards program and earn points for future travel. Too much detail to specify. My wife and I both have accounts and I can tell you that we have enough points that we could travel from Florida to any Pacific coast location and back round trip two times already, and we earn literally thousands more points each month. By the next time we travel, we may have enough for three cross country round trips. BTW, I always use one of their handicapped rooms. If I could travel by coach only, we'd be able to currently travel cross country round trip about 6 time.
• Other good points are not mention where others have already contributed information.

[Posh 08]

I'm a huge fan of the Auto Train. If the rate is too high for one leg and cheap enough for the other we just do a one way. That's what Sis and I are doing in June. Drive down, train back. Hate that drive back anyway. Always more fun going to vacation.

[John_W]

We drove down for our LSV in April 2011 but we took the Autotrain back to Maryland, it was the week of April 27th, just about a year ago. It cost us $750 for both us and our car. That included a $100 extra for a full size car, I believe if you wanted a sleeper it would of been about $1100 total but they were soldout. The funny thing is I only thought about this in early April and found the trains were completely booked coming down but I was able to get our reservation for going north at a time when most snowbirds are returning.

We checked out of our LSV home here at TV about 10:30 and drove to Sanford. When we arrived at the train yard about noon there was nobody there but a couple of workers who knew nothing about the autotrain. We drove back to the Seminole Mall which we passed about five miles earlier. After eating and walking around the mall, it's a two story mall larger than Ocala, we drove back to the train yard about 1:30.

There was now a line in front of the station with about five cars, after a few minutes we gave them our car and keys and put our bags on a cart. A worker drove our car off into the distance and we walked inside. The station looked brand new, like an airport terminal. Big screen TV's with CNN and Fox News playing, walls of glass so you could watch others arrive. We checked in at the counter, which only took a few minutes. We were assigned our seats and car number and let them know if we wanted to eat at 6, 7 or 8.

Over the next two hours we watched hundreds of people arrive and the station lobby went from almost empty to about 300 to 400 people. The check-in line was now very long and I was glad we got there early. At about half past three they announced 'all aboard'.

We walked down the train platform until we saw the number to our car. Half the train cars were on the left side of the platform and half were on the right, which made it so you didn't have to walk more than a hundred yards or so. When we got to our train, the conductor said, turn left and go up the steps. The trains are two story with sleepers and handicap areas on the first floor. This gives you a great view when riding since you're sitting higher up.

At about 4pm we could see the other half of the train get pushed back and then was connected to our train and it soon left the station. It was due to arrive in Lorton, VA about 10am the next morning. Other than stopping once in the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp for about an hour, nothing unusual happened. They explained that the tracks were owned by CSX and freight trains had priority over us, so occasionally we might be asked to stop so another train could go by.

At one point a conductor got on the loudspeaker and announced that 'our train had just set the record for the longest passenger train in history, we had 200 autos, 2 motorcycles and 500 passengers and the train was over 4,300 feet long, which was a record for passenger trains'.

When we pulled into Lorton, VA the next morning we were about 30 minutes ahead of schedule and the station was identical to the one in Sanford. A brand new looking modern terminal that is just south of the DC beltway. From there we were home in north Baltimore suburbs in about 90 minutes.

The only complaint I could think of was everyone seemed to have to talk on their cellphone incessantly. These were not teenagers or even in their 20's, in fact our train car was mostly seniors and yet everyone within hearing made it a point to get on the phone and talk for hours. I actually like the droning sound of the train, it makes it easy to sleep and help drown out all the talking.

Once they announce your dinner time, you get up and walk to the dining car and there the staff will have you share your table with others while you're served. At our table we sat across from a man and woman who were not together. The woman spoke very little and only if you asked her a question. The fellow I remember quite clearly since he immediately let us know he was from Pittsburgh and was a huge Steeler fan. When I tried to find something other than football to talk about, he let us know he was a high ranking official with the National Rifle Association and was heading to a NRA convention, strike out again. However, in the morning we had breakfast with a great couple from Minnesota who had spent all winter in St. Petersburg, where I grew up and I was able to learn about how much the city had changed.

[LittleDog]

We've taken the auto train about 4 times and ride coach as I can adjust to anything for one night. We take our own pillow with us as the pillows they provide are pretty thin. We also take our own blanket (travel blanket that is light) and hope that there are empty seats in coach so that we can take 2 seats to sleep on. This works for us. We really have no complaints with the auto train.

John

[skyguy79]

Want a virtual view of what the Amtrak's AutoTrain is like? Just click the following link and it will take you to YouTube.com where you'll have your choice of several clips with both inside and outside views:

autotrain - YouTube.