Our First Auto Train Trip
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- čas přidán 5. 07. 2022
- We took the AutoTrain from Sanford, Florida to Lorton, Virginia, as part of our trip to Long Beach Island, New Jersey where we are doing landscape paintings en plein air.
This was the very first time we traveled using the AutoTrain by Amtrak and only the second time riding Amtrak (Our first Amtrak train experience was a couple of years ago when we rode coach from Orlando to New York City. Our return trip, at that time, was by plane)
If you're interested in the tools we used to make this video, here are some links. Note: We are part of the Amazon Affiliate Program so we earn a small commission if you buy these products through the links we provide. Thank you!
• The camera we used to make this video is a DJR Pocket 2: amzn.to/3VB8X2q
• The stabilizer we used for shots taken with our iPhone is a DJR Gimbal Stabilizer: amzn.to/3Ic7kVR
• We use an iPad Pro to produce any associated artwork including the thumbnail. Here is the link for the iPad Pro: amzn.to/3WVSvuH
I took this train a few years ago. It was from Lorton to Sanford in the summertime. I had a bedroom. It was small, but very comfortable with my own bathroom and shower. I did my research and brought my own lunch and snack as well as a nice bottle of Irish Whiskey and my DVD player with a few movies to pass the time. I did get dinner with unlimited wine and breakfast included in the cost of my room. I also brought a change of clothes and my own pillow! I was one of the first to arrive, but first on first off is not the rule. You need to pay extra to get your car off first! Keep your valuables with you at all times as there are no exterior locks on the doors to your cabin! Also leave everything you don't need for the trip in your car. (aside from valuables, cash etc.). Very enjoyable trip, little sleep but better than I95!
It sounds like you had a good trip. We agree, better than I-95! Thanks for the comment!
I just watched your video. You two are adorable and look like you make the most of life.
Thank you!
I found it amazing the train will hit 70 mph!!!!
Absolute troopers for sitting coach. I had a roomette and felt very trapped.
You actually have more room in coach than in the rooomette.
The roomette is a great choice for a single passenger. However, when two people share the roomette the top sleeper is claustrophobic. Be ware, not much room between the ceiling and the person in the bed. If that is not an issue for either of you then go for it. Otherwise, you may want to consider two roomettes or a family bedroom.
Robin! You are the sweetest! You are such a joy! ❤🎉 Thank you for sharing your journey!
My boyfriend and I are taking the auto train this summer. We got a roomette. Cost 835 and that was for the car and the roomette. I had taken the Auto Train two years ago and my daughter and I went coach. It was a great ride.
Thank you for sharing your experience, you two seem so sweet! I'm moving to New England later this year and will be using the auto train to move my self and my car north, we'll also be in coach too! :)
Have an enjoyable ride!
I just found your channel. Looking forward to seeing what the Sanford auto train is like.
Great couple and down to earth. Great video.
LOVED your video ! I'm 'thinking' about taking the auto train from Florida and drive to New Jersey.
Thank you for sharing. I am planning my upcoming trip, and appreciate you sharing your experience.
Can’t wait to see part two.🎈🇺🇸🎈
Thank you! Here is a link to part two: czcams.com/video/i6jt2TY8z-k/video.html
Hi, we drove to Florida twice and I really didn’t want to drive again. so I talked my husband into taking the auto train we got a roomett. Here’s hoping we like it meaning comfortable. We will be coming from Boston. I enjoyed watching your video both of them one and two on your auto train.🎈🇺🇸🎈
O.MG.!! Carrie and I were just discussing taking the auto train to DC! We must be psychic!! I am so interested in this! I can't wait to see all of these videos! So happy for you guys!! Have fun!!
Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm for your trip. It was infectious. Now I want to make the trip From Sanford round trip next year.🚆
You're welcome! Thank YOU for leaving us a comment. Yes, we definitely enjoyed riding the AutoTrain. Great memories of a great trip for both of us.
OMG, you went with coach! Very brave of you.
You seem a fun couple. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thank you, Natalia!
Great video. Very helpful been thinking about taking the auto train to Florida. Thank you both. 🙏🏻
You’re welcome!
I have used the AT twice, once to move to FL (with my wife and two cars in 2012) and once to go back and visit MD (alone with one car in 2016). I'll throw out some observations/comments for those that are looking into the service...
-The organization and infrastructure of loading/unloading cars and passengers unto the AT is amazing! Amtrak really has it together in this area. I have heard some people ask why they can't get off the train before Lorton...it doesn't work that way. There is a complex arrangement of rail sidings at each end to accomplish this loading/unloading that is impressive. It wouldn't be practical in between the terminals.
-The AT uses CSX freight rails, not Amtrak rails. You spend a lot of time going slowly through industrial areas...not much to look at. Also, you stop occasionally to wait for freight trains (which have priority) to pass and one stop in SC to change crews. This is not a problem; it's built into the schedule, but sometimes you'll wonder why you're stopped in the middle of the night in god knows where.
-On the trip down to FL, my wife and I got the "roomette". Ours was a bunk bed, not "feet to feet". It was comfortable but cramped. You still had to use one of the "group" restrooms.
-On my trip back to MD, I just stayed with the regular seat. The seat was comfortable enough, but just be aware.. the car is COLD! Bring a blanket/sweatshirt/anything to keep you warm overnight. And also a pillow. You have been WARNED!
-It is noisy all night with the regular seat. The doors between the cars are pneumatically operated, so all night long you have this "WHOOSH, WHOOSH" as the crew is going between cars doing whatever it is they do.
-On both of my trips, there were real meals (from a menu!) included in the fare for breakfast/dinner in the dining car, which were actually quite good considering it was a train. We did not have any box dinners or bagged tacos! This change is definitely for the worse.
-The best place to be during the trip is in the club car. Our experience was a full bar (not cheap) but a lot of fun. The crew was friendly and wanted us to have a good time during our ride.
-Although it's not cheap, it is fairly cost effective considering the option of gas/hotel for the trip, and the fact that you don't have to get a rental car at your destination. I would do it again!
TY very helpful
Great video Larry & Robin! I take trip to Lorton every year, I take books along to read but spend most of the trip just looking out the window at the awesome scenery. And that morning Amtrak coffee is the best!
Thank you, Rick!
Some tips:
Don’t worry about getting food for the trip. In Lorton, there is a plaza with a burger place, Chipotle, Panera, and pizza place less than 5 minutes away from the station, easily walkable by most. We highly recommend the Amazon Fresh there. It has everything you need, munchies, liquor, fruit, sushi, etc. The subs and pizza are delicious and reasonable, and there’s also a hot and cold salad bar.
When you enter the terminal after dropping off your car, get in line for a boarding pass. Nobody told us that so we were lucky to notice that we needed one. And boarding goes fast once it starts. We got nervous when we heard Final Boarding Call but there wasn’t a problem. We were surprised that we were already rolling by about 4:00.
Definitely stay downstairs if you can. There are fewer seats in each car and you don’t have people walking through constantly to get to the Club Car. We were surprised by the amount of room we had. The bathrooms are downstairs, and there’s more storage room. But don’t take too much - just a pillow, a blanket and food and drink. There are electrical outlets by each set of seats, and the wi-fi was spotty. Btw, the bathrooms stayed clean throughout the trip. And you get several warnings not to use anything other than Amtrak-supplied toilet paper, as the toilets would all go out of service if even one gets clogged. The club car is a nice place to chat with other passengers but it gets crowded. They sell wine and limited food and you can also get a cup of ice there.
There are very nice views of the Potomac during the first hour or so, and plenty of farms, churches and interesting colonial towns. We were on the left on the way down. All of the staff were friendly and helpful.
They turn out the lights about 10 and you’re expected to stay quiet. The seats are much more comfortable than airline seats, but don’t expect to get much sleep. At six they start announcing breakfast, and to our surprise everyone got up and grabbed breakfast that early. In the Club Car there were stacks of coffee cakes, bananas, cereal, milk, juice and coffee. They went fast so if this is important to you, get there early.
Ironically, although we were the least in a hurry, we were among the first to get our car back (after the priority passengers). We had checked in about 2 and there had been a long line earlier. Also, we did not disable our alarm and we had no problem, nor did we hear of anyone who had a problem.
So relax and enjoy. We look forward to taking it again, hopefully when there’s another sale.
Update: Unfortunately the Amazon Fresh no longer makes the subs but we got some wraps there that were OK. We could only get seats upstairs last time and we got the worst seats - right by the door to the next car with a bright light on all night and no tray table, but it wasn't as bad as we feared. That was our fourth trip and we'll go again in January.
Thanks for your information. I'm taking the auto train in 2 weeks, coach.
You guys seem like a lot of fun. I’m taking the auto train next year to Daytona. I’ll probably get a roomette.
love your journey
done it a few times next time bring a pillow and a cooler for what you want to eat or drink best way to travel with the car from florida.
Yeah me and the wife normally get there around 2/2:30 and our vehicles are some of the first to get off the train after the priority ones. Great video!
Love the dry humor😂
Thanks for posting - we'll be trying this in three weeks. This was the only video I could find that showed the coach experience. Might you know if they have milk available for morning coffee, instead of those horrible creamers? Glad you had a good trip. And yes, the universe usually works if you let it.
Gosh, I don't remember if they had milk for coffee. It was a great experience and one I hope we do again. Have fun on your own Amtrak journey!
They must have milk for children, so....
@@marsha6549 They do have cartons of milk for the cereal and the creamers weren't bad either.
@@rosemarypalladino4093 Good to know. Thanks.
Thanks for the video. It would have been good to have a view of how far the seats can be reclined and how comfortable for the night in that position.
Thank you. Yes, the seats in coach have lots of space. Sorry we didn’t show that. And they do recline and we both found them comfortable during the night. We plan on taking another Amtrak trip this Summer.
I love your energy! we are travelling by auto train in a few weeks for the first time and looking forward to it! Did you find it comfy enough to sleep a little bit overnight?
Thank you! It was a great experience. Robin needed a blanket during the night but I was okay without one (this is Larry typing). We both were able to sleep as well as can be expected. The seats recline and there is plenty of room.
Question: were you seated on the upper deck or lower deck? Thanks for this video! I have claustrophobia and these videos are helping me to decide if I can handle this train 😮😊
Thank you for your question. We were seated on the upper deck,
Did each car undergo a security check before being loaded in? If so, please explain! Thank you.
Each car was videotaped and we saw dogs that we think were sniffing for problematic contraband. Other than that we don’t really know if further checks were made after we left the car.
I am doing this in late July.. Do you have to take your lap top with you when you go to the restroom or to eat? It did not look like there was a place that would be safe to leave your stuff...
Great question. The AutoTrain seemed safe. There are no stops along the way, as there are on other AmTrak lines, so you are with the same group of people the entire trip. We left our laptops in our carryon bags at the seats when we moved around. However, we did see others with their laptops in the dining car.
This is strange your car was first in. But driving out it was last. They would have had to been the other train in front of yours that you ended up really the last car to be unloaded then. As the front of the car went in and came out first. NO backing it up to get out. So they had to open the other end when taking the cars out.
how did you get asigned seats? i cant find any information on that?
The seats were assigned at check-in.
Was there a better side to be on to see the water going down to Florida?
Thank you for asking! Good question! There were times when one side seemed better than the other but most of the water we passed were rivers and, therefore, both sides were usually good. Our favorite place to view the passing scenery was the dining car where we could sip a coffee or other drink and see through the windows on both sides of the train. Plus we got to meet other passengers!
You need to pay for Priority to be first car off the train.
Do you get assigned seats once you check in?
Yes, our seats were assigned. Thank you for asking!
Did you have to deactivate your car alarm and if so, how?
No. I actually wondered about that but we didn’t do anything special.
@@theworldspinsfineonherown We didn't either and we had no problem.
did you guyes take shower? coach people had shower facilities? please let me know we wrw thinking to go
No. There were no showers offered for those riding in coach. However, there was a private lounge with a mirror and two sinks available.
Here’s a link to the short we recorded showing the lounge: czcams.com/users/shortsCTXRUMm3EB0?feature=share
Can you get good sleep decently in Coach?
Probably the question we wondered about the most. The answer is "probably." We did. I think Robin slept better than me (this is Larry typing). But, then again, I kinda always wake up a lot even at home. Overall, it wasn't bad. The seats push back nicely and there is a LOT of leg room. Thank you for asking.
honestly, how bad was it to sleep in those seats......my hubby is 6 ft. 5 inches ....300 lbs will he fit in those seats??
Great question and legitimate concern. I can tell you that I was comfortable and I am 6’6” and (I’m embarrassed to say) weigh 350 lbs. Honestly it was WAY more comfortable than most airlines and way more room. That said, if we could have afforded it, I think the room would be better (not the roomette) for two of us.
Is this only available on the east coast?
Sadly, SORRY! Only on the east coast! Virginia to Florida. Looks like a GOOD OPPORTUNITY for AmTrack to grow and expand this service on the Pacific Coast and mid-west! Venture Capitalists UNITE ! ! !
We had a room which was much nicer than a seat
How much was the trip with the car?
Thank you for asking. Here are the prices we paid: From Sanford to Lorton, on July 5, 2022, our 2 coach seats were $318, our car was $258. Then our return trip on July 12, 2022, from Lorton to Sanford, our two coach seats were $286, and our car was $258.
@@theworldspinsfineonherown Thank you I want to move from Florida to North Carolina and I wanted to bring my car do you know if we can bring boxes in the train too ?
@@shaaron555 If the boxes are in the car, then “yes.” But, I’m not sure about boxes as luggage. I would check with Amtrak.
Hey you should give the short person i.e. your wife the window because she is much shorter than you and you can see over her, she cannot see over you, just a thought👍🏻
The folks who have sleeping compartments get a free dinner in the dining car, while you are stuck buying overpriced junk food!
You can bring your own food and drinks and even a cooler. It's just a day so sandwiches are more than ok. And you can get hot water for instant hot meals
I would love to come along with you guys and have lots of fun hehe