All about the Autotrain

[GrnMtnMan]

My family rode the auto train northward last Friday, August 21. Here’s my report, in no particular order:

- We arrived at the Sanford station around 1:30, and dinner reservations were available for all three seating’s (5, 7, and 9) in the sleeper dining car. We picked 7.

- We got into Lorton about 90 minutes late. No explanation as to why, though it seemed like we stopped a few time during the night to let cargo trains pass.

- We had a family bedroom. It was nice amount of space during the day , but the upper bunks were uncomfortably small for my family (41, 40, 8, 5). Plus the upper bunks were too cool and the lower bunks did not get enough air circulation.

- The diner car menu online shows chicken nuggets for kids, but only pizza was on the menu on the train. Both of my kids did not like the pizza, and I tasted it, and it tasted like bad grocery store-brand frozen pizza.

- Even though the train has white noise and we brought a sleep sound machine, the noise from people opening and closing the doors on the nearby roomettes was a little disruptive at night.

- Wife and I did not sleep due to the movement of the train. There was fairly constant swaying, and the occasional major bump or jolt that made us worry we were about to die. Plus there were the aforementioned unexplained stops.

- Breakfast in the dining car was fine for what it was (warmed bagels & bran muffins, cereal & milk, a banana, and juice & coffee). There were blueberry muffins available in the sleeper lounge car.

- Our attendant was very pleasant and attentive. We didn’t request any special service though.

- We paid for priority offloading and waited maybe 10 minutes for our car.

- I noticed for the trip south that day (8/22) the check-in desks at Lorton listed four dinner seatings, the first at 4:30, the last at 9:30.

Overall, I was disappointed in being unable to sleep. I wasn’t expecting the significant motion of the train and the jarring jolts (and I take Amtrak once a month or so in the fall to get from Washington DC to Charlottesville, Virginia). Does the level of motion vary trip to trip or is it common for people to be unable to sleep? I’m not the best sleeper to start with (have an Ambien prescription, though I did not take one).

I was also disappointed in the kids food. I don’t see why they can’t have the burgers and hot dogs from the lounge car available, nor some frozen chicken nuggets or mac and cheese for pickier eaters. Adult food is what I expected: decent and tasty, but not gourmet.

That all being said, we still might do the train again next year, as it beats driving I-95 and finding a motel along the way. I might try to talk wife and kids into taking a one way flight home, and I’d get a roomette and take a sleeping pill.

I’m happy to answer any questions while the memories are fresh.

 

[bdcp]

After you've taken it a couple of times, you'll realize the bumps and swaying are normal and you'll be able to sleep more. I'm now able to sleep for 5+ hours which is enough to feel human the next day. Our first couple of trips, I was lucky to get 2-3 hours of interrupted sleep. The tracks do vary but Amtrak has no control because they do not own them. Food has changed and I'm sure the kids pizza is frozen. It would be pretty difficult to make pizza onboard. I've had good steak in the past and a couple of years ago I had the best catfish. But, with the cuts in the last year and a half or so, food has declined some, but it's still a lot better than airline meals. We have never had a problem with other roomettes/bedroom doors, but the family room is on the lower level and most of the bathrooms are also down there which can be an issue with doors. I'm surprised there was no announcement about arriving late. We've always been given updates, prior to about 9 pm they announce any issues and then again in the am after about 7. We had one trip we arrived around 11:30, but otherwise, we've been pretty much ontime. We've done 6 round trips and will be back onboard the end of Nov.

You mentioned blueberry muffins in the sleeper lounge car. Last I heard there was only one lounge car that was shared by all. There used to be one for sleepers and one for coach, but they removed one and added a coach car.

 

[Disneyholic]

After you've taken it a couple of times, you'll realize the bumps and swaying are normal and you'll be able to sleep more. I'm now able to sleep for 5+ hours which is enough to feel human the next day. Our first couple of trips, I was lucky to get 2-3 hours of interrupted sleep. The tracks do vary but Amtrak has no control because they do not own them. Food has changed and I'm sure the kids pizza is frozen. It would be pretty difficult to make pizza onboard. I've had good steak in the past and a couple of years ago I had the best catfish. But, with the cuts in the last year and a half or so, food has declined some, but it's still a lot better than airline meals. We have never had a problem with other roomettes/bedroom doors, but the family room is on the lower level and most of the bathrooms are also down there which can be an issue with doors. I'm surprised there was no announcement about arriving late. We've always been given updates, prior to about 9 pm they announce any issues and then again in the am after about 7. We had one trip we arrived around 11:30, but otherwise, we've been pretty much ontime. We've done 6 round trips and will be back onboard the end of Nov.

You mentioned blueberry muffins in the sleeper lounge car. Last I heard there was only one lounge car that was shared by all. There used to be one for sleepers and one for coach, but they removed one and added a coach car.

They have added the sleeper lounge car back in. I think they realized there were too many people onboard for 1 plus they didn't have the separation between coach & sleeper section & coach people were wanting to go back & check out the sleepers. I know I wasn't too happy when I heard the being told that they could. You expect privacy in a sleeper.

 

[bdcp]

They have added the sleeper lounge car back in. I think they realized there were too many people onboard for 1 plus they didn't have the separation between coach & sleeper section & coach people were wanting to go back & check out the sleepers. I know I wasn't too happy when I heard the being told that they could. You expect privacy in a sleeper.

Good to know. I hadn't heard about it. I really didn't like the fact that there was no separation because it really meant more traffic walking through just "checking out" the sleepers, but still, there was always a sign saying it was for sleeper car passengers only. In Feb, even though the train was just about full, the lounge never was. I also think the idea of adding another coach car in its place really didn't increase revenue. The train, while it runs pretty full, is only completely full during mostly holiday times.

I also haven't been following the amtrak discussion board the way I used to and just found a review from June talking about the lounge car being added back.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

The sleeper lounge on our train was not a true lounge car, but a re-purposed dining car. Meaning there was no movie in the sleeper lounge and no microwave for burgers/hot dogs. There was an attendant with a cash register and some packaged snacks and drinks set out in a basket the middle of the car, just sitting on top of a table.

Food has changed and I'm sure the kids pizza is frozen. It would be pretty difficult to make pizza onboard.

I've got nothing against frozen pizza....we eat quite a bit of it, but from decent brands. If you remember the way frozen pizza used to taste back in the 70s/80s/90s, you'd recognize it....the sauce almost tastes like citrus, rather than tomato. We really like the Amy's Organic brand, and California Pizza Kitchen, all of which are microwavable.

I'm surprised there was no announcement about arriving late. We've always been given updates, prior to about 9 pm they announce any issues and then again in the am after about 7.

At 7 Am they said we'd be getting in 90 minutes late, but didn't explain why.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

After you've taken it a couple of times, you'll realize the bumps and swaying are normal and you'll be able to sleep more. I'm now able to sleep for 5+ hours which is enough to feel human the next day. Our first couple of trips, I was lucky to get 2-3 hours of interrupted sleep.

Any thoughts on wether or not the delay contibuted to the swaying/ride? I was thinking we might have had a worse than normal ride due to the stops....the train having to go faster than it usually would though certain sections to make up the time it lost when it had to stop. There were times during the night when it felt like we were going very fast.

The tracks do vary but Amtrak has no control because they do not own them.

This is also the case for the trip I make pretty regularly (Washington DC to Charlottesville, VA), but the ride is not as rough. I don't think the train has to go as fast to keep its schedule on that routes, and its only on single level trains (one train that I take is a regional with no sleepers, and the other goes from NYC to New Orleans and has sleeper, diner, and lounge cars).

 

[bdcp]

Any thoughts on wether or not the delay contibuted to the swaying/ride? I was thinking we might have had a worse than normal ride due to the stops....the train having to go faster than it usually would though certain sections to make up the time it lost when it had to stop. There were times during the night when it felt like we were going very fast.This is also the case for the trip I make pretty regularly (Washington DC to Charlottesville, VA), but the ride is not as rough. I don't think the train has to go as fast to keep its schedule on that routes, and its only on single level trains (one train that I take is a regional with no sleepers, and the other goes from NYC to New Orleans and has sleeper, diner, and lounge cars).

They delays are usually caused by other train traffic. In the one case that we were delayed a couple of hours getting in, it was due to a broken down train that had to be moved which meant waiting for that to happen and another delay (can't remember why but it was freight train related). The AT doesn't have to maintain it's max speed to stay on schedule either. The max speed would get you in early. There have been reports of trains getting in before the staff does. They do figure in some delays due to other traffic and trips on weekends tend to be less due to less freight/commercial and commuter train traffic. Almost all the train traffic on weekends is passenger related, but during the week there is a lot of freight trains. We take the train to NYC about once per year from DC and have only had one delay on that line. The NE corridor has a lot of traffic, but Amtrak owns most of the tracks between Boston and DC and is not impacted by commercial traffic which use other tracks.

The pizza they serve in the snack car on the NE corridor is DiGiorno which is pretty decent. I don't know what they serve for the kids on the AT as ours are grown and have never been on it.

As for the lounge car not being a regular lounge car, someone who was in a sleeper (on AT) on the Amtrak Unlimited forums said on their trip north in June, they had a dining car for the lounge car, but for the trip south, it was a regular lounge car.

 

[Disneyholic]

We had a REAL lounge car on the way down on the 23rd of August. Bar & all for the sleeper section. I guess they realized they were losing money on the liqour sales. I know we didn't go again after the first time with the combined one. Too full & as I said, coach people wanting to go through & check out the sleepers.

 

[Disneyholic]

We had a medical emergency that the had to offload along the way & we still got in a half hour early.

 

[java]

Today got a satisfaction survey from Amtrak based on our delay and technical issues.

 

[Ngwira]

We are back. No issues at all. Getting ready to book next years train.

 

[Mommytink]

We just returned Monday and were an hour and a half late each way.

 

[Ngwira]

We were a half hour late getting to Sanford but early coming back to lorton.

 

[Ngwira]

My family rode the auto train northward last Friday, August 21. Here’s my report, in no particular order:

- We arrived at the Sanford station around 1:30, and dinner reservations were available for all three seating’s (5, 7, and 9) in the sleeper dining car. We picked 7.

- We got into Lorton about 90 minutes late. No explanation as to why, though it seemed like we stopped a few time during the night to let cargo trains pass.

- We had a family bedroom. It was nice amount of space during the day , but the upper bunks were uncomfortably small for my family (41, 40, 8, 5). Plus the upper bunks were too cool and the lower bunks did not get enough air circulation.

- The diner car menu online shows chicken nuggets for kids, but only pizza was on the menu on the train. Both of my kids did not like the pizza, and I tasted it, and it tasted like bad grocery store-brand frozen pizza.

- Even though the train has white noise and we brought a sleep sound machine, the noise from people opening and closing the doors on the nearby roomettes was a little disruptive at night.

- Wife and I did not sleep due to the movement of the train. There was fairly constant swaying, and the occasional major bump or jolt that made us worry we were about to die. Plus there were the aforementioned unexplained stops.

- Breakfast in the dining car was fine for what it was (warmed bagels & bran muffins, cereal & milk, a banana, and juice & coffee). There were blueberry muffins available in the sleeper lounge car.

- Our attendant was very pleasant and attentive. We didn’t request any special service though.

- We paid for priority offloading and waited maybe 10 minutes for our car.

- I noticed for the trip south that day (8/22) the check-in desks at Lorton listed four dinner seatings, the first at 4:30, the last at 9:30.

Overall, I was disappointed in being unable to sleep. I wasn’t expecting the significant motion of the train and the jarring jolts (and I take Amtrak once a month or so in the fall to get from Washington DC to Charlottesville, Virginia). Does the level of motion vary trip to trip or is it common for people to be unable to sleep? I’m not the best sleeper to start with (have an Ambien prescription, though I did not take one).

I was also disappointed in the kids food. I don’t see why they can’t have the burgers and hot dogs from the lounge car available, nor some frozen chicken nuggets or mac and cheese for pickier eaters. Adult food is what I expected: decent and tasty, but not gourmet.

That all being said, we still might do the train again next year, as it beats driving I-95 and finding a motel along the way. I might try to talk wife and kids into taking a one way flight home, and I’d get a roomette and take a sleeping pill.

I’m happy to answer any questions while the memories are fresh.

The kids could've ordered off the adult menu. My kids did. My 6 year old had the steak and my 9 year old had the chicken. Sorry you were not told of this option.

 

[SingingMom]

The food in general was decent. Breakfast could have had a few more pastry selections to choose from. I don't eat bananas, cereal, or yogurt. Lol.

The only thing about dinner was we were seated with a single rider to make a table of 4. He was a college student and extremely awkward. Very difficult to try to converse. DD skipped breakfast, so DH & I were seated with a lovely retired couple & we had a pleasant conversation.

I really didn't mind the Auto Train experience until it came time to sleep. The room was very hot with the top bunk in use. No air circulation. I think it would have been fine with just the bottom bunk open. I loved having our own bathroom, even if it was very tight. Can't imagine how a large person could even fit! Lol

 

[Dottie74]

Can anyone comment about their experience in coach seating with young children? Were you happy with where you were seated. How did you occupy the kids? Did they sleep much? Thanks!

 

[Mommytink]

Can anyone comment about their experience in coach seating with young children? Were you happy with where you were seated. How did you occupy the kids? Did they sleep much? Thanks!

We just travelled with four kids in coach and they did fine. We brought pillows and blankets and portable DVD players and iPads. They weren't bored at all. Pack drinks and plenty of snacks. The two adults sat with the two youngest and the two older children sat together across the row.

 

[Dottie74]

We just travelled with four kids in coach and they did fine. We brought pillows and blankets and portable DVD players and iPads. They weren't bored at all. Pack drinks and plenty of snacks. The two adults sat with the two youngest and the two older children sat together across the row.

Thanks for your input. Where were you seated on the train? Was it crowded? Were other people seated with your two older children? Was it families in your car or a mix of people? How disturbing were people as they passed by? The kids we are travelling with are 3 and 1. Just hoping that they get some sleep at some point.

 

[Mommytink]

Thanks for your input. Where were you seated on the train? Was it crowded? Were other people seated with your two older children? Was it families in your car or a mix of people? How disturbing were people as they passed by? The kids we are travelling with are 3 and 1. Just hoping that they get some sleep at some point.

It was crowded on the way down to FL but not on the way back. You sit 2 in a row so no one else were with my two older ones and they were across the aisle from me. On the way back it was pretty empty and they spread out to the empty seats around us and slept much better. My two youngest (7 and 3) slept fine both ways. I would recommend a next pillow for the adults. We had regular pillows but hard to get comfortable. On the way down there was a lot of noise and we stopped a few times for signal problems. That was disturbing. A guy near me had a very loud cell phone conversation about his money issues until after 11pm! The way back was pretty quiet. We were seated upstairs near the lounge both times. Hope this helps! I was very nervous but really enjoyed it. It was an adventure!

 

[Dottie74]

It was crowded on the way down to FL but not on the way back. You sit 2 in a row so no one else were with my two older ones and they were across the aisle from me. On the way back it was pretty empty and they spread out to the empty seats around us and slept much better. My two youngest (7 and 3) slept fine both ways. I would recommend a next pillow for the adults. We had regular pillows but hard to get comfortable. On the way down there was a lot of noise and we stopped a few times for signal problems. That was disturbing. A guy near me had a very loud cell phone conversation about his money issues until after 11pm! The way back was pretty quiet. We were seated upstairs near the lounge both times. Hope this helps! I was very nervous but really enjoyed it. It was an adventure!

Thanks again for your info. We are excited for our family adventure to start on 9/19!