Advice needed: Phila. to Florida train trip.

1.) You get to sit in your roomette, not the coach seats.

2.) You get priority seating in the dining car.

You might want to consider the Autotrain. It is a better value although there is a long car ride at each end. I have done this many times in coach. It is quite comfortable.John

Agree with John on points 1 and 2.  Reserve as far ahead as you can to ensure accommodations and best price.

I would only recommend the AutoTrain to those who must have their own vehicle, otherwise it's cheaper and faster renting a car at the other end. 

We are staying 2 weeks with friends (they have cars), then flying home. Being retired is great.

John McEnerney posted:

1.) You get to sit in your roomette, not the coach seats.

2.) You get priority seating in the dining car.

 

 

 

Thanks. I think there is a lounge car. Not thrilled about being cooped-up in a small room.

Think of it as a chance to get reacquainted.

There should be a lounge or café car in case it's too much closeness. 

Farmer_Bill posted:

Think of it as a chance to get reacquainted.

 

 

We've been married for 50 years, but it seems like 70. I'm sure my wife feels it's more like 200.

If  you'd like I would also recommend borrowing a scanner if possible and programming it to the host RRs along the way. 

You have your wife to entertain you but it's also nice to hear dispatcher and train crew chatter and find out the real reason you're stopped in the middle of nowhere at that stop signal.    In my last Amtrak trip many, many years ago the CSX dspr held us for half an hour so that a garbage train could clear for us. 

Way back in the Fall of 1989, we took the kids to Disneyworld.  We travelled Amtrak, of course, the Silver Star.  As I recall, there was a dining car where we had breakfast served by a waiter.  Not the luxurious type seen in movies and pictures, but still a dining car.  

A former AMTRAK friend of mine says that as long as there is space, you can sit in coach, but, seats are reserved and you may get looked at funny since you have a roomette reserved. He also said there should be a cafe car that has seats where you can look out both sides if that is your intent.

We travel to Lakeland, a stop on the Silver Star, and really miss the dinner. Getting to meet new people at each meal is a highlight of train travel. On the Star there is only one cafe car--lines out both ends much of the day and the food is at best microwaved. My wife and I pack food now. The cafe car does have seats and tables but you'll find most of them occupied by folks with computer and etc. On one trip the entire crew was spread out over most of the tables.

It still beat flying these days even with all of the inconveniences.  As for "on time" performance we've been no more than 15-20 minutes late getting in to Lakeland or Newark on the return. Much better than the regional I take to Williamsburg, VA that is routinely an hour late.

Take reading materials, cards and etc and enjoy the trip!

We took the train north from FL to Philly a few years ago.  Very enjoyable experience.  We were a couple hours late departing because some poor soul jumped in front of the train before it got to our station.  We still arrived on time at Philly the next day.  Also the station put in a food order to cover the lunch we would have had on the train at no charge.  My son was about 6 at the time and was enthralled by the "kid-catcher" net next to the upper bunk.  The food was okay and you got a preferred time for seating in the dining car.  There was no lounge/observation on this train but you could hang out in the cafe car as much as you liked, which is a good place for meeting others, playing cards, or just looking out the windows.

Have a good trip!

Scotie posted:

We travel to Lakeland, a stop on the Silver Star, and really miss the dinner. Getting to meet new people at each meal is a highlight of train travel.

I agree. We have taken 4 Viking river cruises, and 1 Viking "ocean" cruise (Baltic Sea). One of the highlights is sharing a table (if you want) and meeting a lot of people during the two weeks (Viking does not have "assigned" tables). Actually, that is why we don't want friends to go with us. We see other groups that know each other always eating together. Once, while dining with another couple we learned that they lived one street from us 5 years ago, AND the woman was born in the same Baltimore hospital as my wife. Small world!

Rule292 posted:

If  you'd like I would also recommend borrowing a scanner if possible and programming it to the host RRs along the way. 

 

At the very least I'll have my laptop so I can watch our train zipping through Ashland, VA on a Youtube live-cam.

Yeah there's no reason to need to sit in coach (Im not sure I'd want to on a long distance train if you've paid for the sleeper). Your car attendant should ask what time you want to eat, so there's space in the dining car. You can sit in the cafe car at the tables if you're sick of the roomette compartment (which admittedly, is a bit small). In viewliners the top bunk slides vertically on rails rather than fold out of the wall, I've seen people just leave the bed down, someone sits up there (it has the upper window) and someone sits in the seat below it... there's still head room.

Meteor is the way to go. I couldnt imagine going 20+ hours living on microwaved amcafe food on the Silver Starvation.

We've taken the Autotrain to Florida 6 times. Gone coach every time. We had a lounge car and 2-3 diners on each trip. The passengers in the roomettes had their own set of lounge/ diner cars. I know you said you don't need the car but its an option. The Lorton Va station is right off I-95 and the Sanford station is about 5 minutes off I-4.

The quality of the food has slipped over the years, including the elimination of the free carafe of wine with dinner.

Thank you for your help and advice. I booked the trip yesterday. It's amazing that 5 months out the "best prices" are already going away. Tues. March 6 costs a lot more than Wed. March 7. 

One more question: They say there is room for only 1 or 2 small carry-ons. Where does a standard size suitcase go...in a baggage car, or in some holding area on the sleeping car? Thanks.

The Autotrain uses Superliner coaches which have luggage compartments on the lower level. I would assume yours would be the same.

Enjoy.

I would check what you don’t need on the train in the baggage car. There’s a cubby hole for a carryon size suitcase above the sink (in the space above the car’s corridor). Beyond that, not much room to store stuff in there.  The attendant has a storage closet, but I don’t think it’s for storing passenger belongings, so Id just check big bags and get them on the other end. 

The Silver trains and any others that need to go through the Baltimore tunnels use Amfleet coaches and Viewliner (single level) sleepers.

Recently we've had the handicapped bedroom but as I remember the roomettes there is a space for a couple of suitcases at the level of the top bunk which is actually over the corridor. You may need some help to get the cases up there. 

Joe Hohmann posted:

Rule292 posted:

If  you'd like I would also recommend borrowing a scanner if possible and programming it to the host RRs along the way. 

 

At the very least I'll have my laptop so I can watch our train zipping through Ashland, VA on a Youtube live-cam.

Also fun to do is download or set up a speed monitoring app on your cell phone.   You can monitor your train's speed then. 

Joe Hohmann posted:

Rule292 posted:

If  you'd like I would also recommend borrowing a scanner if possible and programming it to the host RRs along the way. 

 

At the very least I'll have my laptop so I can watch our train zipping through Ashland, VA on a Youtube live-cam.

You'll be doing it over cellular data then, since YouTube (and other video/data-intense sites)is normally blocked on Amtrak wifi so they don't clog up the connection for other users.

I often watch my progress using a navigation app called CoPilot. The nifty thing about this one (as opposed to Google Maps) is that it stores the maps completely on your device (main memory or SD card--your choice) so it uses no data while showing you where you are*. Most rail lines are included in the map data, so as long as you're not too close to any nearby roads, it will show your location on the tracks, well enough that you can anticipate the train braking for speed=restricted curves.

---PCJ

*There are other navigation apps that can operate without data--CoPilot is the only one I have experience with.