First time on Amtrak / Auto Train

good for you. We have taken it more times than I can remember. It is better that I-95. I'm sure they have upgraded some services (WI-FI?) since out last trip maybe 15 years ago. Enjoy. We always go a bedroom makes for a quite enjoyable ride.

A bedroom is a must, IMHO.  Too late for you to get priority offload as that is purchased with your tickets, but perhaps it won't be too bad given summer's almost over.  Nothing worse than waiting an hour or two for your car...

Mark

Spend sometime in the Cafe car just to hang out with people you meet.

Bring some benedryl (drowsiness inducing antihistamine) to help you sleep. The motion of the train is not sleep inducing. At least for me.

Bring some wet-wipes to wipe down the interior of your compartment. Also, tipping the attendant is a must. I usually tip $10-$20 before the trip begins, which should assure speedy service on their part. You're going to have to wear a mask at all times you're outside of your compartment; that's SOP during the pandemic. I suggest a sleep mask, and earplugs to drown out extraneous noises at night. I found the motion of the car soothing on my overnight trips.

Google "Tips for riding Amtrak" for more information.

And have a great time!

I sleep just fine on the lower level.  Upper level out west can be a bit rocking and swaying.  

No WiFi in Superliners.  And apparently no plans to upgrade Superliners to Viewliners anywhere.    

@rdunniii posted:

No WiFi in Superliners.

Confirms my experience.

As a result of this we've used our cell phone as a wireless hotspot on a number of trips out west (on the Southwest Chief) over the last 10 years with fairly good success, but only in those sections where cell towers are near the line.

Fortunately most of the routing for the SWC are near interstates and federal highways, next to which you find the most towers, and so has good cell service.  The biggest exception, as you'd expect, is when you're going through the mountains.

It's helpful if you use this method to get your WiFi to have a map handy to see where your routing diverges from the highways, cities and towns so you'll know in advance when the signal will disappear, and for how long.  Offline maps, or good old fashioned paper ones, are a must in this situation because once the signal goes you won't be able to access the online ones until it comes back -- obviously not helpful to determining when it will return.

On the other hand, out east you may be fine over the entire length of the AutoTrain route, because there are probably far fewer open spaces without good cell service.

Mike

@rdunniii posted:

I sleep just fine on the lower level.  Upper level out west can be a bit rocking and swaying.  

No WiFi in Superliners.  And apparently no plans to upgrade Superliners to Viewliners anywhere.    

Last time i took this The family I and slept in the seats in coach.  Huge amounts of room, power outlets, and mediocre wifi.  We had one issue with the car getting warm but the porter was able to reset the a/c unit without issue.  The view is minimal because the trains runs overnight.  Since I was traveling with small children the station agent put us at one end of car by ourselves and the kids had room to get up and move around.  I know you said you are traveling in a room, but be aware the restrooms are on the lower level so if you don't have your own bathroom there will be a few trips up and down the stairs.

If you're in a bedroom you'll be upstairs. The only bedrooms downstairs are the Family Bedroom and the Handicap Bedroom. There's also 4 roomettes, bathrooms and the showers. The bedrooms upstairs have a bathroom/shower in them. Roomettes do not. You can do half of your bathroom functions in the in-room bathroom. For the other half (you figure this out), I'd recommend the downstairs bathroom in the lounge car (its seems to be the biggest one on the train).  There's some rough spots where the train rocks quite a bit. If you're up there in the top bunk, its pretty amplified and you'll rock head to toe, not side to side. The sensation is a bit odd, but I usually sleep decently on the train.

If you can play games with the room assignment with an agent on the phone, ask for a car close to the diner (it can be a 5 or 6 car hike otherwise), and ask for a room toward the center of the car (it rides better if you're not over the trucks).

Wifi is useless. There is no reception for it to work. There is a cellular hotspot in the lounge that sort of works (you cant stream anything) if there is signal, but a lot of the route is through the pine forests and there's just no reception for anything to get a signal on. Download movies ahead of time. They used to show a movie in the lounge car, I dont know if they still do, but it was often a crummy movie anyways.

You can bring adult beverages and drink them in your room (don't go overboard though). We usually bring a bottle of wine.  I dont think I would BYOB the lounge car though. They do sell stuff there. Also bring yourself some snacks. Dinner isnt bad, but breakfast is just bagels and cereal bowls, if the train is late, you could find yourself bumping up against lunch.

The late diner seating is often the least attended, and the most "adult". Most of the kids go to the first seating (I know this because this is what I do).

I always tip the attendant when I get off the train. Only once have I had a "bad" attendant. Most of them try pretty hard to make your life easy.

If you really want to get out fast, pay the money for priority offload of your car (call and add it to your reservation). It guarantees you're one of the first 50 off. Otherwise it can take several hours to get your car. There is no rhyme or reason to the timing (showing up early or late will not guarantee your car comes off first). Its all just luck of where it ends up in the train.

Jesse- we've done the Autotrain many times over the years. We always start in Va., heading to Disney/ Kissimmee each time.  First trip was with a three year old, later with two kids. They are 23, 17 now. Amtrak groups young families together so they keep the noise to a couple of cars.

Our experiences:

Arrive early so you can reserve 7 PM for dinner. The other seating's are 5 and 9.
Expedited loading is worth it if you don't want to wait at the other end for a long time. On one trip we were 10th off, on another, we were one of the last of over 300 cars to come off the train. Not fun when when you have a 5 hour drive to NY ahead.
We travel coach each time. The seats are not the best but it's ok for one night. If I was doing a multi-day trip I would take a sleeper. Bring extra pillows and blankets.
Pack an overnight bag for the stuff you will need on the train. Bring a cooler with water and snacks too.
They keep the drivers side window open when they load the car so they don't have an accidental locked car. Be prepared to wipe down the interior when you pick it up.
They will do a quick video inspection of the car on drop off. Inspect the car carefully when you pick it up and report any damage immediately to an attendant. On our first trip the roof of the car got damaged and I didn't see it till I got to our hotel. I had a headache to get them to agree to pay for the damage.
Cell service is pretty good along the entire route.
Prepare for possible delays. Amtrak shares with CSX and often trains break down and you sit and wait. Much of the route is single track with passing sidings.
Check out all of the bathrooms- the one's toward the rear of the car are larger than the front ones.
The quality of the food has slipped over the 20 years we've used the train. Still good, but it used to be better. They used to serve unlimited wine with dinner. Not any more.
The cafe car is open from the time you board. Take advantage of it.

You can watch the train pass through Ashland Va. on Virtual rail fan on Youtube.

Most important of all, the crew is always fabulous. Always a smile and helpful info when asked.

Enjoy your trip.

Thanks for all of the info and advice as I will be taking the AutoTrain for the first time on my way to the York Meet in October.  There are 5 other TCA members I know of who will also be taking the AutoTrain on their way to York this October.  Only 1 of the 6 of us has taken it previously and he has been taking it for many years.

Bill T

Thank you all for the comments! My trip isn’t until late October, and I generally fly by the seat of my pants. But I didn’t want to go in completely blind, and not knowing what to expect. Then I thought what better folks to ask then my friends on the ogrforum.  Im very much looking forward to the trip/experience!

@RSJB18 posted:

Jesse- we've done the Autotrain many times over the years. Our experiences:

They keep the drivers side window open when they load the car so they don't have an accidental locked car. Be prepared to wipe down the interior when you pick it up.

They will do a quick video inspection of the car on drop off. Inspect the car carefully when you pick it up and report any damage immediately to an attendant. On our first trip the roof of the car got damaged and I didn't see it till I got to our hotel. I had a headache to get them to agree to pay for the damage.

Thanks for posting these two tidbits of first-hand information.  I would never have thought about a window remaining open during transit.

@Number 90 posted:

Thanks for posting these two tidbits of first-hand information.  I would never have thought about a window remaining open during transit.

We all know what auto-racks look like, they are not exactly water/ air tight. Imagine what happens when a speeding train runs through a big thunderstorm.

My Amtrak Auto Train experience was great! I used the advise that was given. And I thank all of y’all. The staff was super friendly and helpful. The train was 4 hours late so they didn’t offer dinner in the dining car. But they took our order when we boarded and brought it promptly to the room. We did walk to the lounge car after dinner to get a drink. It was like a fun house walking to and from the lounge car. (With the cars rocking back and forth) Especially after a couple of brews under the belt. But it was fun! We retired to the bedroom where we did have wifi so I caught the end of the braves, astros game and we slept like baby’s. The bright side of the train being late was when we awoke in the morning the train was still in North Carolina. So we got to see a good bit of the country side. They did serve a descent breakfast (we had sausage egg and cheese bagels) which we ate in the dining car. Breakfast in the dining car was a very American feeling experience. Making small talk with total strangers, drinking coffee, and watching the town’s pass by. We got to Lorton Va. around lunchtime. It took 30 minutes at the most to get the car off loaded and off on our way. I would definitely take Amtrak again. Thanks again for the helpful tips!

Do not take coach, it took 24  hours to get to Orlando from Baltimore..... disaster.... i drove back from Orlando... in 14 hours , coach stinks. The problem we had to wait for CSX freight trains to pass.

When you arrive, be sure to stop by the abandoned Lorton Prison, a few miles away.

Up through the 1960s, all of the chain gangs on the roads in Fairfax were from Lorton.  I remember them well.   When I was in the high school band, we actually gave a concert there for the prisoners in 1972.  :-O

They will probably bull-doze it down soon and build condos on it.  :-)

Mannyrock