I live in Northern Italy and there's a "Truck-Train" service that goes to Austria and Germany. It's called Rollende Landstraße (Rolling Highway), it hauls semi trucks and their drivers in order to ease the traffic on the road.
From the video's description, it sounds like the proposed service would have worked the same way. I don't think the extreme low-floor flatcars would have been used though (obviously had not been developed yet, and North American loading gauge wouldn't have required them), and given the nature of the company's decisions, I doubt they would have thought of the "drive straight on-drive straight off" load/unload procedure employed by RoLa.
@@RailRide Some piggyback services of existing railroads used to allow cabs and even straight trucks to be added to the flatcars. It wouldn't surprise me if they allowed drivers in those trucks.
It's reducing in size/capacity though, with (especially larger companies as) users preferring to put the trailers on the train only and leaving the truck where its at.
@@Happymali10 There's something I noticed about piggyback services; When they started getting big in the mid 20th Century, most of the big railroad's had their own trucks that they were placed on trains. I was going to mention that I don't see too much of that anymore, but then I realized that CSX had plenty of containers. I'm pretty sure other railroad's have containers too.
Took the auto train down in like '86. My parents were thinking about moving down to Florida and my mom took my sister and I while she looked for trucking jobs for my dad. I remember sneaking away when my mom fell asleep and going up top in the observation deck. It wasn't long before I was found out and got drug back to our seats by my ear. 11 years ago we went to Disney and I suggested we take the auto train. It's like 24 hours total on the train from check in to check out, and my wife said we'll just drive because it's quicker and cheaper. So, I completed my 10 run in the semi, hopped in my old Tahoe and drove the 21 hours straight through. Sure, it's quicker, by like 4 hours, when driving down from Pennsylvania straight through, but I ended up sleeping 14 hours of that afternoon to the next morning away after being up for like 42 hours straight. Next time, we're taking the auto train.
For 21h over 24h, it was franckly not a good choice to drive. But I don't know the price difference. On the other hand, if it's like the video shows, it's not just a train, you can eat too, this have to be taken in account too. And the fact that you arrive fresh, of course.
@My Little Parody cost and time wise, you might as well take the auto train. I drove straight through when I was 30 and used running hard like that as a truck driver. But, at 40 and not having run that hard in many years, I'd stop halfway. Which adds a lot more time and expense.
@@pohldriver That's what I was thinking. Well, I always enjoyed the travel as much as the destination, so it makes sense to me, but I know some can't or won't think like that. Hope you will be able to enjoy the auto train next time then!
I had no idea there was a separate "Auto-Train" company. I always just thought the original Auto-Train livery was a special livery Amtrak used during the service's earlier years. Thank you for this very interesting documentary!
Per the documentary and Amtrak's legal dispute with Auto-Train, the original private sector Auto-Train was incorporated in 1969, when the beginnings of what would be Amtrak were discussed in Congressional hearings and wouldn't become official til October 1970.
I took the original auto-train in 1974 when I was eight years old. It was fascinating and really a lot of fun. I took it again as Amtrak Auto Train in 1987 and it was just as I’d remembered it. Personally it’s one of those things you really should experience at least once.
I took the auto train once to get from my college at Daytona Beach back to my folks in Northern Virginia. Most of the passengers were old retiree types. I definitely appreciated the ability to have better food than airline or gas station food though.
My family rode this when it was the Auto-Train a few times back in the 70's. We lived in Florida and took driving vacations every summer throughout the eastern United States. The Auto-Train seemed like a great way to save time and even money for the first part of our trip. We could only afford coach, so I never slept much (couldn't sleep unless I was horizontal), but I enjoyed looking out from the bubble cars. I think our first trip was in '76 because when we got off in Lorton, we immediately drove to the new National Air & Space museum and that's when it first opened. We parked in the underground parking lot which I believe is now the gift shop. We only used the Auto-Train for the trip back once; on July 4th from Louisville (don't recall the year). Because it was July 4th, the train was practically empty. Not a lot of people to talk to, but plenty of room for us kids to explore. I don't remember ever hearing about the accidents that took place. We eventually went back to driving both ways because there were places (and family) along the way that we wanted to visit. I am very glad to see the service is still going (albeit for Amtrak and not its own company).
Pssst: You missed it! You could indeed sleep horizontal in coach on Auto-Train if you picked the right coach! Really! At least some of the cars with the shorter dome portions had a 2-1 seating configuration. In place of the rightmost window seat, a carpeted shelf ran along the length of the mini-dome. And if your family booked 3 consecutive single seats alongside that shelf, BINGO, there's your reasonable-width horizontal sleeping surface, LOOKING UP AT THE STARS. :-) :-) It could realistically fit two kids, one facing forward and one backward, with a bit of fighting over leg placement. And yes, the Auto-Train was fantastic for kids who liked to explore.
This is, single-handedly, one of the best documentaries I've seen. The editing job, selection of footage, commentary and last, but not least, the fantastic intro - all fits just perfect. This is a job well-done, thank you Peter!
I recently took the auto train when I moved to DC. It was a very good experience. Letting me fill the car with moving supplies have me a lot more space than flying. Surprisingly, we left a few minutes early and arrived a whopping 45 minutes ahead of schedule.The seats are really comfortable, too. The best part was the cafe car. I’m not exactly an extrovert but when you share tables with strangers you just get to start talking. And it gets pretty rowdy! The older couple I was with even bought me a beer.
Those are the best documentaries on RUclips in my opinion. Great graphics, great story telling, very interesting topics very well explained. So glad RUclips recommended me your channel back when you made your first videos. Even though I'm a bit of a train nerd myself, and know the current Amtrak Auto Trains, I had no clue about this company, and I was hooked up the whole way through It would have been interesting to see the Truck-Train concept, although I realise some variations of that very concept have been realised, both in the US and in the EU, and they are a fundamental part of Europe's international travel.
This was definitely a professional production, and learning that a passenger railroad managed to thrive during the dark ages was a mindblowing experience. Fascinating work!
I’ve been working on the Auto Train(Amtrak) for the past 29 years. It’s surprising how popular and busy it has become. I must commend you on this video. Probably one of the best! Your production value is excellent. Thanks for posting.
Very good history. I didn't realize the service lasted until 1981. As a teenager in 1973, I rode the private Auto-Train with my aunt and uncle, setting off a lifetime interest in riding trains. As a young family, we rode the Amtrak Auto-Train in 2001. It's a shame the concept has never been employed elsewhere in the U.S.
"If the project is economically feasible, there is no reason why private industry cannot proceed with it." How I wish government had taken this attitude with the airline and trucking industries, allowing the railroads' two fiercest competitors to foot the entire bill for building and maintaining the infrastructure necessary for the former to operate. Had such occurred, there might be more passenger train service around the United States than what exists today. Instead, railroads were taxed to the hilt, helping to subsidize their competition through interstate highway and airline terminal construction/upkeep. If only the original Auto-Train had focused on its original business mission... I wonder to how many other failed businesses that statement can be applied? Great job once again, Mr. Dibble. Thanks for putting this presentation together.
The Interstate highway system was built so the military could deploy quickly in times of war. It wasn't built to help the trucking industry. Airports in the US were built by city and state governments, but airports elsewhere, e.g. Europe, are built and operated privately, and air travel is still massively popular in those areas The vast majority of people prefer driving over public transport. Having highways built by trucking companies for private use wouldn't have diminished the public's desire to drive personal automobiles, and a separate system would have ended up being built anyway.
@@qjtvaddict This is complete nonsense. Freight railroads are a multi-billion dollar business, and pay taxes without affecting their profitability. Passenger rail wasn't profitable to begin with. Taxes had nothing to do with it.
@@MirzaAhmed89 The interstate highway system may not have been built specifically for the trucking industry but that industry certainly benefits from the former's existence. While trucking companies do pay taxes and some of that money goes to maintaining the highways, NONE of the revenue is given over to the railroads to help them maintain the latter's rights-of-way. The fact remains: railroads are unjustly forced to subsidize their trucking competitors. The same argument applies to the airline industry here in United States, where Auto Train operates. Leave Europe out of the discussion, that continent's policies are irrelevant. American citizens may have chosen the personal automobile as the preferred method of travel but it's very likely that if the railroad-subsidized interstate highway system didn't exist, long-distance travelers would not be using their cars for such travel to the extent they have and still do. And if the airline industry wasn't subsidized to the extent that it is--again, in part by the railroads--it wouldn't exist at all, as ticket prices for generating the requisite funds to maintain terminal facilities would price the airlines right out of the travel market.
@@MirzaAhmed89 'airports elsewhere, e.g. Europe, are built and operated privately, 'are you sure. ?I think they are regarded as part of the public sector and. built and run accordingly'
I came back to this excellently researched video to find that my thumbs up was gone. I am not sure if it was re-uploaded or not, but I’m watching again to be sure.
One of the best documentaries on one the most successful trains thanks to Garfield we now have a train to eliminate the awful drive from the north to the south in one of the most comfortable ways possible
This is gonna be a good one. I’ve always liked the Auto Train in both its original and Amtrak forms, and having Mr. Dibble cover it will be a treat. Comment after finishing the video: As is usual of your videos Mr. Dibble, this one was of the highest possible quality, extremely professional, and most certainly an enlightening video. I learned a few things that I didn’t know about the Auto Train upon watching this video, and its most certainly one I’ll share as a result. Also, to doubt one of the Claytor brothers is to be a fool. If anyone could have made the Auto Train a success once again, it was most certainly the man who helped start the internationally renowned 20th Century Steam Program of the Southern Railway that then became the Norfolk Southern. Long live the legacy of the Claytors. And may the Auto Train be as long lived as well.
The other day, the Auto Train passed through Ashland, Virginia and was picked up by the webcam there -it was especially long, and I realized why. The car owners were not tourists - They are "snow birds" who have winter homes in Florida, and are "migrating down for the winter" . :)
@@rosecitytransit Oh, you bet! That's one of the attractions of Auto-Train. You can PACK your car with as much stuff as will fit around your family in the car, and cart it all down for no extra cost.
I knew I wouldn't have to scroll far to see someone mention Ashland in this video. My parents have to cross the tracks to get into town and frequently see the Auto Train.
My parents always used Motorail (the British equivalent) in the 1970s when going to visit my mother's parents in southern England. We lived (and live) in Scotland, so it was about five hundred miles. Generally we had a sleeper bunk and didn't notice the journey. The hardware was cruder: no closed freight cars, just open flatbed trucks with the vehicles chained down on top of them. I never heard of any accidents, though.
Well done video. Perhaps it is a comment on the management of Auto Train (in both incarnations) that I had never even heard of theses trains until this video. Not not ridden it, but not even heard of it!
Ridden Auto train numerous times...a great service. Why it's not offered from east to west coast is beyond me. It saves mileage on one's car, and is a super fun experience.
Because of the freight railroads. They don’t want a 3/4-mile long passenger train that could impede on their service. Remember, Amtrak doesn’t own any tracks out there. In addition, I think the track quality is just worse so there may be issues with running the auto cars on them. It is up to the freight rail road who owns the track to update them and they won’t spend the money if it doesn’t help their operations.
Fantastic job. I’m in my 30s and discovered the auto train ten years ago and have ridden it multiple times. I even used it to bring my muscle car to Florida with no problems. There’s definitely a different level of service on the train as well but after watching your documentary it has definitely been cut down to control costs but it’s definitely better than riding the silver meteor bc it’s so much more comfortable
Great documentary, I am taking the Auto train down to Florida in a couple of days, while the drive isn't bad, I think this will be better than the 10 or so hours down I-95 with the traffic.
Incredible video! This has to be one of your greatest videos yet. Never knew that Garfield worked on other Floridian transit projects. Another little detail I find interesting is that the original concept was brought up by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, a privately owned class 1 that was about to merge with their rival, Seaboard Air Lines. I wonder if the ACL or other private railroads and their passenger services would still be around today had they operated the Auto Train.
Thanks! From what I saw, the government was considering to partner with either ACL or SAL, but ACL was selected because their route had the clearance for the double-height trains. Though there was an assumption that once those two companies merged, Seaboard Coast Line would be the actual operator. It's interesting that while Seaboard didn't end up taking on the project entirely, Auto-Train used their route and crews under contract.
Always found the Auto Train an interesting concept. Never have ridden it but, I've heard it's a lot of fun. I think more long distance trains should have something like it. Once again, another fantastic video!
I wish cruise ships would allow you to take a motorcycle aboard with you. I am more likely to take repositioning cruises and then spend a month cruising around the destination continent / country when I get there before coming back, so I would really like this. Then again, it would also be nice if the cruise lines would go back to being a means of transportation between places instead of most of their cruises just coming back to the same port from which they left.
One of the best documentaries ever produced. Great narration, easily understood, great video. I rode the original version and the Amtrak version. Mr. Garfield was a true pioneer and visionary.
I am glad you upload when you do. Nice to come home from the museum I work at, put a deep dish pizza in the oven, and settle down to watch your videos over a nice, premium pizza, especially a day when the old Lionel trains I manage were running in fine fettle.
Back in the 90s, my sister and I took the auto train to ease our annual drive from Boston to Florida. It was a novel experience and the dinner was quite good, but the sleeping accommodations were cramped and coffin-like, and the lurching of the train made sleeping difficult. It was New Years Eve, but the average age on the train was perhaps 80 and everyone was in bed by 9:00. We didn't repeat the experience because (1) the drive south of DC was the easiest part of the trip, (2) it wasn't particularly pleasant, and (3) it was expensive. A few years later we started flying instead of driving.
Excellent documentary! Wonderful, thank you. Transporting people and their cars naturally means a lot of deadweight, or in other words, you can transport fewer people on the same train length. Demand is also seasonally different, which makes it difficult to earn money year-round. Deutsche Bundesbahn used to have a number of automobile trains (both auto carriers attached to regular passenger trains and trains only for people bringing along their cars) in the 1970s/1980s. In 1999 a separate subsidiary "DB AutoZug" was formed, but only operated until 2013. Deutsche Bahn Fernverkehr decided to focus on high speed daytime trains (ICE, IC) and gave up their night and auto trains completely. Many auto terminals were abandoned. Meanwhile Österreichische Bundesbahnen also started regular car transportation on both day and night trains. That service was reduced some and now it's just a couple nightjet services offering to transport cars overnight both within Austria (Feldkirch to Wien and Graz) and internationally (Wien to Hamburg, Innsbruck to Düsseldorf, seasonally Wien to Livorno). It's just a niche within a niche (night trains are only used by few people) and I'm not sure whether there's any plan for expansion of services. Within Germany there is now a privately operated overnight train by RDC/BTE Hamburg to Lörrach transporting automobiles on ex-DB rolling stock, and a couple of seasonal "UrlaubsExpress" connections by Train4you/MSM. So auto trains are probably beyond their peak but they are still interesting to some people. Wealthy elderly travellers who want their car at the destination were mentioned in the video. In addition it's lovers of rare and vintage cars who want to move their cars from one place to another without having to drive them all day down the highway. These European auto trains also take motorbikes along.
I rode the Auto-Train last year for the first time. Southbound leg it was smooth as silk, left and arrived on time, and my car was one of the first off the train. The dining car was closed, though, so even first-class (sleeper) passengers got box meals. That was my only complaint. Northbound was a different story. Freight trains got in the way a few times and so we arrived pretty late in Lorton, and my car was among the last off the train to boot. Again, no dining car service, and coach passengers had to eat from the snack bar or bring their own bag lunch. So some good, some bad. As I write this, it's been a few days since Auto-Train was involved in an incident where a freight train derailment held them up for 36 hours, which had passengers actually calling the cops to report a hostage situation. Amtrak's not to blame for all of that, but they could've handled it better. Overall, Amtrak does a pretty good job with courtesy and service, and these situations put their employees into tough situations dealing with justifiably irate passengers. Even so, I may use the Auto-Train again in the near future. I like driving, but I also like relaxing and sleeping, so there is that. Eugene Garfield sounds like a really interesting guy. Won some, lost some, but had the guts to take a chance.
Thank you so much for this wonderful video! In France, we had "Train auto couchettes" for some time (well, 60ish years), but it's now discontinued since 2019. On the other hand, distances are shorter in France, and the TGV allows to travel fast during the day. But still, I find it stupid that they suppressed the service. Couldn't they liven it instead of killing it?
Auto train is a unparalleled service that has been devastated in the past by severe technical flaws. They can be avoided even now if the train companies are willing to do away with those severe technical incompatibilities between the different train compartments which had been the cause of the accidents ... . Or they could just stick to the minimum speeds if they still wish to use freight train rolling stock in such projects. Anyhow, nothing short of a team of great thinkers can revive this excellent project.
This is a great video and documentary. Living in the D.C. metro, I've taken the Auto Train several times when taking my family of five on Vacation to Orlando. I found it a more cost effective means when compared to purchasing five plane tickets and renting a large SUV, plus it provided a great experience. The seats were large and comfortable (think business class on an airplane) and there was wifi and outlets at every seat. At that time, you received a hot dinner within a few hours of departure and a hot breakfast service just prior to arrival. They had a movie car, a lounge car, and a quiet car as well sleeper cars if you purchased one. Each time I rode the Auto Train, we departed on time and arrived about an hour earlier than projected. I haven't used the service since pre-covid, but it's come to my attention that they no longer offer meals on the trip. I hope this isn't true because that was a fun part to me. It harkens back to a bygone era of air travel when you got a meal on your flight but this time on the train as the scenery rolls by while you eat.
If by offer you mean provide for free, they don’t provide dinner. However, I think they provided breakfast but I was asleep for it. Would be great if someone else could also chime in.
Another excellent documentary, Peter! I always love when your topics intersect with railroads. What a fascinating history has rolled across the rails with Auto Train! Thanks for bringing it to RUclips.
Lesson learned! Don't buy crappy GE's that will break down and cause derailments causing your railroad to go bankrupt. All jokes aside this was an amazing documentary and I enjoyed a lot. Amazing editing and commentary.
Damn. This was the best documentary I've ever seen on the Auto train and it's founder. That upbeat music you used of the time is in my computer file too. Very nice work.
Down in northern Mexico in a great canyon called Copper Canyon. There is a rail line which runs the entire 390mi of the canyon. Decades ago, the RR would allow people to drive their Rv onto flatcars & ride thru the canyon riding & eating & sleeping inside their Rvs. Sadly, for reasons unknown, this service was discontinued some years ago. It was a grand way to see this canyon. !
Wow, what an excellent video. I have been fascinated with the original Auto-Train since I first read about it the fall of 1971 when I was a tweener junior high school kid. I couldn't afford to buy them as a cash strapped teen, but I really wanted the Bachmann Auto-Train HO scale models of the ex-Santa Fe full length dome & ex-CN auto carrier car, also I think that maybe Athearn did an HO scale Auto-Train U-boat locomotive? Great look at the Eugene Garfield era Auto-Train, best thing I have seen on RUclips for yonks. I learned something new, I can't remember hearing about Auto-Train wanting to have a franchise in Mexico. Thanks again, fantastic video!
Thank you for a great video. While going to college in 1997 and 1998, I used to take the Auto-Train whichever way was going to be less expensive. In the summer months, it was cheaper to go south. In the winter, it was cheapter to go north. In my case, coming from the north, I'd get to Lorton by about 2pm so they could get my car loaded. We were underway by about 4 or 4:30pm. Dinner around 6pm, a movie at about 8pm, sleep in my coach seat, then breakfast around 7am or so. We'd arrive in Sanford by about 9am. The reverse trip was about the same and did it with a couple of college friends on one trip. Despite delays, I enjoyed it. I'd do it again today in a heartbeat.
The current Auto Train was my 1st long distance Amtrak train ride. Booking a roommette with a friend made it 100x better than driving all the way up from FL. Phone service does go in and out on the route, though.
Amazing video ! Always like rail passenger service and remember it well in the 50's and 60's here in Florida. Now we ride Amtrak, but still have not tried the auto-train I guess its time ! The upbeat music in the video reminded me of commercials of that era which made you want to get up and go. Would love to see more on Amtrak and the auto train.
Man this is interesting. I've never ridden on the Auto train myself, but then again I'm from Europe. I did however manage to ride one of its European brethren when I was 8. Specifically Deutsche Bahn's Hamburg-Lorrach Autozug in 2009, where me, my mom, and 3 others were travelling on a skiing holiday to northern Italy by car. And during so we'd drive from Denmark to the German city of Hamburg, load the car into the autozug carrier, and spend the night in a couchette car with a breakfast included, while waking up in Lorrach on the swiss border, ready to take our car out, and the same the other way. DB discontinued all their overnight trains, including the Autozug in 2015, but the service lives on, this time in the hands of the private operator BahnTouristikExpress, owned by RDC. They even had a short lived partnership with Flixbus where people through the flixbus booking system could book overnight couchette trips on the Autozug. Auto trains in Europe are nowhere near as big as they used to be, especially now with the revival of night trains being more focused on non car related trips, reaching for a younger demographic, but a few services are still around. Mostly holiday oriented services by the likes of BahnTouristikExpress and Urlaubs-Express, and a few other seasonal specialty trains like the Optima Express which runs all the way from Turkey to Austria. I have yet to ride a night train since then though, I'm only recently graduated, still looking for jobs, and have a family who doesn't exactly like travelling by rail at all. But I can hope I get the chance in the future. We currently only have 2 sleeper trains at all serving my country, both of which are seasonal. One to Berlin in Germany during the summer half of the year, and during the winter half a ski train once a week to Austria. But the latter is extremely well promoted, there are ads for it everywhere and it was a smash hit when introduced last year. But thats enough talking and going off the tracks.
I'm planning to use the AutoTrain this summer to take me and my motorcycle to VA so I can drive the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway down into NC. This docu makes me even more excited!
This is a phenomenal video, extremely well-done. I had heard about and was always intrigued by the original Auto Train, and you have captured their story in such fine detail. I never even knew about the fourth derailment, and information about the other three are hard to find. I also never knew about the Truck-Train concept. Please keep up the good work of these professional, informative and enjoyable videos. I will be checking back for more!
I think both Auto Train and Truck Train are perfect concepts if they can be offered for the right price. If it's significantly cheaper than flying, it could be a great deal for families looking to travel long distances without the cost of plane tickets and then renting a car at their destination. Truck Train could also significantly reduce the carbon footprint of road-based shipping, reduce fatigue-related crashes, reduce shipping costs, AND completely solve the "last mile" problem that trains sometimes have.
Red, While I agree with you on all points, I doubt that Truck Train will ever become a reality. This is due to the use of "shipping containers". Why put cargo on a truck, then put the truck on a train, when you can just put the cargo on a train, the on a waiting truck on the other end? Auto train will, most likely, keep going strong. In fact, if they'd offer more destinations, I'm sure that they'd get more business.
@@tarnishedknight730 Absolutely correct. Even before containerized shipping became the norm, semi trailers on trains (piggybacks) were a common sight. There is absolutely no reason for a train to transport cabs and drivers. That can be handled at either end.
@@tarnishedknight730 I think shipping containers aren't a good substitute, since it requires infrastructure and time to unload the trains at the destination. If a truck could just drive on at their "in" point, and then the train stops at numerous destinations popular for last-mile deliveries along the way, they can just drive off without needing to build any more infrastructure than just a ramp! They've got something similar in Europe to go between England and France and I think something like that would work well for cross-country truck traffic!
I have been a railfan for years, damn near as long as I can remember. There was just something facinating about Auto Train. I never got to ride it. I remember when I was in Jr high or maybe my sophomore year of high school ...begging my dad to take Auto Train. Sadly it never happened. This vid is very good, and Sir...Job well done. I learned alot from this vid. Little known facts that I did not know.
Several years ago my parents drove from their home outside DC to Florida for vacation. While there, my father had some significant medical issues. The AutoTrain allowed them to get back home with their car when he wasn't allowed to drive, and made sure they didn't find themselves hours from help if something went wrong. I love the AutoTrain!
Wow. This was such a great video. I’m glad I found it. I can’t believe that there was an actual profitable (albeit for a bit) passenger train service. I’m a big rail transport fan so this excited me.
I seriously don't understand why you don't have 10x the number of subs you do! Your videos are extremely well researched with great production, graphics and narration. Fantastic. You should reach out to the Nebula folks - your content is excellent!
I have a friend who takes the Auto-Train to Florida each winter for several weeks. He drives from the northern Ohio area get the train at the northern end. So, he is driving about one-third of the distance to Florida. It makes greater sense vs. renting a car if one plans to be in Florida for more than one week.
Never rode it myself, but have watched so often on video, that I was inspired to re-create the (modern Amtrak) Auto-Train as a model. Took me more than ten years to acquire the equipment, plus a couple of custom repaints and lighting upgrades to tame its ferocious amperage draw, but I was able to field the first video of an O-Gauge version of the Amtrak Auto-Train back in 2015. (search "auto train o gauge") Since then, nobody else has managed to match it that I know of, at least in O scale, which attests to the difficulty of assembling such a monster (in the form I ran it, the train minus the locomotives weighed nearly 48 pounds and reliably pulls 4.5 to 5.5 amps while running). Today I actually have enough equipment (16-17 Superliners and 20+ auto carriers) to run a car-for-car representation of a modern A-T consist. Only problem is that it would be longer than my house :D
Damn! Good job! I hit the tip jar after watching. Funny thing: you mentioned that the idea of trains carrying trucks along with their drivers was considered. Nope. Why bring the driver? That's now accomplished with intermodal containers, and piggy back rail cars that carry 53' trailers. The if you have the time (not always available for JIT freight) the rail is always cheaper than moving the freight via highway and driver. The idea of it being some sort of luxurious break for truckers, although delightful, would never be considered. Edit: Love your soundtrack!
What! As a Hungarian, I never heard about Auto Train - and I think I consume a lot of US content, so I was totally expecting this to fizzle out and be a sad story. What a complete surprise! Felt like a good movie. Now this is something I definitely want to try once I'm in the US someday :)
That was a fascinating story. Nice to know Amtrak carried on the service and it's still in operation. Need to check out the next time my wife wants to do a road trip to Kentucky to visit her cousin.
I live in Virginia and I routinely see this train come and go out of Lorton, which is the north terminus of the Auto Train. Always enjoyed watching it being assembled and roll out.
Such an interesting topic! I have heard of the Amtrak version, but didn’t know the story behind it. Your videos are always so informative and worth the wait! Your channel is seriously one of the best on RUclips. ❤️
I live in Northern Italy and there's a "Truck-Train" service that goes to Austria and Germany. It's called Rollende Landstraße (Rolling Highway), it hauls semi trucks and their drivers in order to ease the traffic on the road.
It's also faster, because the drivers can sleep on the train, so they can roll off the train and directly hit the road for 8 (10?) hours
From the video's description, it sounds like the proposed service would have worked the same way. I don't think the extreme low-floor flatcars would have been used though (obviously had not been developed yet, and North American loading gauge wouldn't have required them), and given the nature of the company's decisions, I doubt they would have thought of the "drive straight on-drive straight off" load/unload procedure employed by RoLa.
@@RailRide Some piggyback services of existing railroads used to allow cabs and even straight trucks to be added to the flatcars. It wouldn't surprise me if they allowed drivers in those trucks.
It's reducing in size/capacity though, with (especially larger companies as) users preferring to put the trailers on the train only and leaving the truck where its at.
@@Happymali10 There's something I noticed about piggyback services; When they started getting big in the mid 20th Century, most of the big railroad's had their own trucks that they were placed on trains. I was going to mention that I don't see too much of that anymore, but then I realized that CSX had plenty of containers. I'm pretty sure other railroad's have containers too.
Took the auto train down in like '86. My parents were thinking about moving down to Florida and my mom took my sister and I while she looked for trucking jobs for my dad. I remember sneaking away when my mom fell asleep and going up top in the observation deck. It wasn't long before I was found out and got drug back to our seats by my ear.
11 years ago we went to Disney and I suggested we take the auto train. It's like 24 hours total on the train from check in to check out, and my wife said we'll just drive because it's quicker and cheaper. So, I completed my 10 run in the semi, hopped in my old Tahoe and drove the 21 hours straight through. Sure, it's quicker, by like 4 hours, when driving down from Pennsylvania straight through, but I ended up sleeping 14 hours of that afternoon to the next morning away after being up for like 42 hours straight.
Next time, we're taking the auto train.
Wish there was an auto train from Utah to California, drive there once a year and I’d much rather be refreshed at other end than tired.
For 21h over 24h, it was franckly not a good choice to drive.
But I don't know the price difference.
On the other hand, if it's like the video shows, it's not just a train, you can eat too, this have to be taken in account too.
And the fact that you arrive fresh, of course.
@My Little Parody cost and time wise, you might as well take the auto train. I drove straight through when I was 30 and used running hard like that as a truck driver. But, at 40 and not having run that hard in many years, I'd stop halfway. Which adds a lot more time and expense.
@@pohldriver That's what I was thinking.
Well, I always enjoyed the travel as much as the destination, so it makes sense to me, but I know some can't or won't think like that.
Hope you will be able to enjoy the auto train next time then!
I had no idea there was a separate "Auto-Train" company. I always just thought the original Auto-Train livery was a special livery Amtrak used during the service's earlier years. Thank you for this very interesting documentary!
I found out it by. By the model trains company name Bachman, who made a train set on the auto train
Per the documentary and Amtrak's legal dispute with Auto-Train, the original private sector Auto-Train was incorporated in 1969, when the beginnings of what would be Amtrak were discussed in Congressional hearings and wouldn't become official til October 1970.
I took the original auto-train in 1974 when I was eight years old. It was fascinating and really a lot of fun. I took it again as Amtrak Auto Train in 1987 and it was just as I’d remembered it. Personally it’s one of those things you really should experience at least once.
@@kcindc5539 Glad to hear that Amtrak kept the feel! I thought it would have been a lot more boring.
this is only for DC to Florida right or did they address more locations? like NYC to la California or Denver?
I took the auto train once to get from my college at Daytona Beach back to my folks in Northern Virginia. Most of the passengers were old retiree types. I definitely appreciated the ability to have better food than airline or gas station food though.
Did you go to embry-riddle?
My family rode this when it was the Auto-Train a few times back in the 70's. We lived in Florida and took driving vacations every summer throughout the eastern United States. The Auto-Train seemed like a great way to save time and even money for the first part of our trip. We could only afford coach, so I never slept much (couldn't sleep unless I was horizontal), but I enjoyed looking out from the bubble cars.
I think our first trip was in '76 because when we got off in Lorton, we immediately drove to the new National Air & Space museum and that's when it first opened. We parked in the underground parking lot which I believe is now the gift shop.
We only used the Auto-Train for the trip back once; on July 4th from Louisville (don't recall the year). Because it was July 4th, the train was practically empty. Not a lot of people to talk to, but plenty of room for us kids to explore.
I don't remember ever hearing about the accidents that took place. We eventually went back to driving both ways because there were places (and family) along the way that we wanted to visit. I am very glad to see the service is still going (albeit for Amtrak and not its own company).
"...and then I voted for Reagan, Bush, deregulation & War, but I have no idea why the USA has shitty transport."
@@kevinloving3141So you're a Putin Pal, the kind that end Democracy with Conspiracy. Slava Ukraina.
Pssst: You missed it! You could indeed sleep horizontal in coach on Auto-Train if you picked the right coach! Really! At least some of the cars with the shorter dome portions had a 2-1 seating configuration. In place of the rightmost window seat, a carpeted shelf ran along the length of the mini-dome. And if your family booked 3 consecutive single seats alongside that shelf, BINGO, there's your reasonable-width horizontal sleeping surface, LOOKING UP AT THE STARS. :-) :-) It could realistically fit two kids, one facing forward and one backward, with a bit of fighting over leg placement. And yes, the Auto-Train was fantastic for kids who liked to explore.
This is, single-handedly, one of the best documentaries I've seen. The editing job, selection of footage, commentary and last, but not least, the fantastic intro - all fits just perfect. This is a job well-done, thank you Peter!
hes right the quality is there thank u man!
My very thoughts, exactly. It's a refreshing experience to not have to roll your eyes at AI-generated graphics, images and worst of all, NARRATION.
I recently took the auto train when I moved to DC. It was a very good experience. Letting me fill the car with moving supplies have me a lot more space than flying. Surprisingly, we left a few minutes early and arrived a whopping 45 minutes ahead of schedule.The seats are really comfortable, too. The best part was the cafe car. I’m not exactly an extrovert but when you share tables with strangers you just get to start talking. And it gets pretty rowdy! The older couple I was with even bought me a beer.
Those are the best documentaries on RUclips in my opinion. Great graphics, great story telling, very interesting topics very well explained. So glad RUclips recommended me your channel back when you made your first videos.
Even though I'm a bit of a train nerd myself, and know the current Amtrak Auto Trains, I had no clue about this company, and I was hooked up the whole way through
It would have been interesting to see the Truck-Train concept, although I realise some variations of that very concept have been realised, both in the US and in the EU, and they are a fundamental part of Europe's international travel.
This was definitely a professional production, and learning that a passenger railroad managed to thrive during the dark ages was a mindblowing experience. Fascinating work!
I’ve been working on the Auto Train(Amtrak) for the past 29 years. It’s surprising how popular and busy it has become.
I must commend you on this video. Probably one of the best! Your production value is excellent. Thanks for posting.
You must be doing something right, then. According to Wikipedia, the auto train hit a new record in passengers last year.
Very good history. I didn't realize the service lasted until 1981. As a teenager in 1973, I rode the private Auto-Train with my aunt and uncle, setting off a lifetime interest in riding trains. As a young family, we rode the Amtrak Auto-Train in 2001. It's a shame the concept has never been employed elsewhere in the U.S.
The Eurotunnel Shuttle that operates between Kent, UK and France is pretty successful too.
The Planes Trains and Automobiles clips were gold. Favorite parts of that movie
"If the project is economically feasible, there is no reason why private industry cannot proceed with it." How I wish government had taken this attitude with the airline and trucking industries, allowing the railroads' two fiercest competitors to foot the entire bill for building and maintaining the infrastructure necessary for the former to operate. Had such occurred, there might be more passenger train service around the United States than what exists today. Instead, railroads were taxed to the hilt, helping to subsidize their competition through interstate highway and airline terminal construction/upkeep.
If only the original Auto-Train had focused on its original business mission... I wonder to how many other failed businesses that statement can be applied?
Great job once again, Mr. Dibble. Thanks for putting this presentation together.
Railroad taxes killed passenger rail and hold back Amtrak
The Interstate highway system was built so the military could deploy quickly in times of war. It wasn't built to help the trucking industry.
Airports in the US were built by city and state governments, but airports elsewhere, e.g. Europe, are built and operated privately, and air travel is still massively popular in those areas
The vast majority of people prefer driving over public transport. Having highways built by trucking companies for private use wouldn't have diminished the public's desire to drive personal automobiles, and a separate system would have ended up being built anyway.
@@qjtvaddict This is complete nonsense. Freight railroads are a multi-billion dollar business, and pay taxes without affecting their profitability. Passenger rail wasn't profitable to begin with. Taxes had nothing to do with it.
@@MirzaAhmed89 The interstate highway system may not have been built specifically for the trucking industry but that industry certainly benefits from the former's existence. While trucking companies do pay taxes and some of that money goes to maintaining the highways, NONE of the revenue is given over to the railroads to help them maintain the latter's rights-of-way. The fact remains: railroads are unjustly forced to subsidize their trucking competitors. The same argument applies to the airline industry here in United States, where Auto Train operates. Leave Europe out of the discussion, that continent's policies are irrelevant.
American citizens may have chosen the personal automobile as the preferred method of travel but it's very likely that if the railroad-subsidized interstate highway system didn't exist, long-distance travelers would not be using their cars for such travel to the extent they have and still do. And if the airline industry wasn't subsidized to the extent that it is--again, in part by the railroads--it wouldn't exist at all, as ticket prices for generating the requisite funds to maintain terminal facilities would price the airlines right out of the travel market.
@@MirzaAhmed89 'airports elsewhere, e.g. Europe, are built and operated privately, 'are you sure. ?I think they are regarded as part of the public sector and. built and run accordingly'
We’ve needed this service from SoCal to Vegas for decades!!!
I came back to this excellently researched video to find that my thumbs up was gone. I am not sure if it was re-uploaded or not, but I’m watching again to be sure.
One of the best documentaries on one the most successful trains thanks to Garfield we now have a train to eliminate the awful drive from the north to the south in one of the most comfortable ways possible
This is gonna be a good one. I’ve always liked the Auto Train in both its original and Amtrak forms, and having Mr. Dibble cover it will be a treat.
Comment after finishing the video:
As is usual of your videos Mr. Dibble, this one was of the highest possible quality, extremely professional, and most certainly an enlightening video. I learned a few things that I didn’t know about the Auto Train upon watching this video, and its most certainly one I’ll share as a result.
Also, to doubt one of the Claytor brothers is to be a fool. If anyone could have made the Auto Train a success once again, it was most certainly the man who helped start the internationally renowned 20th Century Steam Program of the Southern Railway that then became the Norfolk Southern. Long live the legacy of the Claytors. And may the Auto Train be as long lived as well.
the quality of videos you put out - unbelievable. As a librarian of all finer things of YT, this goes to the video library of Congress
Very interesting, thank you! I have close friends who rode the Auto Train to Florida this week. I will recommend this video to them.
The other day, the Auto Train passed through Ashland, Virginia and was picked up by the webcam there -it was especially long, and I realized why. The car owners were not tourists - They are "snow birds" who have winter homes in Florida, and are "migrating down for the winter" . :)
I've read that some jam pack their vehicles with stuff, including TVs, so they can essentially move instead of buying second items
@@rosecitytransit Oh, you bet! That's one of the attractions of Auto-Train. You can PACK your car with as much stuff as will fit around your family in the car, and cart it all down for no extra cost.
I knew I wouldn't have to scroll far to see someone mention Ashland in this video. My parents have to cross the tracks to get into town and frequently see the Auto Train.
My wife and I look forward to your new videos. Your subject matter, presentation and information, really engages your viewers. You are a real artist!
Ya know these long videos are what television should be like. Shame it's hard to find good long videos on youtube.
My parents always used Motorail (the British equivalent) in the 1970s when going to visit my mother's parents in southern England. We lived (and live) in Scotland, so it was about five hundred miles. Generally we had a sleeper bunk and didn't notice the journey. The hardware was cruder: no closed freight cars, just open flatbed trucks with the vehicles chained down on top of them. I never heard of any accidents, though.
Well done video. Perhaps it is a comment on the management of Auto Train (in both incarnations) that I had never even heard of theses trains until this video. Not not ridden it, but not even heard of it!
Ridden Auto train numerous times...a great service. Why it's not offered from east to west coast is beyond me. It saves mileage on one's car, and is a super fun experience.
Because of the freight railroads. They don’t want a 3/4-mile long passenger train that could impede on their service. Remember, Amtrak doesn’t own any tracks out there. In addition, I think the track quality is just worse so there may be issues with running the auto cars on them. It is up to the freight rail road who owns the track to update them and they won’t spend the money if it doesn’t help their operations.
@@pizzajona Yeah but the auto train also uses freight cars for the automobiles, doesn't it?
@@KiranMachiraju id assume they are some sort of freight car, but I don’t see your point
@@pizzajona CSX owns the track the Auto train that runs from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL
Yeah I agree
This might be my favorite video on RUclips. Excellent job telling the story of a truly fascinating enterprise.
Fantastic job. I’m in my 30s and discovered the auto train ten years ago and have ridden it multiple times. I even used it to bring my muscle car to Florida with no problems. There’s definitely a different level of service on the train as well but after watching your documentary it has definitely been cut down to control costs but it’s definitely better than riding the silver meteor bc it’s so much more comfortable
Awesome, another Peter Dibble video to relax with over my weekend 😊
Great documentary, I am taking the Auto train down to Florida in a couple of days, while the drive isn't bad, I think this will be better than the 10 or so hours down I-95 with the traffic.
Thank you Peter for sharing, again you knock it out of the park and then some. Well done.
So much excellent vintage footage in this video! I was transported back to the 70s...
Incredible video! This has to be one of your greatest videos yet. Never knew that Garfield worked on other Floridian transit projects. Another little detail I find interesting is that the original concept was brought up by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, a privately owned class 1 that was about to merge with their rival, Seaboard Air Lines. I wonder if the ACL or other private railroads and their passenger services would still be around today had they operated the Auto Train.
Thanks! From what I saw, the government was considering to partner with either ACL or SAL, but ACL was selected because their route had the clearance for the double-height trains. Though there was an assumption that once those two companies merged, Seaboard Coast Line would be the actual operator. It's interesting that while Seaboard didn't end up taking on the project entirely, Auto-Train used their route and crews under contract.
Always found the Auto Train an interesting concept.
Never have ridden it but, I've heard it's a lot of fun.
I think more long distance trains should have something like it.
Once again, another fantastic video!
I know at least four people that take it from where they live to Sanford Florida every autumn to get away from the cold
I wish cruise ships would allow you to take a motorcycle aboard with you.
I am more likely to take repositioning cruises and then spend a month cruising around the destination continent / country when I get there before coming back, so I would really like this. Then again, it would also be nice if the cruise lines would go back to being a means of transportation between places instead of most of their cruises just coming back to the same port from which they left.
One of the best documentaries ever produced. Great narration, easily understood, great video. I rode the original version and the Amtrak version. Mr. Garfield was a true pioneer and visionary.
I am glad you upload when you do. Nice to come home from the museum I work at, put a deep dish pizza in the oven, and settle down to watch your videos over a nice, premium pizza, especially a day when the old Lionel trains I manage were running in fine fettle.
Back in the 90s, my sister and I took the auto train to ease our annual drive from Boston to Florida. It was a novel experience and the dinner was quite good, but the sleeping accommodations were cramped and coffin-like, and the lurching of the train made sleeping difficult. It was New Years Eve, but the average age on the train was perhaps 80 and everyone was in bed by 9:00. We didn't repeat the experience because (1) the drive south of DC was the easiest part of the trip, (2) it wasn't particularly pleasant, and (3) it was expensive. A few years later we started flying instead of driving.
Excellent documentary! Wonderful, thank you.
Transporting people and their cars naturally means a lot of deadweight, or in other words, you can transport fewer people on the same train length. Demand is also seasonally different, which makes it difficult to earn money year-round.
Deutsche Bundesbahn used to have a number of automobile trains (both auto carriers attached to regular passenger trains and trains only for people bringing along their cars) in the 1970s/1980s. In 1999 a separate subsidiary "DB AutoZug" was formed, but only operated until 2013. Deutsche Bahn Fernverkehr decided to focus on high speed daytime trains (ICE, IC) and gave up their night and auto trains completely. Many auto terminals were abandoned.
Meanwhile Österreichische Bundesbahnen also started regular car transportation on both day and night trains. That service was reduced some and now it's just a couple nightjet services offering to transport cars overnight both within Austria (Feldkirch to Wien and Graz) and internationally (Wien to Hamburg, Innsbruck to Düsseldorf, seasonally Wien to Livorno). It's just a niche within a niche (night trains are only used by few people) and I'm not sure whether there's any plan for expansion of services.
Within Germany there is now a privately operated overnight train by RDC/BTE Hamburg to Lörrach transporting automobiles on ex-DB rolling stock, and a couple of seasonal "UrlaubsExpress" connections by Train4you/MSM.
So auto trains are probably beyond their peak but they are still interesting to some people. Wealthy elderly travellers who want their car at the destination were mentioned in the video. In addition it's lovers of rare and vintage cars who want to move their cars from one place to another without having to drive them all day down the highway. These European auto trains also take motorbikes along.
That music at the end was perfect for this video!
I rode the Auto-Train last year for the first time. Southbound leg it was smooth as silk, left and arrived on time, and my car was one of the first off the train. The dining car was closed, though, so even first-class (sleeper) passengers got box meals. That was my only complaint. Northbound was a different story. Freight trains got in the way a few times and so we arrived pretty late in Lorton, and my car was among the last off the train to boot. Again, no dining car service, and coach passengers had to eat from the snack bar or bring their own bag lunch. So some good, some bad. As I write this, it's been a few days since Auto-Train was involved in an incident where a freight train derailment held them up for 36 hours, which had passengers actually calling the cops to report a hostage situation. Amtrak's not to blame for all of that, but they could've handled it better. Overall, Amtrak does a pretty good job with courtesy and service, and these situations put their employees into tough situations dealing with justifiably irate passengers. Even so, I may use the Auto-Train again in the near future. I like driving, but I also like relaxing and sleeping, so there is that. Eugene Garfield sounds like a really interesting guy. Won some, lost some, but had the guts to take a chance.
Love your zippy intro animation! Whole video was very well done.
Thank you so much for this wonderful video!
In France, we had "Train auto couchettes" for some time (well, 60ish years), but it's now discontinued since 2019.
On the other hand, distances are shorter in France, and the TGV allows to travel fast during the day.
But still, I find it stupid that they suppressed the service. Couldn't they liven it instead of killing it?
Auto train is a unparalleled service that has been devastated in the past by severe technical flaws. They can be avoided even now if the train companies are willing to do away with those severe technical incompatibilities between the different train compartments which had been the cause of the accidents ...
. Or they could just stick to the minimum speeds if they still wish to use freight train rolling stock in such projects. Anyhow, nothing short of a team of great thinkers can revive this excellent project.
Thank you for making this! People need to learn more about the original auto-train. It really was a amazing venture.
Classy intro. I loved the period themed animation graphics.
This is a great video and documentary. Living in the D.C. metro, I've taken the Auto Train several times when taking my family of five on Vacation to Orlando. I found it a more cost effective means when compared to purchasing five plane tickets and renting a large SUV, plus it provided a great experience. The seats were large and comfortable (think business class on an airplane) and there was wifi and outlets at every seat. At that time, you received a hot dinner within a few hours of departure and a hot breakfast service just prior to arrival. They had a movie car, a lounge car, and a quiet car as well sleeper cars if you purchased one. Each time I rode the Auto Train, we departed on time and arrived about an hour earlier than projected. I haven't used the service since pre-covid, but it's come to my attention that they no longer offer meals on the trip. I hope this isn't true because that was a fun part to me. It harkens back to a bygone era of air travel when you got a meal on your flight but this time on the train as the scenery rolls by while you eat.
If by offer you mean provide for free, they don’t provide dinner. However, I think they provided breakfast but I was asleep for it. Would be great if someone else could also chime in.
@@pizzajona yes, I meant provide dinner with your purchase.
I learn so much from all of your videos. I had no idea this existed. Probably because I’m on the west coast.
So well produced!
One of the best documentaries that I have ever seen on RUclips! Thank you to made and sharing it with us
Thank you for telling this story! This is a fantastic documentary!
Once again your videos are high quality. Cheers mate.
Another excellent documentary, Peter! I always love when your topics intersect with railroads. What a fascinating history has rolled across the rails with Auto Train! Thanks for bringing it to RUclips.
Lesson learned! Don't buy crappy GE's that will break down and cause derailments causing your railroad to go bankrupt. All jokes aside this was an amazing documentary and I enjoyed a lot. Amazing editing and commentary.
Incredible video Peter. You are my favorite documentary style video maker. Great work.
An excellent production! Defiantly had a professional feeling!
I took the Amtrak Auto Train twice in the 80s, when I was a kid. It was a great experience.
Damn. This was the best documentary I've ever seen on the Auto train and it's founder. That upbeat music you used of the time is in my computer file too. Very nice work.
Down in northern Mexico in a great canyon called Copper Canyon. There is
a rail line which runs the entire 390mi of the canyon. Decades ago, the RR
would allow people to drive their Rv onto flatcars & ride thru the canyon
riding & eating & sleeping inside their Rvs.
Sadly, for reasons unknown, this service was discontinued some years ago.
It was a grand way to see this canyon.
!
Peter always puts out Emmy award quality content . Perfect mix of history and visual story telling .
Wow, what an excellent video. I have been fascinated with the original Auto-Train since I first read about it the fall of 1971 when I was a tweener junior high school kid. I couldn't afford to buy them as a cash strapped teen, but I really wanted the Bachmann Auto-Train HO scale models of the ex-Santa Fe full length dome & ex-CN auto carrier car, also I think that maybe Athearn did an HO scale Auto-Train U-boat locomotive? Great look at the Eugene Garfield era Auto-Train, best thing I have seen on RUclips for yonks. I learned something new, I can't remember hearing about Auto-Train wanting to have a franchise in Mexico. Thanks again, fantastic video!
Incredible work on this! What a great historical essay, and so incredibly well researched and made!
Thank you for a great video. While going to college in 1997 and 1998, I used to take the Auto-Train whichever way was going to be less expensive. In the summer months, it was cheaper to go south. In the winter, it was cheapter to go north. In my case, coming from the north, I'd get to Lorton by about 2pm so they could get my car loaded. We were underway by about 4 or 4:30pm. Dinner around 6pm, a movie at about 8pm, sleep in my coach seat, then breakfast around 7am or so. We'd arrive in Sanford by about 9am. The reverse trip was about the same and did it with a couple of college friends on one trip. Despite delays, I enjoyed it. I'd do it again today in a heartbeat.
It’s nice that the people of Amtrak, who were a competitor to Auto Train, came in and took over the concept.
The current Auto Train was my 1st long distance Amtrak train ride. Booking a roommette with a friend made it 100x better than driving all the way up from FL. Phone service does go in and out on the route, though.
I just happened on this video. It's fantastic! I love the 60s sound-track and the excellent production qualities.
Aside from the very interesting story of Auto Train you've told, your production quality is astounding! Thank you a lot! Greetings from Germany
Great video! Really fascinating story. I really love the paint scheme on the original Auto-Train.
Amazing video ! Always like rail passenger service and remember it well in the 50's and 60's here in Florida. Now we ride Amtrak, but still have not tried the auto-train I guess its time ! The upbeat music in the video reminded me of commercials of that era which made you want to get up and go. Would love to see more on Amtrak and the auto train.
Man this is interesting. I've never ridden on the Auto train myself, but then again I'm from Europe. I did however manage to ride one of its European brethren when I was 8. Specifically Deutsche Bahn's Hamburg-Lorrach Autozug in 2009, where me, my mom, and 3 others were travelling on a skiing holiday to northern Italy by car. And during so we'd drive from Denmark to the German city of Hamburg, load the car into the autozug carrier, and spend the night in a couchette car with a breakfast included, while waking up in Lorrach on the swiss border, ready to take our car out, and the same the other way.
DB discontinued all their overnight trains, including the Autozug in 2015, but the service lives on, this time in the hands of the private operator BahnTouristikExpress, owned by RDC. They even had a short lived partnership with Flixbus where people through the flixbus booking system could book overnight couchette trips on the Autozug.
Auto trains in Europe are nowhere near as big as they used to be, especially now with the revival of night trains being more focused on non car related trips, reaching for a younger demographic, but a few services are still around. Mostly holiday oriented services by the likes of BahnTouristikExpress and Urlaubs-Express, and a few other seasonal specialty trains like the Optima Express which runs all the way from Turkey to Austria.
I have yet to ride a night train since then though, I'm only recently graduated, still looking for jobs, and have a family who doesn't exactly like travelling by rail at all. But I can hope I get the chance in the future. We currently only have 2 sleeper trains at all serving my country, both of which are seasonal. One to Berlin in Germany during the summer half of the year, and during the winter half a ski train once a week to Austria. But the latter is extremely well promoted, there are ads for it everywhere and it was a smash hit when introduced last year.
But thats enough talking and going off the tracks.
I'm planning to use the AutoTrain this summer to take me and my motorcycle to VA so I can drive the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway down into NC. This docu makes me even more excited!
Why is the algorithm just now showing me your stuff? Upvoted and subbed with plans to share!
Well that was a fabulous topic and production. Love the retro music too!
The intro is probably the best into I have seen, I love it. Great video too
I never knew that i wanted videos like this. But youre an amazing documentary director
This is a phenomenal video, extremely well-done. I had heard about and was always intrigued by the original Auto Train, and you have captured their story in such fine detail. I never even knew about the fourth derailment, and information about the other three are hard to find. I also never knew about the Truck-Train concept. Please keep up the good work of these professional, informative and enjoyable videos. I will be checking back for more!
So wonderfully done Sir. Congrats on such a very professional and educational film!! Bravo Bravo!
Great video! I didn't even realize it took me 40 minutes to watch, because I enjoyed it so much.
I think both Auto Train and Truck Train are perfect concepts if they can be offered for the right price. If it's significantly cheaper than flying, it could be a great deal for families looking to travel long distances without the cost of plane tickets and then renting a car at their destination. Truck Train could also significantly reduce the carbon footprint of road-based shipping, reduce fatigue-related crashes, reduce shipping costs, AND completely solve the "last mile" problem that trains sometimes have.
Red,
While I agree with you on all points, I doubt that Truck Train will ever become a reality. This is due to the use of "shipping containers". Why put cargo on a truck, then put the truck on a train, when you can just put the cargo on a train, the on a waiting truck on the other end?
Auto train will, most likely, keep going strong. In fact, if they'd offer more destinations, I'm sure that they'd get more business.
@@tarnishedknight730 Absolutely correct. Even before containerized shipping became the norm, semi trailers on trains (piggybacks) were a common sight. There is absolutely no reason for a train to transport cabs and drivers. That can be handled at either end.
I would sure like that to happen in the USA especially on the west coast of the United States it would change the way people travel for once
@@tarnishedknight730 I think shipping containers aren't a good substitute, since it requires infrastructure and time to unload the trains at the destination. If a truck could just drive on at their "in" point, and then the train stops at numerous destinations popular for last-mile deliveries along the way, they can just drive off without needing to build any more infrastructure than just a ramp! They've got something similar in Europe to go between England and France and I think something like that would work well for cross-country truck traffic!
With the popularity of electric cars growing, now might be the right time to expand.
Literally going on auto train tomorrow, love this video
I have been a railfan for years, damn near as long as I can remember. There was just something facinating about Auto Train. I never got to ride it. I remember when I was in Jr high or maybe my sophomore year of high school ...begging my dad to take Auto Train. Sadly it never happened. This vid is very good, and Sir...Job well done. I learned alot from this vid. Little known facts that I did not know.
A well produced film is a pleasure to watch, thanks.
what an INTRO holy moly. instant subbed.
Well done! There's big budget docus on tv that aren't nearly as well put together. Very glad I found your channel!
Several years ago my parents drove from their home outside DC to Florida for vacation. While there, my father had some significant medical issues. The AutoTrain allowed them to get back home with their car when he wasn't allowed to drive, and made sure they didn't find themselves hours from help if something went wrong. I love the AutoTrain!
I remember taking a trip on the (pre-Amtrak)Auto Train...my seat was in one of the dome passenger cars.it was a great trip.
Always a joy when you post a new vid! Love your work
Wow. This was such a great video. I’m glad I found it. I can’t believe that there was an actual profitable (albeit for a bit) passenger train service. I’m a big rail transport fan so this excited me.
i was literally looking at this last week, thank you so much for this video
I seriously don't understand why you don't have 10x the number of subs you do! Your videos are extremely well researched with great production, graphics and narration. Fantastic. You should reach out to the Nebula folks - your content is excellent!
I have a friend who takes the Auto-Train to Florida each winter for several weeks. He drives from the northern Ohio area get the train at the northern end. So, he is driving about one-third of the distance to Florida. It makes greater sense vs. renting a car if one plans to be in Florida for more than one week.
Never rode it myself, but have watched so often on video, that I was inspired to re-create the (modern Amtrak) Auto-Train as a model. Took me more than ten years to acquire the equipment, plus a couple of custom repaints and lighting upgrades to tame its ferocious amperage draw, but I was able to field the first video of an O-Gauge version of the Amtrak Auto-Train back in 2015. (search "auto train o gauge")
Since then, nobody else has managed to match it that I know of, at least in O scale, which attests to the difficulty of assembling such a monster (in the form I ran it, the train minus the locomotives weighed nearly 48 pounds and reliably pulls 4.5 to 5.5 amps while running). Today I actually have enough equipment (16-17 Superliners and 20+ auto carriers) to run a car-for-car representation of a modern A-T consist. Only problem is that it would be longer than my house :D
Awesome video! I remember the Autotrain from its first incarnation and how it brought jobs and tourist dollars to Sanford.
Thanks for the memories....
Learn something new every day.
Damn! Good job! I hit the tip jar after watching. Funny thing: you mentioned that the idea of trains carrying trucks along with their drivers was considered. Nope. Why bring the driver? That's now accomplished with intermodal containers, and piggy back rail cars that carry 53' trailers. The if you have the time (not always available for JIT freight) the rail is always cheaper than moving the freight via highway and driver. The idea of it being some sort of luxurious break for truckers, although delightful, would never be considered. Edit: Love your soundtrack!
Excellent piece, subbed and billed, thank you very much!
Another top notch documentary video. Keep 'em coming!
What! As a Hungarian, I never heard about Auto Train - and I think I consume a lot of US content, so I was totally expecting this to fizzle out and be a sad story.
What a complete surprise! Felt like a good movie.
Now this is something I definitely want to try once I'm in the US someday :)
That was a fascinating story. Nice to know Amtrak carried on the service and it's still in operation. Need to check out the next time my wife wants to do a road trip to Kentucky to visit her cousin.
Fascinating and well done video!
I live in Virginia and I routinely see this train come and go out of Lorton, which is the north terminus of the Auto Train. Always enjoyed watching it being assembled and roll out.
Thank you for such a fantastic, insightful and fascinating documentary! 40 minutes passed by so easily! I'm a subscriber now!
The music for this is great. It reminds me of Burt Bacharach music.
Such an interesting topic! I have heard of the Amtrak version, but didn’t know the story behind it. Your videos are always so informative and worth the wait! Your channel is seriously one of the best on RUclips. ❤️