I'm am Amtrak employee. I have taken the Auto Train as a part of my training for Amtrak's Call Center 6.5 years ago. In less than two weeks my family and I willbe taking it as a passengers all for the time. You are very accurate with your descriptions and details. The only flaw I saw was about taking your belongings. All passengers just need to take out is what thay need for the travel. Passengers can pack the car as much as they like as long as there is a clear view of the back window/ rear view mirror. Thank you for your well detailed review!
Hi, I retired from Amtrak track dept in last November after 24 years and am taking the Auto Train in Sept. Have taken it 2 times before am looking forward to the trip!
Fascinating introduction to a one of a kind train. I used to live in South Carolina when this train was introduced back in 1983...in fact, not far from Florence where the train stops to replenish its water supply. Heard so many things about how long this train is, but only after watching this report did I appreciate how massive a train and innovative a service this is. Looking forward to the next installment!
Small correction, you do not need to take all of your belongings out of the car. Only the ones you’ll need for the overnight on the train. Everything else can stay locked up in your trunk of wherever you feel safe to leave them in your car. Great train!
We've taken the auto train three times and absolutely love it! Nice having your car and as much luggage as you can fit in your car. Never had anything touched or stolen.
It's always beautiful to ride with your car in this trains. Back to Europe, I'm Italian but I live in UK, so once per year during holiday I usually go back to Italy to visit my relatives. And usually do by car. So everytime I have to take the underwater train in Dover, to Calais, it's always beautiful!! I think it's even part of the whole trip!!
@@toukyoumaster8734 Too bad there isn't any high speed trains to Tel Aviv or Istanbul or Athens or Moscow from London.... Ten hours for a overnight sleeper train from Sofia to Bucharest is NOT fast.... That five hour flight from London to Tel Aviv is shorter than the six hour flight from Boston to Los Angeles, or five and a half hour flight from New York City to Los Angeles... America is much larger in size than most Europeans think off hand... And there won't be any high speed rail from New York City to Miami without any high speed rail in California... Forget it... No one city dominates America and its politics like London does the UK, Paris does France, etc... The main reason why there isn't much high speed rail infrastructure built in the USA...
Nice video! As a railfan who has fanned and has been on Auto Train, this video is impressive. The one thing I wish is for Amtrak to expand the Auto Train Service. Like NY to Chicago or Chicago to LA. Chicago to New Orleans etc. The price is a little bit expensive but that would be the greatest! No car rentals!
It would be awesome to load your car and board the train in chicago and arrive in LA or Seattle and have your personal car to drive wherever from there. The facilities to do it would t take much space and, you could probably connect chicago LA, florida and virgina and have a coast to coast service
Writing this comment while on board the Auto Train from Sanford to Lorton. Travelled in the roomette from Lorton to Sanford and in coach on the return. Good experience and excellent value. Beats driving. Also, the train driver change takes place at Florence, South Carolina around midnight or so. I was awake and watched that happen. The train staff on the other hand, works through the entire trip. Thanks for sharing.
The long stops deal with crew changes, as well as fueling, watering, and dumping the brown and black tanks. The locos drink fuel, and people consume water. And believe it or not people shit and pee...
I took this same trip in the early seventys with my mom. It was one of the best trips we took as a kid started at point A and went to point B witch was Sanford FL 👍 . 🚂💨
This video is wonderfully informative! I especially LOVE that there is no music soundtrack so we can actually get a true sense of the experience. It's great!
I took the Autotrain southbound in January and was quite impressed with the service. Apparently lots of snowbirds use it bc they need their cars the several months they’re in Florida for the winter. I’m looking forward to your review of the roomette as I only had a seat going to Florida & struggled to get 5 hours of sleep. Planning to spend the extra $200-ish when I go back north.
Merci d'avoir fait cette vidéo. It not only spared me from having to drive 17 hours from VA to FL,, but provided valuable information and feedback on the various amenities and services available on the Auto Train. As a result, I was better equipped when booking my reservation, anticipate check in procedures and board on time. As you pointed out, all passengers were on the train about 1 hour prior to departure so they could attach the cars holding the vehicles. Both in Reston and Sanford, I was so impressed with the efficiency of staff. The best part was being able to sit back, relax and enjoy the trip. Over the course of decades, I've been a daily NYC subway and LIRR commuter, taken Amtrak's Empire service from Albany NY to NYC and even the Paris metro (love it!) but THIS was by far the most enjoyable.
10:27 The Capitol Limited (Chicago to Washington DC) Also uses Superliner Equipment. Other eastern long-distance trains don't use Superliner Equipment because they terminate at New York Penn Station and the Superliners wouldn't be able to fit under the tunnels. All tracks Used By Amtrak use Standard Gauge. Therefore they use Viewliners on the Lake Shore Limited (Chicago to New York/Boston), Crescent (New Orleans to New York), Cardinal (New York to Chicago via DC) and the Sliver Services (New York to Miami/Tampa). You should definitely try one of the Viewliner Roomettes someday! Nice video!
He referenced "loading gauge" in the video which is different from rail gauge. Rail gauge is the measurement between the rails. Loading gauge is the distance from the center of the track to obstacles along the right of way (platforms, signals, bridges, tunnels and other structures). It's why you can't run N American rolling stock in England, even though they share the same rail gauge. You wouldn't get very far before you would start hitting stuff.
@@GerOffYeWeeBastard These are the same width as freight autoracks therefore can run on just about any major railroad line in North America. The height is the issue inside stations on the eastern seaboard
I really enjoy travelling by train, and Amtrak is not a bad way to go. I do wish we would improve & expand our passenger rail service here. Thanks for the video.....and nice watch.
Yes, or at least bring back full dining car service as pre-2019. Death to the long distance trains by a thousand cuts it seems. I hope the LD trains survive.
@@Roboboy Not nearly a night long journey crossing the Channel... Similar concept though, the Auto Train is basically a land/tunnel ferry instead of a ship ferry...
I did this same trip back in 1990 when I moved down to Miami for school. Back then, I think the cost was around $500 including the bedroom (no roomettes available). I remember I had to sign a damage waiver because my car was lower than what they usually allow and they didn't want to be blamed if any damage happened to my car while in transit. It was my first experience on Amtrak. It was an awesome experience since I got to lay in a real bed and watch the world go by. After a good night's sleep, I was well rested when my car and I disembarked from the train. Definitely beats actually driving from VA to FL.... and less miles put on the odometer.
Very nice first part of the trip report that method of loading trains into big containers to be attached to trains is quite unique and the outside footage of the train the train is so long it looks like a passanger and a freight train in one 😊 can't wait to see other 2 parts
At 14:42, the footage provides a truly different/unique definition of the term "train tunnel". I remember the fanfare over the inaugural run of the "Auto Train"; my family had a vacation home further south, in Homestead, and four rental properties in Vero Beach and Melbourne. A two week vacation rental included Auto Train service for a family of four, or a three-day excursion which visited MLB Baseball's 'Grapefruit League' training camps. @Simply Railway; Many thanks for uploading this nicely accomplished video, which 'recharged' some great old memories!!
Just completed my 7th trip on Auto Train and always like the trip I've had a roommate 4 times and Coach three times-- the value is excellent-- this trip from Sanford to Lorton was $440 including to coach seats and my car that was less than it cost us to drive down two weeks earlier and got us home in two days rather than the three days it took us to drive there--
The big reason why very few routes East of Chicago use Superliners more has to do with the height of the tunnels heading into/from New York, since most long distance Eastern routes originate from Penn Station.
I am so glad you posted this because I had always wondered how the Auto Train worked. We're on the west coast so we don't have that. So far I have ridden on the San Joaquins (which is my home train), the Capitol Corridor, the California Zephyr, the Coast Starlight, the Pacific Surfliner and the Empire Builder. As well as the ACE commuter train when we still had access to it.
Very nice, I'm eager for the next two segments. I've taken most of the long-distance routes in the US and Canada and have not yet done the Autotrain. Looks like fun, though. Just a minor nit. Amtrak runs double-deck Superliner equipment between Chicago and Washington DC on the Capitol Limited. The bottleneck that blocks Superliner service east of Chicago is the North River Tunnels between NYC and New Jersey. Clearances on the other routes in the east have been increased by the host systems in order to allow bi-level autoracks (like those on the Autotrain) and double-stack intermodal cars. If you haven't already, I encourage you to do a trip report of the Capitol Limited, a very nice train through spectacular mountain scenery in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia.
Like your video. I worked on Auto Train from October 1995-May 1997 Onboard Services. When I started, the passenger terminal was not there as you mentioned, the new terminal was built in 2000. When I started, they had tp split the train in half because the train was to long for the platform. Also, when I started in October 1995 they were transitioning from heritage single level equipment to the superliner equipment. The sleeper section was already superliner and Coach was still heritage equipment Also, the Dome lounge was still being used and crash had a buffet car as their diner a lot of changes since I worked for Auto Train, also in part two of your Auto Train Video, you had the stop in Richmond, when I worked Auto Train the only stop they made was in Florence SC the only crew that was changed was Locomotive Engineer and the Conductors
I used to live down the street from the Lorton Auto Train station, always liked to watch them leave while standing an old bridge that was over the tracks about a mile down
Magnifique vidéo. Comme il est vrai que ce train avec son service auto-train est aux antipodes de ce qu'il se pratique en Europe. hâte de voir la suite. Merci.
My brother, parents, and I took the Auto Train from Florida to DC once when I was a kid in the late 90s. Only long-distance train ride I've ever been on, sharing a roomette with my brother. My brother and I were up in the lounge car playing Pokemon cards around midnight when we stopped to refuel. There was a sign hanging in the depot - "Congratulations Amtrak on 1 year with no accidents!" and my brother and I were not thrilled about that. TBH most surprising thing about this vid was the key ignition in the car 🙃
In the 70s, there was a second Auto Train that traveled between Louisville, Nashville and Sanford. As someone who drives through Atlanta often, I would exchange a kidney to revive that service!
@JAG Louisville was the site for the Midwest, Lorton is the site for the northeast... Louisville was a failure, but give Amtrak credit, they attempted it...
Lorton VA to Las Vegas auto train would be nice. That would lure anybody that’s a 5-7 hour drive from either hub, a convenient way to travel coast to coast with their car.
Well, all I can say is, I wish there was more than one Auto Train, especially for westbound travel in the middle of the US. I like to take road trips, so I have my car at my destination, but this would be a very cool alternative, especially if it featured Bill Murray singing in the Lounge Car! I suspect that it wouldn't be as popular (and therefore as profitable) in this part of the country. I'm glad you showed the staircase on the SuperLiner Sleeping Car...I've warned some friends taking their first train trip that the stairs are kind of narrow and make a couple of tight turns as you go topside. Best to check bulky bags or stow them down below near the boarding doors. Great look at the whole consist at the end...I never realized what a monster this train is. It reminds me of long coal/freight trains we have passing through here. Thanks for another great video!
We name our cars too, our current van is Red because well she is red, our previous van was Greenie, I had a Ford Ranger we called Cookie Monster because it was cookie monster blue. I knew one elderly couple when I was a teenager that named their cars after train locomotives.
Wow this is so cool! I've never taken the Auto Train but I did take the Silver Meteor, which travels nearly the same route. I'm surprised to learn this is their most profitable service. I'd have expected that to be Acela or Northeast Regional
Considering the savings of mileage AND fuel and the price of any other form of transportation outside of driving (i.e. airplane) I don't think the cost was too high at all! Thanks for all the videos, I've been binging since subscribing earlier today. Holy cow! that's a lotta vehicles!
Also, the cost per person drops a lot if two people are traveling, as the only increase for the second person is the rail fare portion of the cost. (Or at least that's the way it was for years.)
You got a great price on the trip . We travelled down last November the roomettes were $500 each and the car $200. We had two roomettes 9 + 10 . The train was packed , in Lorton station every seat was taken and there were were about 100 people sat on the floor . The train was about 4 hrs late departing ( arrived into Lorton 6 hrs late) , cars were lined up out of the station down the road waiting to get in as boarding did not start until about 4pm. We were on the last meal sitting of the evening which was 10.30pm. We got stuck behind a broken down freight train overnight and did not arrive into Sanford until 1pm . We drove back up :-).
All it takes is one bad hot brake pad or a hot wheel axel to slow freight or passenger trains down to a crawl.... All of those following are crawling as well...
Superliners do come as far east as Pittsburgh at least. We traveled from Santa Fe, New Mexico to PGH a few years ago. We had a roomette from SF to CHI and a full room from there to PGH. We were getting in on a Monday morning and wanted to be able to shower in our room on the train and roll right on in to work without spending another vacation day.
I love this train! I want to try it out some day, Riden Amtrak my whole life. Also neat that they put a plastic thing on the car seats to keep away germs.
Also saves a lot of tourists to Florida a ton of money on rental car fees. It is considerably cheaper to ship your car on the Auto Train than it is to rent a vehicle in Florida...
My daughter and I took this train to move her to Florida. Her car was a bit older and we figured this was safer. It cost me $480 for the car, and the two of us. That also included our choice of 3 different dinners and breakfast in the morning. I had checked on the cost to ship the car to Florida from New England...$800 just for the car, then we also would have had to pay for airfare and to ship what we were able to pack in the car. You can load the car up a heavy as you like, the railcars can handle the weight. I would definitely do this again.
I Remember back when it started as a Private Company, AmTrak Continues, and I've Always wanted to Ride. Now I know this, DEFINITELY WILL Enjoy AmTrak's Experience.
$200 each way isn't bad compared to the cost for lodging, food, gas, etc while driving the same distance round trip. Not to mention avoiding the wear and tear on your person. I hope to take it one day. I wish the Southwest Chief had such a service.
There is one additional Super Liner train in the east which is the Capital Limited, running from Washington DC to Chicago because it has no restricting tunnels on it route. I've taken it numerous times going from CLE to LAX via CHI they are great cars to ride in.
Great video Sir ! That was quite cool showing your car being loaded aboard the car carrier ! I will have to put this train on my bucket list to do !!!:):):) Thank you for sharing !!! :):):)
That last footage was in Folkstone GA Stayed there for a vacation Trains were passing almost every 15 minutes to an hour. Even has a train museum, great place to train watch.
I'm disappointed now, because I was going to be taking the Auto Train this year with a friend, but our original plans kind of fell through on the Florida end of the line so there was no reason to use it. It also meant saving money, but this looks awesome. I will definitely be using it in the future when Covid-19 isn't an issue anymore.
I didn't know autos were driven through several rail cars before stopping to park. I thought each railway car was loaded separately with autos. Thanks for posting the video.
Très bon reportage encore une fois. Ce service est très apprécié par les gens du Québec qui vont régulièrement en Floride. Dommage qu'il n'y en ait pas un tel train au départ de Montréal. Bien sur une gare comme celle de Lorton serait nécessaire et devrait être construite quelque part entre Brossard et St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu. L'autre option serait de la mettre près de Plattsburgh, NY, pour éviter les douanes.
I love your videos and have watched many of them. Thank you for continuing to make them. The only thing I would change is the quick camera movements. This one in particular was hard to watch without feeling a little sick from all the quick and spinning camera moments. I've worked as a camera man before and it's just something you have to do; turn slowly while filming so the audience doesn't get dizzy or nauseous watching it. Anyway, looking forward to more videos. Thanks!
One autotrain service also runs between Czechia (Prague) and Slovakia (Košice or Humenné). It costs 66€ and the price includes ticket for the car and ticket for a driver. When they travel 2 or 3 in car, each other passenger have to pay 20€ for their ticket. The sleep charge for a 3-bed coupe then costs an extra 14€/per passenger (20€/per bed in 2-bed coupe and 44€/per bed in single coupe). It thing, thats a pretty good price list for service with is around 700km (to Košice) or 800km (to Humenné) long. Travel time is around 9-11 hours. Depend on your destination.
The video of loading the car from inside the car is the most unique thing I have seen in a train video.
I'm am Amtrak employee. I have taken the Auto Train as a part of my training for Amtrak's Call Center 6.5 years ago. In less than two weeks my family and I willbe taking it as a passengers all for the time.
You are very accurate with your descriptions and details. The only flaw I saw was about taking your belongings. All passengers just need to take out is what thay need for the travel. Passengers can pack the car as much as they like as long as there is a clear view of the back window/ rear view mirror.
Thank you for your well detailed review!
Hi, I retired from Amtrak track dept in last November after 24 years and am taking the Auto Train in Sept. Have taken it 2 times before am looking forward to the trip!
Fascinating introduction to a one of a kind train. I used to live in South Carolina when this train was introduced back in 1983...in fact, not far from Florence where the train stops to replenish its water supply. Heard so many things about how long this train is, but only after watching this report did I appreciate how massive a train and innovative a service this is. Looking forward to the next installment!
Small correction, you do not need to take all of your belongings out of the car. Only the ones you’ll need for the overnight on the train. Everything else can stay locked up in your trunk of wherever you feel safe to leave them in your car. Great train!
It's Small not Snall
We've taken the auto train three times and absolutely love it! Nice having your car and as much luggage as you can fit in your car. Never had anything touched or stolen.
It's always beautiful to ride with your car in this trains.
Back to Europe, I'm Italian but I live in UK, so once per year during holiday I usually go back to Italy to visit my relatives. And usually do by car. So everytime I have to take the underwater train in Dover, to Calais, it's always beautiful!!
I think it's even part of the whole trip!!
Why do you go by car? If you live in London, the train trip from London to Italy is one of the simplest around and fully high-speed.
@@toukyoumaster8734 Too bad there isn't any high speed trains to Tel Aviv or Istanbul or Athens or Moscow from London.... Ten hours for a overnight sleeper train from Sofia to Bucharest is NOT fast.... That five hour flight from London to Tel Aviv is shorter than the six hour flight from Boston to Los Angeles, or five and a half hour flight from New York City to Los Angeles... America is much larger in size than most Europeans think off hand... And there won't be any high speed rail from New York City to Miami without any high speed rail in California... Forget it... No one city dominates America and its politics like London does the UK, Paris does France, etc... The main reason why there isn't much high speed rail infrastructure built in the USA...
Nice video! As a railfan who has fanned and has been on Auto Train, this video is impressive. The one thing I wish is for Amtrak to expand the Auto Train Service. Like NY to Chicago or Chicago to LA. Chicago to New Orleans etc. The price is a little bit expensive but that would be the greatest! No car rentals!
Those cities have forms of public transportation, rideshare and car share amenities too...
@@LaVaneBea , We're talking long Distance here.
NY To Chicago would not be possible because of NYP. It’s underground and the super liners and auto racks would not fit
It would be awesome to load your car and board the train in chicago and arrive in LA or Seattle and have your personal car to drive wherever from there. The facilities to do it would t take much space and, you could probably connect chicago LA, florida and virgina and have a coast to coast service
Writing this comment while on board the Auto Train from Sanford to Lorton. Travelled in the roomette from Lorton to Sanford and in coach on the return. Good experience and excellent value. Beats driving.
Also, the train driver change takes place at Florence, South Carolina around midnight or so. I was awake and watched that happen. The train staff on the other hand, works through the entire trip.
Thanks for sharing.
The long stops deal with crew changes, as well as fueling, watering, and dumping the brown and black tanks. The locos drink fuel, and people consume water. And believe it or not people shit and pee...
I took this same trip in the early seventys with my mom. It was one of the best trips we took as a kid started at point A and went to point B witch was Sanford FL 👍 . 🚂💨
This video is wonderfully informative! I especially LOVE that there is no music soundtrack so we can actually get a true sense of the experience. It's great!
Cool video. I’ve always wanted to ride the Auto Train.
Just the passenger section alone is impressive. And an incredible station for one service each way per day!
I took the Autotrain southbound in January and was quite impressed with the service. Apparently lots of snowbirds use it bc they need their cars the several months they’re in Florida for the winter. I’m looking forward to your review of the roomette as I only had a seat going to Florida & struggled to get 5 hours of sleep. Planning to spend the extra $200-ish when I go back north.
Merci d'avoir fait cette vidéo. It not only spared me from having to drive 17 hours from VA to FL,, but provided valuable information and feedback on the various amenities and services available on the Auto Train. As a result, I was better equipped when booking my reservation, anticipate check in procedures and board on time. As you pointed out, all passengers were on the train about 1 hour prior to departure so they could attach the cars holding the vehicles. Both in Reston and Sanford, I was so impressed with the efficiency of staff. The best part was being able to sit back, relax and enjoy the trip. Over the course of decades, I've been a daily NYC subway and LIRR commuter, taken Amtrak's Empire service from Albany NY to NYC and even the Paris metro (love it!) but THIS was by far the most enjoyable.
10:27 The Capitol Limited (Chicago to Washington DC) Also uses Superliner Equipment. Other eastern long-distance trains don't use Superliner Equipment because they terminate at New York Penn Station and the Superliners wouldn't be able to fit under the tunnels. All tracks Used By Amtrak use Standard Gauge. Therefore they use Viewliners on the Lake Shore Limited (Chicago to New York/Boston), Crescent (New Orleans to New York), Cardinal (New York to Chicago via DC) and the Sliver Services (New York to Miami/Tampa). You should definitely try one of the Viewliner Roomettes someday! Nice video!
John Stewart Not only because of the height clearance in New York, but at Baltimore too
He referenced "loading gauge" in the video which is different from rail gauge. Rail gauge is the measurement between the rails. Loading gauge is the distance from the center of the track to obstacles along the right of way (platforms, signals, bridges, tunnels and other structures). It's why you can't run N American rolling stock in England, even though they share the same rail gauge. You wouldn't get very far before you would start hitting stuff.
@@JoshDoesTravel Its the tunnels on that northeast corridor main line no doubt...
@@GerOffYeWeeBastard These are the same width as freight autoracks therefore can run on just about any major railroad line in North America. The height is the issue inside stations on the eastern seaboard
@@ssrailvideos height is part of the loading gauge
Very nice Trip Report! I hope you can do more Amtrak trips in the future! I look forward to seeing your content.
crazy how i also have a jetta and im taking this train from sanford to Virginia next week lol
How was it?
I really enjoy travelling by train, and Amtrak is not a bad way to go. I do wish we would improve & expand our passenger rail service here. Thanks for the video.....and nice watch.
Yes, or at least bring back full dining car service as pre-2019. Death to the long distance trains by a thousand cuts it seems. I hope the LD trains survive.
It's a beautiful experience isn't it? I've taken the Amtrak Auto Train for so many years. It's so wonderful
Reminds me of the Euro Tunnel trains where you drive on your self. Just like the amtrack auto train, but a bit more modern
I was gonna say... I never knew there was so much rigmarole with the Auto Train. 😨 I'd love to see a review of Le Shuttle through the Euro Tunnel
And a lot shitter
@@Roboboy Definitely worth seeing; although not a huge amount of stuff to cover. Although truck drivers get a cafe car!
@@Roboboy Not nearly a night long journey crossing the Channel... Similar concept though, the Auto Train is basically a land/tunnel ferry instead of a ship ferry...
>Sits in the car
"Seatpitch is great"
>Haha funny, he's pretending to be in the t-
"BATHROOM TIME"
*_NO WAIT_*
LOL
Its the same with all of his train review vids... Just added the car into the gig...
@@ronclark9724 …
I did this same trip back in 1990 when I moved down to Miami for school. Back then, I think the cost was around $500 including the bedroom (no roomettes available). I remember I had to sign a damage waiver because my car was lower than what they usually allow and they didn't want to be blamed if any damage happened to my car while in transit. It was my first experience on Amtrak. It was an awesome experience since I got to lay in a real bed and watch the world go by. After a good night's sleep, I was well rested when my car and I disembarked from the train. Definitely beats actually driving from VA to FL.... and less miles put on the odometer.
Thanks Thibault, very impressive train, especially the length. Looking forward to the next episode.
Very nice first part of the trip report that method of loading trains into big containers to be attached to trains is quite unique and the outside footage of the train the train is so long it looks like a passanger and a freight train in one 😊 can't wait to see other 2 parts
My Lord, look at all the cars .. .. GREAT VID ~ Watching other two parts right now!
At 14:42, the footage provides a truly different/unique definition of the term "train tunnel". I remember the fanfare over the inaugural run of the "Auto Train"; my family had a vacation home further south, in Homestead, and four rental properties in Vero Beach and Melbourne. A two week vacation rental included Auto Train service for a family of four, or a three-day excursion which visited MLB Baseball's 'Grapefruit League' training camps. @Simply Railway; Many thanks for uploading this nicely accomplished video, which 'recharged' some great old memories!!
Heading north on my annual auto train thanksgiving trip,can’t wait,even after at least 20 trips I still look forward to the ride.
Just completed my 7th trip on Auto Train and always like the trip I've had a roommate 4 times and Coach three times-- the value is excellent-- this trip from Sanford to Lorton was $440 including to coach seats and my car that was less than it cost us to drive down two weeks earlier and got us home in two days rather than the three days it took us to drive there--
Auto train is simply beautiful!
10:21
No it’s not. The Capitol Limited, which runs from DC to Chicago also used Superliners
Also the City of New Orleans is Superliners. It doesn't go to the east coast, but it stays on east and central time zones...
Capitol Limited also had domes when it was run by the Baltimore & Ohio...
The big reason why very few routes East of Chicago use Superliners more has to do with the height of the tunnels heading into/from New York, since most long distance Eastern routes originate from Penn Station.
BWI Aviation
Who cares?
@@miniena7774 Anyone who believes information should be true. Looking forward to a trip next year with the wife.
Can't wait for the next part - thanks for this one - very unique.
I am so glad you posted this because I had always wondered how the Auto Train worked. We're on the west coast so we don't have that. So far I have ridden on the San Joaquins (which is my home train), the Capitol Corridor, the California Zephyr, the Coast Starlight, the Pacific Surfliner and the Empire Builder. As well as the ACE commuter train when we still had access to it.
Excellent video. Thank you so much for making this!
Very nice, I'm eager for the next two segments. I've taken most of the long-distance routes in the US and Canada and have not yet done the Autotrain. Looks like fun, though.
Just a minor nit. Amtrak runs double-deck Superliner equipment between Chicago and Washington DC on the Capitol Limited. The bottleneck that blocks Superliner service east of Chicago is the North River Tunnels between NYC and New Jersey. Clearances on the other routes in the east have been increased by the host systems in order to allow bi-level autoracks (like those on the Autotrain) and double-stack intermodal cars.
If you haven't already, I encourage you to do a trip report of the Capitol Limited, a very nice train through spectacular mountain scenery in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia.
Like your video. I worked on Auto Train from October 1995-May 1997 Onboard Services. When I started, the passenger terminal was not there as you mentioned, the new terminal was built in 2000. When I started, they had tp split the train in half because the train was to long for the platform. Also, when I started in October 1995 they were transitioning from heritage single level equipment to the superliner equipment. The sleeper section was already superliner and Coach was still heritage equipment Also, the Dome lounge was still being used and crash had a buffet car as their diner a lot of changes since I worked for Auto Train, also in part two of your Auto Train Video, you had the stop in Richmond, when I worked Auto Train the only stop they made was in Florence SC the only crew that was changed was Locomotive Engineer and the Conductors
Sorry about a typo, I typed crash had a buffet car as the diner coach had a buffet car as their diner
Beautiful video! Greetings 📽️🔝🚂👍🙋♂️
I love the Auto Train it’s the best one ever!! It’s been years since I took it
SUPER INSIGHTFUL AND GREATLY ENTERTAINING. GOOD JOB!!!! THANK YOU. I BOOKED BASED ON THIS VIDEO, for this holiday!
Look at that map. That engine is HUGE!
I used to live down the street from the Lorton Auto Train station, always liked to watch them leave while standing an old bridge that was over the tracks about a mile down
Nicely compiled friend.... Loved it....
Waiting for the next part brother.....
Greetings from INDIA🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
Great video! Looking forward to taking the Silver Star down to FL myself soon
Magnifique vidéo. Comme il est vrai que ce train avec son service auto-train est aux antipodes de ce qu'il se pratique en Europe. hâte de voir la suite. Merci.
Very informative, looking forward to the next two parts.
This is awesome. I drove the cars on the train in Lorton just out of High School in the mid 90s. looks sooooo different now. much cleaner.
My brother, parents, and I took the Auto Train from Florida to DC once when I was a kid in the late 90s. Only long-distance train ride I've ever been on, sharing a roomette with my brother. My brother and I were up in the lounge car playing Pokemon cards around midnight when we stopped to refuel. There was a sign hanging in the depot - "Congratulations Amtrak on 1 year with no accidents!" and my brother and I were not thrilled about that.
TBH most surprising thing about this vid was the key ignition in the car 🙃
I'm interested to watch the next part, can't wait for it 😮
Holy Crap,that's one long train....Cool video,very interesting to see THANKS !!!
When I was a kid, I saw this beast cross Centralia Road twice a day. It was an impressive sight.
Great review as I am considering taking the Amtrak Auto from FL to VA. Thanks!
I wish Amtrak ran more of those routes.
In the 70s, there was a second Auto Train that traveled between Louisville, Nashville and Sanford. As someone who drives through Atlanta often, I would exchange a kidney to revive that service!
@JAG Louisville was the site for the Midwest, Lorton is the site for the northeast... Louisville was a failure, but give Amtrak credit, they attempted it...
Lorton VA to Las Vegas auto train would be nice. That would lure anybody that’s a 5-7 hour drive from either hub, a convenient way to travel coast to coast with their car.
Chicago to Florida would probably be a very popular route.
More to Florida? Or to other places? Which other places?
Well, all I can say is, I wish there was more than one Auto Train, especially for westbound travel in the middle of the US. I like to take road trips, so I have my car at my destination, but this would be a very cool alternative, especially if it featured Bill Murray singing in the Lounge Car! I suspect that it wouldn't be as popular (and therefore as profitable) in this part of the country.
I'm glad you showed the staircase on the SuperLiner Sleeping Car...I've warned some friends taking their first train trip that the stairs are kind of narrow and make a couple of tight turns as you go topside. Best to check bulky bags or stow them down below near the boarding doors.
Great look at the whole consist at the end...I never realized what a monster this train is. It reminds me of long coal/freight trains we have passing through here.
Thanks for another great video!
We name our cars too, our current van is Red because well she is red, our previous van was Greenie, I had a Ford Ranger we called Cookie Monster because it was cookie monster blue. I knew one elderly couple when I was a teenager that named their cars after train locomotives.
Wow this is so cool! I've never taken the Auto Train but I did take the Silver Meteor, which travels nearly the same route. I'm surprised to learn this is their most profitable service. I'd have expected that to be Acela or Northeast Regional
You'd think, because management certainly favors the NE corridor over the regular long distance trains.
Good review. The original A-T used ex-WP Baldwins to switch at Lorton & Sanford. Also, that "classic" 110V outlet design dates back to 1927...
This is amazing!
Super glad I saw this channel and this video
With rare exceptions, the AutoTrain is pulled by the few remaining P40's (although they have been upgraded to P42 spec).
My wife saw this, made me watch it and now we want to make a trip to Virginia ourselves!
Never how Massive the AutoTrains are. Great detailed video.
love your videos - thank you for sharing
👍Very impressive. Waiting eagerly for the next 2 parts..….☺️
Considering the savings of mileage AND fuel and the price of any other form of transportation outside of driving (i.e. airplane) I don't think the cost was too high at all! Thanks for all the videos, I've been binging since subscribing earlier today. Holy cow! that's a lotta vehicles!
Also, the cost per person drops a lot if two people are traveling, as the only increase for the second person is the rail fare portion of the cost. (Or at least that's the way it was for years.)
You got a great price on the trip . We travelled down last November the roomettes were $500 each and the car $200. We had two roomettes 9 + 10 . The train was packed , in Lorton station every seat was taken and there were were about 100 people sat on the floor . The train was about 4 hrs late departing ( arrived into Lorton 6 hrs late) , cars were lined up out of the station down the road waiting to get in as boarding did not start until about 4pm. We were on the last meal sitting of the evening which was 10.30pm. We got stuck behind a broken down freight train overnight and did not arrive into Sanford until 1pm . We drove back up :-).
All it takes is one bad hot brake pad or a hot wheel axel to slow freight or passenger trains down to a crawl.... All of those following are crawling as well...
Terrific catches! Amazing trip you have on Amtrak to Florida!
Cannot wait for next part. Love the car naming as well hehe :)
Superliners do come as far east as Pittsburgh at least. We traveled from Santa Fe, New Mexico to PGH a few years ago. We had a roomette from SF to CHI and a full room from there to PGH. We were getting in on a Monday morning and wanted to be able to shower in our room on the train and roll right on in to work without spending another vacation day.
I love this train! I want to try it out some day, Riden Amtrak my whole life. Also neat that they put a plastic thing on the car seats to keep away germs.
Wow. Impressive train indeed. It may not be smashing any speed records anytime soon but it sure save a lot of carbon emissions. Stay safe.
Also saves a lot of tourists to Florida a ton of money on rental car fees. It is considerably cheaper to ship your car on the Auto Train than it is to rent a vehicle in Florida...
That's an excellent service. I'm impressed! I'm glad the US is developing its passanger railway system.
Thanks for sharing your trip.
Thats a nice ride!
Be on this train very soon!! VA to Fla
My daughter and I took this train to move her to Florida. Her car was a bit older and we figured this was safer. It cost me $480 for the car, and the two of us. That also included our choice of 3 different dinners and breakfast in the morning. I had checked on the cost to ship the car to Florida from New England...$800 just for the car, then we also would have had to pay for airfare and to ship what we were able to pack in the car. You can load the car up a heavy as you like, the railcars can handle the weight. I would definitely do this again.
Yep, the overall value for two is much better than for one...
Awesome! Not seen one like this before
That's awesome... Learned something new today!
Really interesting video! Ca me plait! Looking forward to part 2. Merci beaucoup pour partager :-)
Please release Part 2 and 3 together soon. I can't wait to watch them.
I've traveled from nyc to Charlottesville on Amtrak.
I Remember back when it started as a Private Company, AmTrak Continues, and I've Always wanted to Ride. Now I know this, DEFINITELY WILL Enjoy AmTrak's Experience.
When was that? Are you thinking of the Auto train company?
Hi, dear Friend) I'm happy to see your video again)
Thank You!
The seat report on your car is hilarious!
$200 each way isn't bad compared to the cost for lodging, food, gas, etc while driving the same distance round trip. Not to mention avoiding the wear and tear on your person. I hope to take it one day. I wish the Southwest Chief had such a service.
There is one additional Super Liner train in the east which is the Capital Limited, running from Washington DC to Chicago because it has no restricting tunnels on it route. I've taken it numerous times going from CLE to LAX via CHI they are great cars to ride in.
Great video Sir ! That was quite cool showing your car being loaded aboard the car carrier !
I will have to put this train on my bucket list to do !!!:):):)
Thank you for sharing !!! :):):)
That last footage was in Folkstone GA
Stayed there for a vacation
Trains were passing almost every 15 minutes to an hour. Even has a train museum, great place to train watch.
Merci pour cette superbe vidéo ainsi que pour ton partage !
À bientôt !
Les trains américains sont impressionnants ! 😵
I'm disappointed now, because I was going to be taking the Auto Train this year with a friend, but our original plans kind of fell through on the Florida end of the line so there was no reason to use it. It also meant saving money, but this looks awesome. I will definitely be using it in the future when Covid-19 isn't an issue anymore.
I did this in 1985. It was neat.
I didn't know autos were driven through several rail cars before stopping to park. I thought each railway car was loaded separately with autos. Thanks for posting the video.
10:22 The Capitol Limited also uses Superliner Coaches between Chicago and Washington D.C.
i’m taking the auto train this weekend and i’ve been assigned the exact same roommette as you!
Wow... on that last passing auto train... 28 Car carriers!!! Wow!!!
Très bon reportage encore une fois. Ce service est très apprécié par les gens du Québec qui vont régulièrement en Floride. Dommage qu'il n'y en ait pas un tel train au départ de Montréal. Bien sur une gare comme celle de Lorton serait nécessaire et devrait être construite quelque part entre Brossard et St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu. L'autre option serait de la mettre près de Plattsburgh, NY, pour éviter les douanes.
I love your videos and have watched many of them. Thank you for continuing to make them. The only thing I would change is the quick camera movements. This one in particular was hard to watch without feeling a little sick from all the quick and spinning camera moments. I've worked as a camera man before and it's just something you have to do; turn slowly while filming so the audience doesn't get dizzy or nauseous watching it. Anyway, looking forward to more videos. Thanks!
One autotrain service also runs between Czechia (Prague) and Slovakia (Košice or Humenné). It costs 66€ and the price includes ticket for the car and ticket for a driver. When they travel 2 or 3 in car, each other passenger have to pay 20€ for their ticket. The sleep charge for a 3-bed coupe then costs an extra 14€/per passenger (20€/per bed in 2-bed coupe and 44€/per bed in single coupe). It thing, thats a pretty good price list for service with is around 700km (to Košice) or 800km (to Humenné) long. Travel time is around 9-11 hours. Depend on your destination.
Nice video again!
It’s cool the Amtrak auto train starts in my state
Americans really love their cars! I think this kind of service is unique to USA.
The Chunnel
@@benbrown3253 Or the train ferry to Sicily... Simply Railway has a vid of that train ferry...