Traveling on the Amtrack Auto Train, the longest passenger train in the world, that also carries the passengers’ cars, we journeyed from Virginia to Florida, on a 17 hour trip.
Unique in every way, this is the only auto train route available, established in 1983. (more details on our return post)
Since I have only ridden tourist trains, I envisioned movies like North by Northwest and White Christmas…yet this journey was unique in every way.
Leaving at 5pm, we arrive the next morning at 10am.
However our train arrived from Florida late, so we arrived at the station later.
LOADING OUR CARS ONTO THE TRAIN
Upon arrival, my car was assigned a number, then driven to join about 330 other cars that ride in their special train cars seen in this photo…
Waiting in the Lorton Station…
ALL ABOARD!
When it was time to board, we met our attendant outside our car who had a deep friendly voice yelling All Aboard! just like in the movies.
This jovial gent learned all our names and educated us on what to expect upon everything we might need to know for the entire trip.
While some sit in the coach, others can have a private room of various sizes.
We had a private roomette with private bathroom and shower with a seat facing a cushioned backed bench with a table between, next to the window.
From my seat I watched the loading of the final automobiles…
DINING IN OUR ROOM
For those who booked a room, meals were included, either in the room or in the dining car.
Since our train left so late, after 8pm, our attendant brought dinner to us.
For dinner our options were steak, chicken, or salmon, which included bread, salad, wine, and dessert. Not bad!
SLEEPING…OR NOT
Then we scooted out to stretch our legs so our attendant could convert our seating into bunk beds.
While my hubby slept like a rock, I was awake most of the night due to the swaying of the cars as we clickety-clacked through Virginia and North Carolina through the night while I kept track of where we were on my phone…glad the train had wifi!
DINING CAR
The next morning we had breakfast in the dining car as South Carolina sped by…
More of South Carolina…
When we returned to our roomette, we found our beds had been switched back to daytime seating by our attendant.
Finally arriving at Florida’s Sanford Station at 3:00pm, five hours late…so our attendant brought lunch to our roomette, we waited in the station for my car to be unloaded.
FROM WINTERY VIRGINIA TO SUNNY FLORIDA
In less than an hour we were on the road to nearby Orlando for a few days!
