Amtrak AUTO TRAIN from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL

[@kylel4361]

Very Cool, Thank YOu

[@NickGoesFar]

@@kylel4361 thank YOU for watching it. I appreciate the comment too!

[@kylel4361]

@@NickGoesFar You have lots of great videos, glad I found your channel and you have a new subscriber. On Amtrak do you know if the food is like cruise ship style (unlimited) or is it just 1 entrée?

[@BDRichmondify]

Excellent video - very cool to see how they handle the auto cars

[@NickGoesFar]

@@BDRichmondify it’s a very well orchestrated movement too, you can tell they’ve dialed the process in over the years

[@ken12269]

Great video, appreciate the overview and that Amtrak offers this unique service. I will try it one day. Honestly though, all things considered, for $800, is it a good value? I guess it depends on whether you need your car or not. I think I’d just start heading down, eat a steak dinner, stay in a decent hotel halfway (hopefully with a nice hot tub for me and my funny little honey). Don’t get me wrong, I love train travel.

[@NickGoesFar]

@@ken12269 yeah the value of it certainly rests in each person’s own needs. And prices only went up based on the time of year. It could be done far more economically without the roomette. I think that’s the most value.

[@watchyourattitudeaviation]

Epic!! Took this south one summer. Was fun! Great video.

[@NickGoesFar]

@@watchyourattitudeaviation not a bad way to get to the beach 😂

[@ZonicTheRobot]

I always wanted to try the auto train! Thanks for showing this!

[@NickGoesFar]

@@ZonicTheRobot it was a super convenient option for me, my family in VA live only 40 minutes from the station, and Sanford is a short hop back home to Jacksonville.

[@mgv00]

Great job on the video. I have to drive 2.5 hours north to board the Auto Train. For me it’s totally worth it. Ninety percent of the time, I ride coach. I think the car haulers are called auto racks.

[@NickGoesFar]

@@mgv00 there’s just something so fun about saying car-cars though! 🤣 thank you for watching and commenting!

[@mgv00]

@Nickgoesfar Even though I ride coach, I usually pay for priority off load. I also stop at Antonelli’s pizza(right on the other side of I-95) to get a sub sandwich for dinner.

[@kathychurray3694]

Amtrak needs to make an auto train to the west like Washington State or California. They also need to fix the tracks from Jacksonville to New Orleans.

[@NickGoesFar]

@@kathychurray3694 I’d love a westbound auto train!!

[@donoru0612]

You have to realize Amtrak doesn't own any track. The tracks they travel on are owned by CSX, Norfolk Southern, etc and they run on those tracks by mutual agreement. In the vast majority of the cases freight has priority so if you are on am Amtrak train you may notice time to time the passenger train slows down to allow the freight train to pass at higher speeds.

[@titopuente571]

the only service of amtrak is the east coast. Auto train in the midwest/west coast? We still use coaches from the 70s. FULLY DEPRECIATED. Lucky if the toilets work.

[@NickGoesFar]

@@titopuente571 the only auto train service is on the east coast. VA to FL. There are some west coast routes and lots of terminals. They’ve also been updating their cars and engines. It’s been exciting to see.

[@billknoop]

There's a car train to Whittier Alaska. Last time I checked Alaska was part of the US.

[@NickGoesFar]

@@billknoop well, if there is, I can’t find any mention of it on the internet. 🤷‍♂️

[@billknoop]

@@NickGoesFar I've ridden on it. There's no road to Whittier and the train is the only way to get there on land. Ferries also stop there.

[@billknoop]

I stand corrected. They've made the train tunnel available to vehicles. So apparently they've discontinued the auto train. I apologize.

[@suecav421]

I would love to do a cross country train trip but I think a short test one first might be good! 😄

[@NickGoesFar]

@@suecav421 good plan! Honestly, long cross country train rides are great, if you’re looking to spend 3 days doing nothing. Reading, editing, etc. Because there’s only so much you can do. A rail pass, for hopping on and off might be a better option

[@rickm8456]

Great job on the video. I’d like to try that someday. $800 is a bit much though.

[@NickGoesFar]

@@rickm8456 yeah the price is a bit steep. If I had drive I would have probably spent $150 on gas and $100 on food and a room for the night would have been likely $150 too. So it’s 50% of the cost to drive yourself. The convenience is where that extra money comes into play, and this trip can be done far cheaper if you just get a coach seat 💺 and at that point, it’s a better deal than driving.

[@rustynail6819]

Way too much for the Auto Train! I've done it before not long ago, and it costs with car $520 which was still a lot .

[@NickGoesFar]

@@rustynail6819 $520 would have been more appropriate for the value IMO. The roomette definitely impacted the price, and traveling from North to South in the winter is the high season for “snowbirds”

[@stevee4636]

Switcher, not Yard Locomotives..

[@NickGoesFar]

Well, that’s what the Amtrak crew in the yard called it. So, just going with that. Switcher sounds good too though.

[@ocsrc]

This is for the wealthy snow birds in DC

[@NickGoesFar]

@@ocsrc I met a lot of every day seniors, retirees, making the trip too

[@stevee4636]

It makes No Stops, so you won't be walking the Train, from outside..

[@NickGoesFar]

@@stevee4636 but walking the length from the inside…oooh plot twist!

[@philnaegely]

It does make one stop in one of the Carolinas to switch crews but it's usually in the middle of the night when it happens

[@stevee4636]

Wow, you walked back and forth, back and forth, next time, do your research ahead of time...

[@NickGoesFar]

@@stevee4636 I had a great time. Thanks for watching long enough to come up with this witty comment.

[@stevee4636]

Auto Racks, not Car Cars...

[@NickGoesFar]

@@stevee4636 appreciate that! Car cars just rolls off the tongue though 😂

[@NickGoesFar]

@@stevee4636 though “auto racks” makes way more sense

[@postalfnj]

this is probably the thousand report on this

[@NickGoesFar]

@@postalfnj awesome! That’s a nice round number. I wonder who will be 1001 🤔

[@williamboyle8918]

U likey likey ?

[@billtaylor6502]

there car haulers not car cars lol

[@NickGoesFar]

@@billtaylor6502 but “car cars” just rolls off the tongue