by Mary Wakefield Buxton –
URBANNA —
What has 39 cars, carries 259 passengers, 162 vehicles, is ¾ mile long and winds its way up and down the eastern seacoast between Lorton in northern Virginia and Sanford, Fla., every day? It’s Amtrak’s popular Auto Train and when my husband and I were too tired to make the 1,000 mile trip back to Urbanna, it offered us a relaxing alternate. Or so the brochure might suggest. I am not sure about the relaxing part, however.
I booked my ticket for myself, my husband and my car in a “roomette” not knowing the roomette, which offered two seats that converted to a “bed” in a private compartment. Later I learned the bathroom was not only down the hall but also down a very steep stairway. There were only three bathrooms per car.
The more I thought about waiting in line at midnight in bedroom slippers to use shared facilities, the more I decided to opt for a “bedroom which had an airline-size bathroom with attached shower over the commode. It only cost an extra $700 to have a “room” with a private facility. I use the word “room” generously as when two beds are down and the ladder is attached to the upper bunk, well, I challenge anyone to “walk.” Let me throw out the image of sardines in a tin.
There was also an extra charge for “priority” car service, which meant we wouldn’t have to wait to have our vehicle unloaded from the train. We decided after hearing we could sit up to 90 minutes waiting for our car to be unloaded, we would choose the service. Our one-way ticket totaled $1,790.
We caught the train in Sanford, a town north of Orlando after experiencing heavy traffic on both Interstate 75 and Interstate 4. It took almost five hours. We made the 2:30 p.m. deadline to load cars with only 20 minutes to spare.
But we were too late for a sit-down dinner reservation in the sleeper dining room, but we could still have dinner at 5 p.m. in our room.
The secret to happiness in life is not to expect too much for a charge of $1,790 and then one can be grateful for whatever one is given.
The train gave its exciting departure whistle and we began to move north right on time. I was impressed. The whistle reminded me of train sounds from long ago growing up in Ohio. It occurred to me that I had not ridden on a train since childhood.
Much had changed from the remembered “clickity click” of yesteryear now replaced by a quieter swaying and lurching as the train rolled on. Improved rail connections made the difference. One had the feeling one was at sea in a ship rather than on a train.
We were warned that since CSX owned the tracks their freight trains had precedence over Amtrak passenger trains and if we met one we would have to pull off the tracks and let the freight go by. We also heard Auto Train is the longest passenger train in operation in America today.
Wine came first and then a delicious hot dinner brought in a big plastic bag served in plastic-covered dinner plates — flat skillet flank steak, mashed potatoes, gravy and a vegetable medley, hard roll and in a separate container, chocolate sundaes with whipped cream. It was pleasant sitting in our compartment and watching northern Florida scrub land passing by. We hit the Georgia line and a whiff of a paper mill as we were preparing for bed.
The poor soul who had to sleep in the top bunk had to fasten himself into a safety harness in case the train hit something in the night. The ladder that was attached to the top bunk stopped the poor soul in the lower bunk from getting out of her bed. One might have felt trapped in the beds until the conductor returned in the morning and returned the beds into a sitting area once again.
We awoke to an announcement we were approaching Richmond. Breakfast was cold cereal, juice, coffee cake, banana and beverage as we passed Randolph Macon College through Ashland and Quantico Marine base.
Showers in the tiny bathroom provided more adventure, but we were dressed as the train rolled into Lorton. It took 15 minutes to unload our car and we were off to Urbanna.
Entering beloved Urbanna and driving down Rappahannock Avenue to Kent Street was the highlight of the trip. Pear and apple trees were in bloom and forsythia, japonica, daffodils, and crocus greeted us at every corner. It was grand to be home and into the arms of my dog.
© 2021.
