Dovecote
OBS Chief
On August 27, my wife and I traveled on the Auto Train (AT) from Sanford (SFA) to Lorton (LOR). We are frequent travelers on the AT traveling back and forth to our homes in Thomasville and Harpers Ferry (HFY). This would mark our eighth AT trip since November 2009. This particular trip was to begin preparation of the selling of our HFY home. The trip itself was suspenseful before it started due to the presence of Hurricane Isaac. Fortunately for us the epicenter of the affected area was west of SFA.
Before beginning the five hour ride south to SFA a phone call to Amtrak was in order. It was imperative to learn the status of the AT with Isaac doing its thing in Central Florida. The agent checked and informed me that the train was a go. We departed South Georgia at 8:00 AM allowing us wiggle time in event of weather delays. Rain became evident around Lake City about 100 miles from home. The rain continued off and on for the remainder of the trip. There was only one stretch around Ocala that driving was difficult. Overall it was a tolerable ride to SFA and we arrived shortly after 1:00 PM.
When we made our turn off Rt. 46 near the station on Persimmon Street there was a line of cars greeting us. We were situated about six cars from the railroad crossing. I was told the line would eventually reach the main highway and extend from there. The culprit was a delayed southbound #53. The train officially arrived at 12:30 PM but unloading was not evident until after we were “parked” on the street. Once the first vehicle passed us in the opposite direction we knew the check-in process for us was on hold while the workers unloaded 53. Our total wait on the street was around 45 minutes and we reached the check-in gate at 2:00 PM.
Once relinquishing our car outside the station we had yet another wait at the check-in counter inside. The line snaked outside the roped area but overall moved well. At check-in the agent asked our preferred dining time. The agent noted my request of in-room dining on the boarding pass jacket. Passenger loading began at 4:15 PM and the train departed at 4:50 PM (50 minutes later than the posted departure time). We were assigned Car# 5243 Roomette #11. The lower level assignment was a specific request of mine since my wife was just three weeks postop from a total knee replacement. Having to navigate stairs was a no-no for her. Our SCA Dinia came by shortly after the train departed and officially welcomed us. She was aware of our in room dining request and took our order for both dinner and breakfast.
Within a half hour of departure a familiar voice was recognizable outside in the vestibule on his cell phone. It was the On-Board Chief, John. We have had John on previous occasions and he is a most pleasant person. John was discussing with the powers that be upgrading passengers in sleeper cars. This was a surprise to me as I was unaware that sleeper room onboard upgrading was permitted. When John concluded his call I discussed this matter with him. He confirmed that he was performing onboard upgrades and this is nothing new for him. He did mention though that the price of the upgrade is the same had the passenger upgraded at the station. In other words there is no price advantage upgrading once on board.
Once knowing the possibility of onboard upgrading I asked John if we could upgrade to the adjacent unoccupied Accessible Bedroom. My wife has having difficulty in her condition in the cramped roomette and moving to this room would give her spacious room to roam. John asked me the price I paid for the roomette and then checked his fare sheet. He told me that the upgrade would cost $74 (I had paid the low bucket roomette price of $132). I told him to proceed and we were on our way. The actual charge took place after John submitted his paperwork in LOR. My credit card that handled the original transaction was billed internally.
Later in the journey John announced the passenger and vehicle count for the train. He said the train was three-fourths full. There were 387 passengers (172 in sleepers, 215 in coach). There were 165 vehicles (118 cars and 47 oversized). Dinner was served by Dinia about twenty minutes after the 5:00 PM dinner seating PA announcement. We both ordered the flat iron steak. This is usually a good choice for us but unfortunately this time the texture and taste was off.
The train did not make any of its lost time during the early evening hours. We actually lost time and we were about two hours down when we passed by the Jacksonville station. However by the morning all of the lost time was gone and we were greeted by John with his PA wakeup call informing us that the train was running on time. Dinia came by shortly afterwards with the no frills continental breakfast. She encouraged my wife to take advantage of passenger assistance at the station and arranged for wheelchair pickup for the unboarding process. Dinia was a very competent SCA from start to finish. Hopefully we will be fortunate to have her serve us again.
The vehicle unboarding process is always a crap shoot and this time lady luck was not on our side. We had about a 45 minute wait into the process. Actually we were informed that our vehicle was ready by the Amtrak employee who assisted Gloria into the station. He took her to the vehicle and we were on our way to HFY. We were home in 90 minutes.
Until next time,
Dovecote
Before beginning the five hour ride south to SFA a phone call to Amtrak was in order. It was imperative to learn the status of the AT with Isaac doing its thing in Central Florida. The agent checked and informed me that the train was a go. We departed South Georgia at 8:00 AM allowing us wiggle time in event of weather delays. Rain became evident around Lake City about 100 miles from home. The rain continued off and on for the remainder of the trip. There was only one stretch around Ocala that driving was difficult. Overall it was a tolerable ride to SFA and we arrived shortly after 1:00 PM.
When we made our turn off Rt. 46 near the station on Persimmon Street there was a line of cars greeting us. We were situated about six cars from the railroad crossing. I was told the line would eventually reach the main highway and extend from there. The culprit was a delayed southbound #53. The train officially arrived at 12:30 PM but unloading was not evident until after we were “parked” on the street. Once the first vehicle passed us in the opposite direction we knew the check-in process for us was on hold while the workers unloaded 53. Our total wait on the street was around 45 minutes and we reached the check-in gate at 2:00 PM.
Once relinquishing our car outside the station we had yet another wait at the check-in counter inside. The line snaked outside the roped area but overall moved well. At check-in the agent asked our preferred dining time. The agent noted my request of in-room dining on the boarding pass jacket. Passenger loading began at 4:15 PM and the train departed at 4:50 PM (50 minutes later than the posted departure time). We were assigned Car# 5243 Roomette #11. The lower level assignment was a specific request of mine since my wife was just three weeks postop from a total knee replacement. Having to navigate stairs was a no-no for her. Our SCA Dinia came by shortly after the train departed and officially welcomed us. She was aware of our in room dining request and took our order for both dinner and breakfast.
Within a half hour of departure a familiar voice was recognizable outside in the vestibule on his cell phone. It was the On-Board Chief, John. We have had John on previous occasions and he is a most pleasant person. John was discussing with the powers that be upgrading passengers in sleeper cars. This was a surprise to me as I was unaware that sleeper room onboard upgrading was permitted. When John concluded his call I discussed this matter with him. He confirmed that he was performing onboard upgrades and this is nothing new for him. He did mention though that the price of the upgrade is the same had the passenger upgraded at the station. In other words there is no price advantage upgrading once on board.
Once knowing the possibility of onboard upgrading I asked John if we could upgrade to the adjacent unoccupied Accessible Bedroom. My wife has having difficulty in her condition in the cramped roomette and moving to this room would give her spacious room to roam. John asked me the price I paid for the roomette and then checked his fare sheet. He told me that the upgrade would cost $74 (I had paid the low bucket roomette price of $132). I told him to proceed and we were on our way. The actual charge took place after John submitted his paperwork in LOR. My credit card that handled the original transaction was billed internally.
Later in the journey John announced the passenger and vehicle count for the train. He said the train was three-fourths full. There were 387 passengers (172 in sleepers, 215 in coach). There were 165 vehicles (118 cars and 47 oversized). Dinner was served by Dinia about twenty minutes after the 5:00 PM dinner seating PA announcement. We both ordered the flat iron steak. This is usually a good choice for us but unfortunately this time the texture and taste was off.
The train did not make any of its lost time during the early evening hours. We actually lost time and we were about two hours down when we passed by the Jacksonville station. However by the morning all of the lost time was gone and we were greeted by John with his PA wakeup call informing us that the train was running on time. Dinia came by shortly afterwards with the no frills continental breakfast. She encouraged my wife to take advantage of passenger assistance at the station and arranged for wheelchair pickup for the unboarding process. Dinia was a very competent SCA from start to finish. Hopefully we will be fortunate to have her serve us again.
The vehicle unboarding process is always a crap shoot and this time lady luck was not on our side. We had about a 45 minute wait into the process. Actually we were informed that our vehicle was ready by the Amtrak employee who assisted Gloria into the station. He took her to the vehicle and we were on our way to HFY. We were home in 90 minutes.
Until next time,
Dovecote
