MD Railfan said:
My family and I are considering taking the auto train next year and I was wondering if there are:1. more than one sleeping car as the family bedroom is only one per car. This would be in June southbound.
2. Also is there more than one diner.
3. Is there more than one lounge car and is it a sightseer lounge or a regular one.
4. If there is more than one, does every lounge have a smoking section. My family are non-smokers and would avoid the lounge if necessary.
5 Is there any place to eat lunch while waiting at Lorton to board.(after auto checkin)
Any information would be helpful. Thanks
Depending on passenger load, the Autotrain has a minimum of 4 sleeping cars, typically it runs with 5 or 6, and sometimes even more. However, if you do want the family room, don't wait too long to book it. They do fill up fast, not to mention that the price for the room increases as the train fills up.
There is more than one dining car, always a minimum of two, since all passenger's both those in coach and those the sleeping cars get their meals included. Often the train runs with 3 diners during peak times.
Again, usually there are at two lounge cars. One for coach passengers, one for sleeping car passengers. Normally they are specially designed lounge cars that you won't see on any other train. However, if a lounge car is out for maitenance or repair, the substitute lounge is an enhanced Sightseer lounge car.
All lounge cars permit smoking in a special room on the lower level. Oddly enough, only once when I rode and found the sightseer lounge running on my train, did I actually notice smoke upstairs. The regular Auto Train lounge cars seem to do a much better job at containing and exhuasting the smoke. I had my neices and nephews in the lounge car, along with their parents and no one noticed any smoke.
There is no real place to eat at Lorton. There is a small snack bar, but they don't offer what I'd consider a nutritous lunch. You can bring your own food with you to eat in the terminal, but there is no place to cook anything. Most people eat elsewhere off the highway, before arriving at the terminal.
Finally, you may wish to check out
these hints and tips for the AutoTrain from On Track On Line. They even include places to get lunch, before you arrive at the terminal.
