Amtrak Auto Sanford Florida — Local services in Sanford

Was totally impressed with how easy and comfortable and relaxing everything was.

Tips, tricks, cheats, and answers to some of my own questions, curiosities.

You can't take the AutoTrain if you're not taking a vehicle (motorcycles included) but you can take the Silver Service trains out of Winter Park or DeLand for that though.

Earliest check in is 11:30am, but you can leave so long as you're back for boarding at 2:30/2:45. So we checked in early and went for lunch. We were 15 minutes early and there were about ten cars lined up ahead of us. Took about five minutes to get through once they opened up. Very efficient.

There's a free trolley that'll take you to downtown Sanford for some shopping, lunch, or walk along the river walk if you don't Uber or have some friends or family that'll shuttle you around; thanks dad. lol

Check in was a whole lot easier than we thought. You basically pre check at the front gate, drop your car off in front of the station, and run on in and get your boarding pass. We didn't get to pick meal times because it's off season and there was only one seating at 6:30 pm.

Bathrooms were cleaner and nicer than imagined. Sort of larger than an airline. No showers in coach. Plenty of cleaners and cleansers and disinfectant spray at the ready too. Well stocked bathrooms, I liked that.

I'm a big guy, just taller than 6' and was comfortable in coach. Nice large seats with lots of articulation. They recline a good bit back with several good detents, there's leg bolsters like on a BMW, and foot rests you can adjust a few ways from Sunday. She was able to flatten out her two coach seats by fully reclining them with the leg bolsters in the fully upright position and make a bit of a bed out of it, but she's small. Not me so much but I was able to get a good night's sleep just the same with some ambient youtube music and a skull cap masking my eyes.

Bring a pillow and a light blanket (I used my coat). You will regret this if you don't.

There's a lounge car with beverages, libations, and snacks but you can bring your own except NO ALCOHOL unless you have a sleeper. Some strange rule about that there.

We did the priority vehicle offloading because we thought it was worth the $60. We were out of there in ten minutes flat but we heard from others it moves pretty quick. And I believe it does because of the obvious efficiency with which everyone worked. Was incredible.

What a placid, easy going quiet experience. So easy and devoid of the anxiety you see at the airport.

Demographics. Lots of pensioners, foreign travelers, and a few families with children.

First come, first served supper began at 6:30 pm; four to a table. Was a decent enough choice of beef, chicken, or fish; even was a vegetarian lasagna that looked pretty good. was tea and water. And some really good dessert choices too. Loved the cheesecake. Wasn't anything to write home about but was alright. Was an open seating light continental breakfast too. Cereal, muffins, crumb cakes and things. Cute bagels. Orange juice. Super basic but appreciated. Nice way to kill some time too, meeting fellow travelers. Free coffee and cocoa in the lounge throughout. Cold water available in coach.

Most of the ones we met were AutoTrain regulars. None of them could even remember how many trips they've made. Most of them snowbirds from points radiating out of Lorton to New England and points beyond.

Lounge was open to 10 pm though lights and most people were out by what I think was 9 pm.

Free Internet's provide by Verizon, so I'm told, by towers along the way. Service was largely uninterrupted and was able to stream Netflix and Youtube without issue even though I'd read otherwise and had enough downloaded content just in case.

Two power outlets for each row of...

Almost two weeks after my trip that damaged my motorcycle I am told by the insurance company that represents Amtrak Auto Train they don't handle claims for motorcycles hauled on the train and they would refer my claim over to the insurance company that does. Why could nobody at AmTrack or my initial emails with the first insurance representative not inform me of this.

So I will now reach out to American Express to dispute the charges for this trip and if I have heard nothing by the end of this week, file the claim with my insurance company to go after Amtrak for the negligence in the loading and hauling of my 2022 motorcycle. I will update more as time goes on.

Just took the train from the Lorton Va to Sanford Fl with one of my motorcycles to be used at the Fla house over the winter. Overall, great stress free concept. Two negatives. First, the available food in coach class has much need of improvement. The Angus burger is a pre made plastic bag sealed burger tossed into their microwave for a couple of minutes. Use your imagination, but one clue is the bun was like rubber. Advice for anyone doing coach class, stop at a Jimmy John’s or Subway on your way to the station and grab a couple of subs to be enjoyed during the 16 hour trip. Bring some Pop Tarts for your morning if you think you’ll be hungry too. Also, any other snacks you truly enjoy, as the available options aren’t much to choose from. While the train offers free wifi, it’s not very consistent for streaming Netflix. Download several movies or shows to watch so you’re not dependent on their lackluster wifi. Bring a pillow and and a small blanket if you want to be a little comfy while trying to get some shut eye, but know the train horn sounds at each and every road crossing thru out the night and anytime someone walks between two rail cars, the doors make a fare amount of noise opening and closing. They damaged one of my motorcycle side cases when loading and then failed to strap the rear of my motorcycle in place so it moved around during transit and nicked/dented the other side case. The staff upon arrival were very polite and helpful in starting the claims process, so I’ll add to my review in a few weeks with how things go. Overall opinion, great idea just not much with the food and sleeping had much to be desired. But considering I didn’t have to make the ride on the motorcycle in total storming weather from Ga all of the way into the Sanford station, that saved sone stressful hours on the motorcycle. Would I do it again? With picking up some subs and snacks to enjoy with a pillow and blanket and the Bose noise canceling headphones…yeah, if the weather is bad and I only have a limited time slot to reposition the motorcycle between house, yeah, I’d take the Auto...

I rode the Auto Train from Sanford, FL to Lorton, VA. For a person who normally drives or flies, taking a train is a trip down nostalgia highway. It has been over two decades since I took a train to go somewhere at a distance. I felt the rice of the ticket was somewhat fair until I rode the train. Here's why. I saw the "attendant?" when I boarded the train. I heard from the attendant several times during the trip, but never saw him again until I reached my destination, 16 hours later. I saw my seat and thought it looked comfortable, but the looks are deceiving as the seat is flat and the head rest is high on the seat and I am over 6 feet tall. Shorter individuals complained about it more. The bottom knee/shin risers on the seat didn't work for most of the seats or required you to bend over and man-handle them up. Since most of the passengers are elderly, this was a problem. The foot rests were also broken on many of the seats. The A/C admittedly is not available during the shunting/switching of the cars, but in the night it was on full blast make the cars uncomfortably cold. If you go take a pillow and a blanket, you'll need it. In the old days, even the coach riders had access t the dining car. Not now. we have access to the cafe car. Microwave food, YEAH! $5 hot dog was not fully heated, but the timer on the microwave said it was done. BUMMER. Oh and liquor, Hmmm? Limited seating as half of the seats are RESERVED for TRAIN PERSONNEL ONLY. Wait aren't they working, why do they need seats. Bring a sandwich, some snacks, and a drink. The bathrooms are standard fare if you flown. At least there are three per car. There is good here though. I didn't have to drive for 14 to 16 hours. I left at 5 pm and arrived at 9:30 am the next day, so I saved a day. I was fairly well rested, because I did catch a nap or two on the trip. I woke up in Florence when the train stopped for some reason, but it was a short stop and we were soon on our way. For a reasonable fee, they "towed" my car, no mileage and no gas used. Bottom line: I bought a round trip ticket, I may do this again, I'm not sure. If I weigh the cost of a room with a bed and use of the dining car for a decent meal, it looks like...