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we are taking auto train for first time. 2 adults and 2 children 8 and 11. booked two roomettes on the lower level of sleeper car. my concerns are, since i am a clean freak (can't seem to help myself) the bathrooms and shower room. Just how clean do they keep these things? should i bring a small trigger bottle of disenfectant to spray on toilet seats before use? How clean are the roomette surfaces? should i bring some disinfectant wipes perhaps? Thanks for any advice from you veterans of the road.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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As a veteran of 17 Auto Train trips, allow me to note the Washrooms and Shower have always been clean enough for me.
HillsideStation Member # 6386
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All our protestations aside you WILL bring your spray bottle and disinfectant wipes with you; knowing that if you don't you WILL find the facilities not to your level of approval. The most important part of any travel, especially a rail trip is comfort. You WILL be more comfortable with your sanitizing equipment, so bring them. If you use them that is your choice. but better to be armed than at the mercy of a less than spotless cleaning crew and attendant. Best regards, Rodger...we carry disinfectant cloths, but use them sparingly, when necessary...and we are NOT clean freaks; simply veterans of chemotherapy and resultant need to be germ free especially between the tenth and fourteenth day after treatment.
SilverStar092 Member # 2652
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Be sure to toss the disinfectant cloths into the trash NOT the toilet. If they go into the toilet, they may clog the vacuum system and your entire sleeping car will lose toilet service for the rest of the trip. This will be most unpleasant smelling and will make you unpopular if caught.
mjl Member # 7703
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thank you for that information. We surely would not throw the wipes into the toilet. I can see that the car attendant evidently must regularly inspect the bathrooms and keep them clean??? Also are the roomettes generally cold in the month of june or is it different for every sleeper car?
smitty195 Member # 5102
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Room attendants are hit-and-miss. I have never taken the Auto Train, but I have a large number of years under my belt traveling on most of Amtrak's long-distance trains in the sleepers. Definitely bring your disinfectant wipes!! Also, I always wear sandals (the type you would wear at a pool) when using the shower. I don't want my feet touching the same surface that thousands of other feet have touched over the years. Yuck!
Regarding the temperature in the rooms.....it depends on the individual. I have noticed that older folks are always cold, and younger folks are always hot. There's no way to please everyone. In my personal opinion, the temp has always been just fine.
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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I would suggest to everyone traveling on a train to wipe down all wet surfaces with the paper towels provided after using the bathroom, especially around the washbasin. This is just common courtesy and helps make the trip more pleasant for everyone.
mjl Member # 7703
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thank you everyone for the response to our questions. Esp. from people who know what they are talking about. Also, do many people use the shower on the sleeper that are in the roomettes and family bedroom?
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Mr. MJL, likely this was a simple no harm intended misstatement on your part, but only the Bedrooms offer a private shower in each room.
To put it mildly, I am surprised how few passengers take advantage of the greatest innovation to overnight rail travel the Amtrak era has brought about.
I have found that there are always filled cans of spray disinfectant in any of the washrooms or shower rooms I have used on AT over the years.
mjl Member # 7703
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Mr Norman, I have read many of your responses to many of the questions on this board and you indeed do a good service in the amount of helpful information dispensed. My prior question was to find out if many of the sleeper customers that are not in the bedrooms with showers used the community shower in the sleeper car. I take it that few actually do. would that be correct?
and another question for you. how do you feel about the Silver service trains as compared to the auto train. comfort? newness of the equipment? viewliner roomette vs. superliner roomette? overall enjoyment? one better than the other?
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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I don't know if there is a good answer to the question of whether roomette users take advantage of the single communal shower. I've been the only person on an entire Chicago-to-Emeryville run to use that shower, and I've also had to wait in line . . . and wait . . . and discover that the towel supply had utterly diminished.
I suspect newbies avoid the shower, but veteran sleeper passengers don't hesitate to use it.
Once I discovered a couple, both coach passengers, disporting themselves when I opened the unlocked door to the shower. At least they didn't hog the soap.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Silver Service v. Auto Train? nolo contendere.
Auto Train, along with Acela in the Corridor, simply represent Amtrak's best foot forward. Some could say, AT is simply an extension of the NEC. In fact a small detail I have noted is that the Sanford Gift Shop is operated by the same concessionaire, Faber Enterprises, that holds numerous contracts for same at NEC stations.
I believe Mr. Kisor has addressed the on-board use of showers. I have never had to wait in line for such; likely my Lower Level Roomette preference has much to do with my absence of inconvenience.
20thCenturyLimited Member # 1108
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Well, to be perfectly honest, I would have booked two deluxe bedrooms instead of two roomettes. You see, on Viewliner equipment, the "roomettes" are fine, because each roomette has it's own toilet and sink. Only the shower is down the corridor, and it's clean (or at least, always has been when I used it (wore flip flops in the shower room but NOT in the actual shower). Also, I was either the only one or one of only a very few who used it.
However, I would NEVER book a roomette for an overnight trip on a Superliner car (Chicago-Los Angeles, for example), because then you have to use the common toilet facilities down the hall. No thank you. Of course, since you are on Auto Train (which utilizes Superliner equipment), it's only overnight one night so it might not be so bad but still....
The advantage to the Deluxe Bedrooms on the Superliner is the same situation as the "Roomette" on the Viewliner - en suite toilet facilities. Yeah, it also has the bizarre shower in there too, but frankly, if you travel in a Deluxe Bedroom the smartest thing to do is to use your private toilet and sink but still go down the corridor to shower.
Anyhow, my reply to you is YES, bring your disinfectant wipes, ESPECIALLY if you are a germaphobe.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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quote:Originally posted by 20thCenturyLimited: Well, to be perfectly honest, I would have booked two deluxe bedrooms instead of two roomettes.
Actually Mr 20th Century, I have observed a party of two book TWO Bedrooms en-suite on the Auto Train.
On that journey I had occasion to meet the elderly couple. They were really "down to earth' folk residing near Phila (St. Davids IIRC). Hopefully being tactful, I did elicit their choice was made because "we don't likes to climb up a ladder to bed and can do without walking the hallway for those things (potty)".
Kept to myself was thought did they book an entire auto carrier so their Lexus LX-470 could have the car to itself.
What does astound me is the number of well traveled members we have who have been on as good as every line in North America yet have not ridden Auto Train. I believe it was noted here that Mr. Guenzler has yet to ride such. I'm sort of the other hand; seventeen trips on AT over the years, but I've never ridden Sunset West, Starlight, Crescent, or Canadian, during the Amtrak/VIA era.
But then as I have noted here in the past, AT is not exactly a train enthusiast mecca.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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Regarding not riding the Auto Train, I guess the reason I've never ridden it is because of the requirement to have a car. Living in California, I don't really want to drive to the east coast in order to ride a train. Although I have never looked into the possibility of flying back east and then renting car. I'm assuming that the rental companies don't allow this, but you know what happens when "assuming" things. Maybe they do? I'm just used to rentals in Hawaii, where certain areas of the islands are forbidden and void the rental contract.
train lady Member # 3920
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Gil,we are among the well traveled who have never ridden the auto train and with good reason. We like to poke along exploring here and there stopping when something seemed interesting.One year we decided to drive to Denver instead of using the CZ. We managed to put 6000 miles on the car.Our usual mode was to "amtrak" to Denver , rent a car there and take off for a few weeks. One can't do that on the auto train.
George Harris Member # 2077
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quote:Originally posted by smitty195: I'm just used to rentals in Hawaii, where certain areas of the islands are forbidden and void the rental contract.
Totally off topic, but: Our one trip to Hawaii with car rental we noticed this little peculiarity also. What was most frustrating was to find some of the points of interest we would love to have visited by car on the rental contract's "Thou shalt not go there" list. Prime example: On the Big Island the road to the "southernmost point in the US."
smitty195 Member # 5102
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Hey George----you really had me scratching my head on this one. I learned something new today, and learned that I had believed the wrong thing my entire life! I always thought that the southernmost point in the US was in Key West, Florida. I thought about it.....and thought about it....and finally had to Google it. I'll be darned! I never knew that the southernmost point was in Hawaii. That's really something. Thanks for the info!
RRRICH Member # 1418
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The Southernmost Point in the CONTINENTAL U.S. is in Key West, but yes, Hawaii is further south than the Fla. Keys
Concerning Gil's observation that many of us have not ridden the Auto Train -- I have not ridden it because there is better service from my area to the NE on Silver Service trains -- why drive or take a taxi way up to Sanford, then have to get off the AT at a point where there are ABSOLUTELY ZERO connections to any other AMTRAK trains? Also, I believe you do have to have a car in order to ride the AT, don't you? Why would I want to take my car up to Washington DC?
If the AT started in Orlando, and if you didn't have to have a car to ride on it, I would certainly ride the AT up north.
Geoff M Member # 153
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I have travelled most routes but not on the Auto Train, reason being that I need a car. One can indeed hire a car in one location and drop off in another, but be prepared to pay a hefty surcharge if the two places are far apart or not on a popular route - for example, LA to SF one way might not incur much penalty but a city pair out in the boonies may well attract hefty charges to get the vehicle back "home".
If I could ride the Auto Train, I would. I just prefer Superliner cars to Viewliners, especially with a sightseer lounge car.
Geoff M.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Mr. RICH, you must have an auto in order to use Auto Train (save emergencies rising to the level of 9/11), and conversely, you must be on the train in order to have your auto handled. These are contractual provisions within the separate agreement originally between the AT Corp and the SCL and RF&P RR's. Amtrak and CSX are simply successor parties to this 1971 Agreement.
In short, no "competition" with (the rest of) Amtrak for handling passengers, none with CSX for handling titled autos as freight.
DPM once did the "rent and ride' and chronicled his story in TRAINS. Apparently the Florida auto rental check in facility had "conniptions' when they checked in an auto rented in Wash and returned in Orlando with maybe 50 miles used during the rental.
RRRICH Member # 1418
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Thanks for the info, Gil -- that's what I thought.
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