Passenger Trains > Auto Train ride and Brightline last week

Last week (as was posted) a friend and I took The Auto Train to Florida for the FEC Society meeting which included touring US Sugar and Brightline.

ASHLAND

The trip up I95 was quite pleasant with a stop to buy just-in-case supplies for the train trip, favorite sodas and some candy bars. A visit to the Hobby Shop in Ashland, posing in front of the Ashland train camera, a little railfanning then back to I95.

LORTON

We were welcomed to the Auto Train facility at the check in booth and dropped off the car with little wait. Tickets were a challenge. Unable to split the auto fare, it was completely on my ticket. My roomette ticket was fine. My friend had a bed room reserved and the counter person was very kind, even taking him to the train to look at an example of each room to find which best suited him. He received a refund of the difference. Thats great employee service.

On board the car host was a young lady of exceptional pleasantness and friendliness. She was like an old friend after a few minutes. She asked for the usual turn down time, wake up call, etc. She should be held up as a role model in the company.

There was one dinner seating so everyone herded to the dining car for the usual pre-set salad (with a giant envelope of dressing good for five salads) and roll. Tea and water carafes were on the table. A specific employee came by later taking alcohol orders if anyone desired. No offer of soda for us addicts. A server took each persons order and they came out in about 10 minutes. Baked Cod, mashed potatoes and green beans and ice cream were delicious. The pieces of fish were large. Staffing appeared to be about 8, and they were relatively pleasant. Items were removed quickly to get customers out the door.

Sadly amtrak offers one "seating" time like lunch at an elementary school, so you wind up seated with strangers. Some like this, I don't. If they worked like a restaurant over several hours, customers could sit as desired. It is nice for the staff as they have to work for only 60 minutes with customers in addition to the pre-setup and post meal wipe down, then they are done with work.

The lounge car (it had ceiling windows, but not much sight to see in VA and NC except pine trees, plus it was dark) was mostly empty, and bought a Mt Dew and Candy bar from the attendant downstairs for $5 or so.

Sleep does not come easily on trains since I might miss something out the window, and also from the really bad track north of Charleston NC. I thought I was going to be tossed out of the bed several times. I probably woke up once an hour or so, watched some passing crossing signals then went back to sleep. A rattling door right beside the bed was not going to allow sleep but closing the curtain in the door stopped the rattle.

Breakfast was announced sometime really early (not a morning person) and was the usual breads, cereal, juices, etc. Again with the community seating.

The train arrived a little bit early, of course our car was one of the last off.

BRIGHTLINE

Apparently to ride Brightline you should have a smart phone. I downloaded the app, created an account, applied the gift card, bought my ticket and all seemed well. My friend has a flip phone so he created an account for himself using my phone, went to buy a ticket and my previous ticket showed up under his account. Thats a problem. We tried using the web, but reading and typing on that tiny screen was impractical. There is no other way to buy a ticket except the station. No 800 number found. Fortunately I had used my gmail account so my ticket appeared there; if I use my ISP account I could not have been able to get to it. My friend surely couldn't get his email on a flip phone. They need some workarounds for those less technically inclined or those who do not care for or trust technology.

The next morning about 50 of us showed up at Brightlines WPB station to board but their computers were down. The two counter girls did an outstanding job of making do with what they had. My ticket was found and my boarding pass was a post-it note with the car and seat number on it. It worked, we all got aboard. The one negative was the single man in front of me suddenly invited 8 of his late arriving friends or co-workers to join him and buy 8 separate tickets while the rest of us waited. I let him know of his ill manners and that it was not appreciated. I made sure his friends overheard, and I think one of them was his boss.

The trains are absolutely beautiful... great track... smooth ride... 80mph... pleasant staff. This should be the future of passenger rail travel. The restrooms are almost completely "no touch" and look like a home bathroom, especially as compared to the amfleet outhouse restroom or the Superliner phone booth.

Select class offers free soda, alcohol and snack foods from an aisle cart from a very pleasant attendant. Staff waves to departing and arriving trains. This is what service SHOULD be. I made it a point to greet everyone and received a reply without exception, this included the one with the "Security Supervisor" name tag. They ALL have manners.

There are LOTS of crossings down there and the quiet zones are growing. In the non quiet zones it was literally long long short long long long short long long long short long, continuously. The K5 horns are in top condition and sound beautiful. No, I would not like to live alongside the tracks with the frequency.

MIAMI PEOPLEMOVER

Bonus. We used the free people mover elevated train (two cars each, electric power, rubber tires) to get to a mall of restaurants on the water front. It worked fairly well and seemed safe although we were told NOT to go on a specific line.

RETURN

Our return trip was via Jacksonville, Folkston, Jessup, Savannah, SC/NC shortlines, 'South of the border', thence home.

And yes, a letter complimenting the best employees (with names) is being prepared to go to the companies. I ALWAYS do that.

Hope you enjoyed
Michael



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/18 06:45 by emd_mrs1.

I thought AMTRAK no longer had ice cream due to
temperature control problems throughout the supply chain.
This is what we were told by the AMTRAK Head Chef at the Chicago RPA meeting Nov. 2017.

emd-mrs1 / Michael --
thanks so much for the excellent trip report. Glad almost all things went so well for you and your friend. I had read elsewhere that Brightline seems to have cornered the market on friendliness. Good to hear that is true. But brightline really should make it easy for anyne to buy tickets, whether or not they have a "smart" phone or internet access. And it is inexcusable for any company not to have an 800 number anyone can call to get reliable info from (one hopes!) well-informed and nice employees. I did not know -- until I read your great post -- taht no one can buy Brightline tickets without using a "smart" phone, and that Brightline does not have an 800 number. Their website does not even have a "CONTACT US" link. Thatis completely unacceptable.

Didn't you board the Auto Train in Lorton, Virginia?

I, too feel very sorry for the people who live near the tracks that Brightline runs on where there are closely=spaced grade crossings. Those horns do get very annoying if you have to hear them for many hours without a let-up. And, in Brightline's case, almost every person who lives or works near the tracks that Brightline is operating on got there before Brightline begans running on those tracks. (Unlike residents on the San Francisco Peninsula, all of whome were born at least 50 years after the railroad began operating on those tracks.)

I do hope Brightline is a big success, and that they see the wisdom of hiring people to answer the phone, and allow anyone to buy tickets with cash or at least a credit card, either over the phone or in person at stations.

The beginning has confused me a little. May I interpret this as you drove from some point in Virginia up north to Lorton and boarded the Auto Train there? Not sure what Ashland had to do with it.

You can buy Brightline tickets on their website or at the stations. You do not need a smartphone.

Posted from iPhone

Margaret_SP_fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I, too feel very sorry for the people who live
> near the tracks that Brightline runs on where
> there are closely=spaced grade crossings. Those
> horns do get very annoying if you have to hear
> them for many hours without a let-up. And, in
> Brightline's case, almost every person who lives
> or works near the tracks that Brightline is
> operating on got there before Brightline begans
> running on those tracks. (Unlike residents on the
> San Francisco Peninsula, all of whome were born at
> least 50 years after the railroad began operating
> on those tracks.)
================================================

The Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) that Brightline runs on was established in 1885.
Long before anyone living there today were born. Things can change when living next to
a railroad - that should always be in the back of ones mind.

Thank you for comments.

I was not clear on Brightline ticketing. You can buy on their web site provided you have a computer available to you. It is preferable to receive the emailed ticket image with barcode for scanning (requiring a smart phone) or print the ticket on paper (requires access to a printer). You can also print your actual ticket at a self serve kiosk at the front door or at a cashier station. In our specific case, equipment was not available to us as we were traveling. I would feel that some alternate method of advance purchase such as an 800 number would be preferable for those who do not care for technology devices. If you wait till day of travel to buy your ticket at the station, your desired accommodation may be sold out, and my friend did not get into Select class only Smart class.

At present I suspect most Brightline travelers are from FL so they have a better idea than we did of how it works. This will probably shift as their positive reputation expands. The company has a really great product and philosophy, and it should mature over time.

Yes, there was ice cream. I do not know of any story behind it. It was cold and frozen.

Yes, I drove north a distance in order to go south on the auto train. Ashland is a great place to stop for a break, thus offered in narrative as a suggestion to others who may travel this area. In addition the concept of posing in front of a rail camera and having your friends capture the images is amusing.

Yes, I typed the heading in the wrong place, that has been fixed.

As far as train noise is concerned I believe in property rights - keep your noise on your property. Train horns are no different than blasting rap music from your neighbors house (i guess its okay if he lived there before you did???), screeching noises from a metal shredding business, or chainsaws in tree clearing operations. Respect your neighbors or you might very well get regulated for noise.

Michael

I have travelled on AutoTrain a few times recently and can say this about it:

1. Ice cream has always been offered as a dessert.

2. Dinner seatings usually at 5 7 and 9 but will be reduced depending on passenger load, In extreme load situations a fourth seating will be offered, 9 pm will often be omitted under low demand situations,

3. Dinner seatings are determined by how many passengers are on the train, More passengers means more seatings, no more no less

emd_mrs1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you for comments.
>
> I was not clear on Brightline ticketing. You can
> buy on their web site provided you have a computer
> available to you. It is preferable to receive the
> emailed ticket image with barcode for scanning
> (requiring a smart phone) or print the ticket on
> paper (requires access to a printer). You can
> also print your actual ticket at a self serve
> kiosk at the front door or at a cashier station.
> In our specific case, equipment was not available
> to us as we were traveling. I would feel that
> some alternate method of advance purchase such as
> an 800 number would be preferable for those who do
> not care for technology devices. If you wait till
> day of travel to buy your ticket at the station,
> your desired accommodation may be sold out, and my
> friend did not get into Select class only Smart
> class.
>
> At present I suspect most Brightline travelers are
> from FL so they have a better idea than we did of
> how it works. This will probably shift as their
> positive reputation expands. The company has a
> really great product and philosophy, and it should
> mature over time.
>
> Yes, there was ice cream. I do not know of any
> story behind it. It was cold and frozen.
>
> Yes, I drove north a distance in order to go south
> on the auto train. Ashland is a great place to
> stop for a break, thus offered in narrative as a
> suggestion to others who may travel this area. In
> addition the concept of posing in front of a rail
> camera and having your friends capture the images
> is amusing.
>
> Yes, I typed the heading in the wrong place, that
> has been fixed.
>
> As far as train noise is concerned I believe in
> property rights - keep your noise on your
> property. Train horns are no different than
> blasting rap music from your neighbors house (i
> guess its okay if he lived there before you
> did???), screeching noises from a metal shredding
> business, or chainsaws in tree clearing
> operations. Respect your neighbors or you might
> very well get regulated for noise.
>
> Michael

Wouldn't the noise of a train horn be different than your examples? A horn is not the noise of operation, it is, in these cases, a warning of an approaching train. As such it is for the safety of those in the vicinity of the railroad tracks and needs to extend beyond the property of the railroad. The sound of rap music blasting from a car for the occupants pleasure is quite different than the same car's horn sounding to warn of a danger in the roadway.

I will agree with you under limited circumstances. Train horns for crossing warning should be directed for that purpose. There is no need for them to disturb everything within half a mile and potentially up to several miles. Placement or horns high on the roof toward the rear of the locomotive with body work ahead of them requires an even louder horn making the problem worse with the deflected sound. The horns should be placed and aimed to minimize stray noise radiating beyond the front of the train.

Warning devices including horns, fore and police sirens, backup alarms, etc all become louder and more prevalent and more annoying. There is a claim they need to be progressively louder for "safety" yet all this produces is annoyance to others outside the hazard zone.

Outside of its desired or necessary purpose noise is noise. Train horns loud music, chain saws, leaf blowers, loud exhausts all qualify and need to be limited for public peace.

(i have to step away, I will write more when i return)

Michael

> >
> > Michael
>
> Wouldn't the noise of a train horn be different
> than your examples? A horn is not the noise of
> operation, it is, in these cases, a warning of an
> approaching train. As such it is for the safety
> of those in the vicinity of the railroad tracks
> and needs to extend beyond the property of the
> railroad. The sound of rap music blasting from a
> car for the occupants pleasure is quite different
> than the same car's horn sounding to warn of a
> danger in the roadway.

Quiet zones are being installed along brightline. But not TriRail.

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