Passenger Trains > Bad Luck Auto Train Part 2 (room and dining)

My friends arrived safely in Florida.

As shown in another post, their train was hit in the station by a runaway car, then there was a medical emergency aboard resulting in more delays.

They also provided a review of the food alsong with a few photos.  Here is the review (it was a text message, so I tidied it up with punctuation and such):
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"Dinner was not very good.

Dinner was served in take out containers. The meat was tough and baked potatoes yucky, hard and cold. Roll was hard, carrots were good. They made us all eat in our rooms due to crash delay

Breakfast was just okay"  (photos show breakfast sandwiches, prepackaged hardboiled eggs, cereal bowls, wrapped muffins, fruit, pretty much the standard continental breakfast)
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My friends dine in a wide variety of dining establishments from expensive resorts with multiple course meals, all the way to roadside diners and fast food.  In VA we dined at a local family type Italian restaurant which was excellent.  It opened in the 70's and still has the same decor and prices.  Their lunch before boarding was McDonalds Cheeseburgers and fries.  I mention this to put their expectations and experiences into focus.  

In addition their bathroom flooded during the trip but Amtrak took care of that by relocating them to another room

As of 11am they were in Sanford waiting for their car.

On the nice side they sent me a picture of a difco dump car still lettered for C&O even though they are not rail enthusiasts.

I noted it was rasin bran and special K cereal, I didnt see my favorite type of cereal "chocolate frosted sugar bombs" or similar unhealthy things.

Michael
 

Calvin & Hobbs, I love it. "They're not too bad if you put sugar on them."
—Mac

emd_mrs1 Wrote:
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> I noted it was rasin bran and special K cereal, I
> didnt see my favorite type of cereal "chocolate
> frosted sugar bombs" or similar unhealthy things.
>
> Michael
>  

What does leaving late have to do with being able to eat in the diner? Sounds like the crew used the car crash as an excuse.  Unless a staff member was injured in the accident. I don't recall reading what  Amtrak car was hit. 

Train29 Wrote:
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> What does leaving late have to do with being able
> to eat in the diner? Sounds like the crew used the
> car crash as an excuse.  Unless a staff member
> was injured in the accident. I don't recall
> reading what  Amtrak car was hit. 

It was a sleeping car that was hit. 

That's too bad regarding dinner, as the new Traditional Dining Menu and meals have been very good. I remember reading another comment where someone said that their meal aboard the Empire Builder (from the Tranditional Dining Menu) was better than their meal on the Auto Train!  

And by the way, pretty sure that's normal breakfast food for the Auto Train - just a continental light breakfast......There's no official sitdown hot breakfast, and hasn't been since at least the train was equipped with Superliners. Train used to arrive by 8 am into terminal detination. Although now timed for 9 am, the breakfast fare didn't change. Amtrak just puts out a contiental brekfast buffet of sorts for the morning!

I recall hopping on the Lake Shore Limited one morning when the train was two hours late. When I asked about breakfast in the diner, I was told an emphatic "NO!" 

Victor



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/21 17:56 by wabash2800.

Most of my recent auto train trips the dinner has been really good. Of course it probably depends on who is cooking…..

Posted from iPhone

The last few times I've had breakfast on the Auto-Train, it's been packaged cereal, choice of juice, bagel or roll, butter, banana, etc. OK food.

Isn't the idea - quick breakfast and then your off the train? That's per the schedule and general operating plan. Not sure what happens when they run HOURS late! But Auto Train does typically do well. CSX insisted on the train adding in another hour to its schedule nearly 20 years ago. Seems to get the train over the road pretty well if there's no MAJOR catastrophes!

lordsigma Wrote:
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> Most of my recent auto train trips the dinner has
> been really good. Of course it probably depends on
> who is cooking…..
>
> Posted from iPhone

The expectations of the person writing the review is a big factor too.

Must be a bad microwave on one of the trainsets.

Train29 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What does leaving late have to do with being able
> to eat in the diner? Sounds like the crew used the
> car crash as an excuse.  Unless a staff member
> was injured in the accident. I don't recall
> reading what  Amtrak car was hit. 

The dining car crew has set hours they work. And the hours don't change even if the train is delayed.

Some crews will go above and beyond what they're required. But most won't.