I'm thinking of taking the autotrain down from VA on Wednesday, for a Thursday am arrival and then riding it back north on Tuesday.
Any other Mid Atlantic challengers ever consider it? It's a little less than $120 each way if you don't get a sleeper (I may end up getting a sleeper) which easily offsets gas and overnight lodging cost for the trek down and back. You arrive outside of Orlando a little less than 3 hours from Gainesville. You miss south of the border, many Bojangles and Cookout locations, I'm not sure if the Buc-cees in GA is open as of yet.
Don't they require that the car be in running condition to load it? Reminds me, do I need to bring a spare car for the Firm run?
They must be incredibly desperate. When I checked many years ago, a passenger ticket was $85. The car ticket was $395. 
In reply to 03Panther :
I have credits for the $208 vehicle cost (each way) from previous trips.
There is a buccees on the route from Sanford to Gainesville. It is the main reason I go to the firm these days.
I found the auto train to be quite expensive the only time I rode it. I was nursing a partially broken car home to Florida and decided the train was preferable to breathing more carbon monoxide. A ticket for the car, 2 adults, and a sleeping cabin was over $800. We downgraded to just seats and didn't sleep get a full night's rest.
In reply to ojannen :
The sleeper cabin is a debate for me, if swmbo tags along, it won't be a debate.
I've never heard of autotrain.
In reply to yupididit :
They have signs all up and down the I-95 corridor saying "tired yet? You could be riding the train."
But I haven't lived over that way in many years. It was prohibitively expensive to a broke college kid when gas was a buck a gallon. But it sounds much cheaper now.
This is the first time I have heard of this. It appears that Amtrak has exactly two stations that service this need, and I find myself wondering why.
Racebrick said:
This is the first time I have heard of this. It appears that Amtrak has exactly two stations that service this need, and I find myself wondering why.
Because Snowbirds, Disney, equipment cost, and the fact that this was already an established route before Amtrak took it on.
03Panther said:
They must be incredibly desperate. When I checked many years ago, a passenger ticket was $85. The car ticket was $395.
As of this morning it appears to be $98 each way now, with an additional $487 for a car round trip.
That's a lot of Dough-Ray-Me for riding 17 hours in a train seat.
Something else to consider if you are especially funky with your vehicle choice or mods.
There are more restrictions in the link, including one about non-factory roof racks, and the fact that said racks must be empty during the trip.
:uninstalls Radwood era lambo door mod:
I live near Lorton. This expands my car search to FL where I could do a fly-and-ride vs driving and being tired!
In reply to Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
That is absolutely a brilliant idea.
Tim and I took the Auto Train with the Tiger several years ago, and we had some discussion on the Classic forum at the time: Linky
Margie
If that service existed from Chicago to Orlando I would absolutely take it.
In fact, this is an excellent opportunity for a driverless startup. Get a driverless semi, outfit the back as a toy hauler with rv-style living space, pick people up at home then drop at destination.
Heck, if you could do 2 cars and 2 sleeping quarters in one box, you maybe could pay for the human driver!
Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself said:
03Panther said:
They must be incredibly desperate. When I checked many years ago, a passenger ticket was $85. The car ticket was $395.
As of this morning it appears to be $98 each way now, with an additional $487 for a car round trip.
That's a lot of Dough-Ray-Me for riding 17 hours in a train seat.
Yeah, but it's 850 miles. If you get 20mpg, you're spending $425 on gas alone right now for the same round trip.
It beats the HELL out of towing!
If they would do a westbound route I'd be interested. Headed to the northeast, I would just as soon take I81 through the mountains. It's a pretty drive.
Will keep it in mind, looks like about $700 minimum for a round trip with a car. I figure that would be competing with $200~$300 in accommodations and driving at 25~30MPG on premium.
