Amtrak Auto Train and Key West

[Joesmoe]

Finally got around to it - though NOT a Rocket.

Inspired by @R3Tex et al (Run to the Keys), I've been looking for the opportunity ever since.

My wife got frustrated with the kids wanting to do their own thing for Thanksgiving, and announced last summer that mom and dad would take a vacation.

Made reservations on the Amtrak Auto Train for 16 Nov.

We loaded up a 2014 Honda CTX700D with diminutive side saddles, a Chinese top box, plus a little under cargo netting on top.

Amtrak uses these four-wheel dolly/cradle arrangements, and it turns out, their maximum dimensions cover the Rocket. Notice the ball hitch on the dolly. During high time, such as Bike Week, they may have a dozen of these - two bikes each (or one trike) - daisy-chained, and a guy heads up the train with a John Deere tractor and drives onto the car carrier. At the other end, the tractor with motorcycle dollies is driven off the carrier to a similar platform.

In the photo above, the bike front wheel is in the wheel receptacle, and the front suspension has been cinched down with two tie down straps. Another tie down strap in the rear has yet to be fitted. By Amtrak policy, the tie down straps are separated from the bike by soft cloths.

Taking a motorcycle on the train is half the cost of a car, (though the passenger portion of the ticket is unchanged).

Amtrak has this down to a science. Our train pulled in the station at 0745 (about a half hour early), and the motorcycles (only one going down, two coming back) were announced about two thirds of the way through the 141 vehicles on the train today. We were on the bike, and turning out the parking lot by 0850.

 

[atlsrt44]

So many questions. How long was the ride? Were you in coach while time? I just rode Amtrak from chicago to san Fran in October

 

[scot in exile]

The club I belong to have used amtracka few times(I have not had the pleasure yet) and they loved it.

 

[Joesmoe]

Amtrak runs two trains simultaneously, year round. Each train starts at the respective location (Lorton, VA -- SW of DC -- and Sanford, FL -- NE of Orlando), departing at 1600, and passing during the night, arriving at the other location around 0800 (Amtrak doesn't own the tracks, and operates at the mercy of CSX -- and has a decent on-time record nevertheless).

The trains typically consist of 39 cars (3/4 of mile long - longest currently operating in the US east of the Mississippi): twenty-three car carriers, and a mix of coach and sleepers, though about 80% take a sleeper (as did my wife and I - was a vacation after all); dining and lounge cars.

There is only one scheduled stop in the middle for crew change.

 

[rng3]

So, where did you ride and how did you and your wife like it? Kicking around the idea of a few days in Florida this January if work allows.

Rick

 

[Joesmoe]

We had one of those "free" cruises ($160 with port taxes and such) found on the back of a concert ticket my daughter bought earlier in the year -- was a two-hour hard-sell resorts share thing by Wyndham and unhappy manipulation as they had put us up in a fleabag motel to show the contrast with their wonderful resort. Anyway, back from that, rode down to Tamiami Trail and took an hour airboat ride - highly recommend at the "Safari" concession there. Then we rode down to Key West -- got an airBnB - worked fine. And on the way back, spent the night at Cypress Cove resort before catching the train again for the trip back. All told, put 1,100 miles and change on the bike. Really like our Sena 20 intercom set, and ended up using the phone and Google Maps for turn-by-turn guidance paired to the Sena.

 

[rng3]

Sounds like you had a busy time. Being from the North what did you think of the Tamiami Trail?

Rick

 

[Joesmoe]

You have to remember Florida is flat. The Tamiami Trail bisects what used to be the Florida Everglades. To the south is national park land, protected from development. To the north is land "tamed" and "harnessed" by folks, primarily to take advantage of water for agriculture. The Everglades as an ecosystem is interesting, and you can see egrets and herons and other birds as you go by, and alligators are known to crawl onto the pavement, so you do have to pay a little attention to where you are going. Having seen it in one direction, it may not be worth going back the same way, and may be better to jog north and return east via I-75.