Auto-Train Corporation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Auto-Train Corporation (reporting mark AUT) was a privately-owned railroad which used its own rolling stock, and traveled on rails leased from major railroads along the route of its trains, serving central Florida from points in the Mid-Atlantic region near Washington, DC and the Mid-West near Louisville, Kentucky during the 1970s. Despite popularity of the service on its primary route, which parallels busy Interstate 95 along much of the eastern coast of the United States in 5 states, the company failed financially after operating almost 10 years. After a hiatus, a similarly named and operated service was begun under the government financed Amtrak in 1983, which became one of railroad's most popular services.
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[edit] The original Auto-Train service: 1971-1981
A concept of Auto-Train Corporation founder Eugene K. Garfield, a former employee of the US Department of Transportation, the novel approach allowed families to relax en route and save the expense and unfamiliarity of a rental car on arrival. The Auto-Train consists included passenger cars, autoracks, and a caboose. Although the company had its own locomotives and rolling stock, Auto-Train Corporation trains initially operated on Seaboard Coast Line (SCL) and Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac (RF&P) tracks.
Auto-Train Corporation's new service began operations on December 6, 1971 between Lorton, Virginia and Sanford, Florida. The service was a big hit with travelers. Before long, the ambitious entrepreneurs of Auto-Train were looking to expand into other markets, and even established a short-lived service between Louisville, Kentucky and Sanford, Florida.
Lack of success from the Louisville expansion, high crew costs and several spectacular accidents put Garfield's company into bankruptcy. Auto-Train Corporation was forced to end its services in late April, 1981.
[edit] Amtrak revives service
Operating for almost 10 years, Auto-Train had developed a popular following, particularly among older travelers as it ferried passengers and their cars between Virginia and Florida. No one else offered a service quite like that of Auto-Train Corporation until after a gap of almost two years, service was revived by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, better known as Amtrak, a federally-chartered corporation which operates most intercity passenger trains in the United States. .
Today, Amtrak's Auto Train, carries about 200,000 passengers and generates around $50 million in revenue annually. It is considered Amtrak's best-paying train, being the top of a handful of Amtrak trains that make a profit.
Due to the success of the Auto Train, the Sanford station has found itself to unable to sufficiently accommodate passengers in the main terminal forcing them to rely on temporary tents to cover the remainder of passengers. A new terminal is being constructed with money from the Recovery Act.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- ThemeTrains.com - The Story of the 1971-1981 auto-train
- Bill's Railroad Empire - the original Auto-Train page n-scale modeling
- George Elwood's Fallen Flags site, original Auto-Train pageslots of locomotive and rolling stock photos
- from a 1971 Auto-Train Corp. brochure, including information on the 2nd short-lived Auto-Train route (Louisville-Sanford service)
- Pictures of Auto-Train U36B locomotives
- Diesel Shop rail photo site photo of Auto-Train diesel-electric locomotive when almost new
- Orlando Sentinel newspaper article about Auto-Train Corp and Amtrak's Auto Train replacement
- Orlando Sentinel article on Sanford Terminal renovation
