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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Inter-city rail |
| Status | Defunct |
| Locale | Eastern Seaboard |
| First service | December 6, 1971 (1971-12-06) (Sanford-Lorton) 1974 (1974) (Sanford-Louisville) |
| Last service | April 1981 (1981-04) (Sanford-Lorton) 1977 (1977) (Sanford-Louisville) |
| Successor | AmtrakAuto Train |
| Former operator | Auto-Train Corporation |
| Route | |
| Termini | Lorton, Virginia Louisville, Kentucky (1974-1977) Sanford, Florida |
| On-board services | |
| Observation facilities | Dome cars |
| Technical | |
| Rolling stock | SeeRolling stock |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Founders | Eugene K. Garfield |
| Reporting mark | AUCX |
| Dates of operation | 1971 (1971)–1981 (1981) |
| Successor | Amtrak (1983) |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
Auto-Train Corporation (reporting markAUCX), stylizedauto-train, was a privately owned passengerrailroad that operated from 1971 to 1981. Its trains includedautorack cars, enabling passengers to bring their own vehicles on their journey. The company used its ownrolling stock, and traveled on rails leased from major railroads. It served centralFlorida from points in the Mid-Atlantic region nearWashington, D.C., and the Midwest nearLouisville, Kentucky. The company failed after 10 years despite the popularity of the service on its primary route, which parallels busyInterstate 95 in five states along the eastern U.S. coast.
After a hiatus, a similarly named and operated service,Auto Train, began under the government-financedAmtrak in 1983, which became one of the railroad's most popular services.
An idea of Auto-Train Corporation founderEugene K. Garfield, a former employee of theU.S. Department of Transportation, the novel approach allowed families to relax en route and save the expense and unfamiliarity of a rental car on arrival.[1] The Auto-Train consists includedpassenger cars,autoracks, and acaboose.[2] Although the company had its own locomotives and rolling stock, Auto-Train Corporation trains initially operated onSeaboard Coast Line (SCL) andRichmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac (RF&P) tracks.[citation needed]
Auto-Train Corporation's new service began operations on December 6, 1971, betweenLorton, Virginia, andSanford, Florida. The service was popular with travelers. Soon, Auto-Train entrepreneurs sought to expand into other markets, and established a short-lived service between Louisville and Sanford, Florida. In 1978, the company announced plans for a service in Mexico betweenNuevo Laredo andQuerétaro City.[3]
Lack of success from the Louisville expansion, high crew costs, and several accidents put Garfield's company into bankruptcy. Auto-Train Corporation ended its services in late April 1981.[citation needed]
Operating for almost 10 years, Auto-Train had developed a popular following, particularly among older travelers. No one else offered a similar service until, after a gap of almost two years, service was revived byAmtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation), as their Auto Train service.[citation needed]
Auto-Train used 13GE U36B locomotives (4 additional units were ordered but were never delivered due to financial issues) as the primary motive power for its trains. Also included in the roster wereBaldwin S-12,Baldwin VO-1000, andALCO S-2 locomotives that were used as switchers in the terminal stations.[citation needed]
Auto-Train acquired a significant number ofdome cars, so many that in 1974 it did not roster any conventional coaches. These included seven ex-Western Pacific dome coaches, each seating 36, which Auto-Train called "Mini-Domes". These had previously run on theCalifornia Zephyr. It also acquired all but one of theSanta Fe'sBig Domes (six dormitory-lounges and seven of eight full lounges) and the majority of theUnion Pacific'sAstra Dome fleet: seven coaches, nine dining cars, and 14 lounge-observation cars. Two of the Big Dome lounges and two of the Astra Dome lounges were rebuilt as "Night Club" cars. The remainder of the Astra Domes were dubbed "Maxie-Domes", as opposed to the "Mini-Domes".[4]
Auto-Train acquired a wide variety of food-service cars. These included ex-Seaboard kitchen-dormitory cars, ex-Seaboarddining cars rebuilt as buffet cars, and fiveNorfolk and Western and Western Pacific coaches which were also rebuilt as buffet cars.[4]
Sleeping cars acquired by Auto-Train included six ex-Santa Fe Regal series sleeping cars (four bedrooms, four compartments, two drawing rooms), five ex-Union Pacific Ocean series sleeping cars (five bedrooms, two compartment, two drawing rooms), and three ex-Seaboard sleepers (five bedrooms, one compartment, four sections, four roomettes).[4]
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The centerpieces of the Auto-Train were the 62 ex-Canadian National bilevelautoracks, which were acquired between 1971 and 1973. The passenger equipment acquired by Auto-Train used steam heat, so the company also acquiredsteam generator cars. These were mostly formerGreat Northern cars, but the Auto-Train also rebuilt several former Western Pacific and Santa Fe baggage cars into steam generator cars.[4]