Riding The Rails With The Amtrak Auto Train...."Woosh-Bang!"

Or... "Don't Ever Ride Coach All Night When You're Old"!

Taking the Auto Train sounded like a good idea at the time... We opted not to go by sleeper car because our "friends" said the sleeper was uncomfortable and the coach seats go down to a "fully reclined position". (Oh yeah? Thanks, guys!)

We didn't know that riding the rails in 2009 could be the equivalent of riding a bucking bronco, with the difference being you couldn't get off for seventeen hours!

Backwards, to boot.... Yes, we rode backwards, so instead of ambient speed pinning you to the back of the seat during forward movement, you had to fight to relax back into your seat. Hah....

That mishap occurred because I originally asked for first level seats because my Corky is handicapped.... So they booked us on the second level.... (Want to carry a stiff 6'4" man up to the second level, Bunky?) The only seats left on the first level were backward seats....

So how comfortable are the "coach" seats? Well... there was no armrest in the center of each pair of seats... so... it's a good thing Corky and I know each other well... because we rode thigh pressed to thigh all the way from Sanford, Florida to Lorton, Virginia.... (Backwards)

So these backward seats were facing a door that led to three bathrooms... and that door opened with a large "woosh" then closed with a "bang".... So when someone left the compartment there was a "woosh - bang!" when they opened the door, and a "woosh - bang!" when the door closed.... There were six other couples in our compartment who toddled back and forth to the bathroom all night...

Now you have to understand that we all must have looked like thieves who were going to grab their belongings (and jump out of the window, maybe?), so every couple went to the bathrooms singly...

First the husband went.... "woosh - bang!" (door open), "woosh-bang!" (door closed)... then when hubbie returned to the car "woosh - bang! (door open), "woosh-bang!" (door closed) Oh, then went "wifie"..... My estimate is the door opened and closed at least 80 times all night.

The good news is it didn't keep us awake... The 12 degree "recline" of the lounge chairs did not accomodate sleep, especially in the "backward" travel position... However, due to poor circulation, and the constant shaking of the train which rushed our blood dowwards, we both had feet that looked like watermelons in the morning.

Thanks to two hydrocodine, a will strong enough to keep me from jumping off the train, and my own quiet hysteria which kept me amused, I made it through the night....

And, the last 10 minutes, before the train pulled into Lorton, VA, the tracks were as smooth as silk, taunting me!

Is this wild old lady ever taking the Auto Train again....? "Woosh - Bang...No!"

Hah... love from me, in Buffalo now!