Hi Erl, >From where I live (just north of DC) it takes 16 hours *by car* non-stop except for hopping out of the car and taking a bathroom break at each state's welcome center and then hopping back in the car and continuing. That's obeying the speed limits.
I took the auto train to get back home. I liked the auto train. I am sure others may have different opinions. But based on my experience I would say: *Pros of auto train:* 1.You drive up at the dedicated auto train station, get out of your car, and walk right into the station. Car drop off and pickup couldn't be easier. They slap a magnetic number on your car and give you a travel folder with the info inside. You leave your bike and all your luggage in your car. It then goes on a train car that is on your train. 2.You have your car with you right away when you get off the train. Maybe takes a half hour to get all the cars off? They say up to 1.5 hours, but I think I waited 30 minutes or so for mine to come off the train. They definitely were hurrying to get the cars off the train, as you could stand and watch them fly off the train one after the other. 3.You don't have to worry about car breaking down and having to work out the logistics of getting to your destination. 4.You don't have to worry about getting too sleepy to drive. 5.You don't have to stop and get hotel if you get too sleepy to drive. 6.You don't have to stop and sleep at a rest stop and risk your safety. 7. I rode business class. A slight bump up in fee but worth it. Never done it before but the price jump was not a lot and it sounded like a good upgrade. I got to eat with the sleeper car passengers in the dining car. Food was excellent and fresh. 8. They served dinner and breakfast. Train left early afternoon and arrived in the morning after breakfast in VA. 9. My seat was on the upper level of the train - great views! 10. I could almost lay flat when their seats lean back and there is an extension that comes out of bottom of seat for stretching out legs all the way. 11. Seats are wide and roomy. 12. Movies in the lounge car. 13. It wasn't crowded at all on the train, even though the station was full before departure. ~50 seats in my car. Only ~10 people in the car. I slept well along the two seats in my row. Quiet. 14. You can even bump up to three different levels of sleeper cars that have beds. But if you do this, I recommend going whole hog and getting the best, because: *Cons of auto train:* 1. Lower priced sleeper cars are vey tight and looked like very cramped quarters. One I saw you have to mount the bed from out in the train hallway. Like a mini closet you sleep in. The more expensive car I saw looked like a mini room with space to stretch out. 2. One passenger told me she doesn't do sleeper cars and prefers seats because of the train's side-to-side rocking movement when laying down makes it hard for her to sleep. Also said the bed wasn't long enough for her. 3. Train can be late to depart. 4. Mine was a couple hours late to depart. 5. Bathrooms are airplane sized. Not really a con, but just to let you know. So, if you are willing to resign yourself to a full day of train travel, and then the car ride to your destination/home, I think it is well worth it so you can have your own car and not have to rent/lease. I thought it was fine and most of the passengers seemed to be snow-birds that I talked to. One lady told me that she once tried to fly down for the winter and have her car delivered by truck. She says that after you get to Florida it still takes a few days for the car to get delivered, so you have no car for three days. Once her car was stranded in Nevada. Got rerouted by the car delivery people somehow. So now she takes the auto train so her car is with her on the train, and she drives off into the sunset when she gets off the train. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
