bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Mon Jul 22, 2019 6:08 pm
Let's add a couple of auto-carriers onto the Capitol Limited and run it overnight to Washington. Then a couple of passenger cars and the auto-carriers are taken to Lorton and an overnight Chicago to the East Coast Auto Train is born. Then the cars are added to the existing Auto Train and a Chicago to Florida Auto Train is born.
And yes there would be a two night journey from Chicago to Florida but snowbirds would not care and if you left both ends on Friday you would still get plenty of time to visit the Mouse Kingdom and run out of money.
I can not see adding auto racks onto the Capital Limited occurring at Chicago's Union Station. So either the cars will be loaded onto the auto racks elsewhere and coupled onto the train at Union Station (how auto passengers get to Union Station after dropping off their autos will probably be by bus) or the train will have to stop somewhere to have the auto racks coupled onto the train with normal Capital Limited passengers waiting. You would face the same delays twice; in D.C. and Lorton for whichever train is chosen to get the Superliners and auto racks to Lorton.
It would be far better to have separate trains, if only so auto rack operations will be done during daylight at both ends of the route.
Wherever the Auto Train route is, a two night trip will add train sets - both Superliners and auto racks - to the train's operations. Chicago to Florida is very difficult because there is no existing direct Amtrak route today. If it follows your example, Chicago to Florida via Lorton, it would be 1655 rail miles. Math = 855 + 780 + 20 = 1655; therefore 1655 / 50 mph = 33.1 hours.
A solution would be running a separate Auto Train between Chicago and Lorton, merging the thru Chicago to Florida autoracks and Superliners to the existing Auto Train.
Taking that thought a little further, this new Auto Train will need to arrive in Lorton around 9 am as well. Which would mean a 5 pm departure from Chicago. 780+20 = 800, 800 / 50 mph = 16 hours. Lorton's passenger and auto rack facilities will have to be expanded because those thru Chicago to Florida passengers will be looking at an 8 hour wait in Lorton, as both trains are broken up and put together again. Those extra 8 hours will now make the time between Chicago and Sanford 41 hours. If either train runs late, things will be going loco (pun intended) at Lorton. Complicating operations in Lorton will compound any problems that will arise.
At least this two train service scenario with interlining operations is technically and physically possible - if all the facilities in Lorton can be expanded to handle four trains at a time and there are no difficulties running Superliners and auto racks from D.C. to Lorton.
But like any other two day route, it will take twice as much rolling stock as a single day route. Where will Amtrak find the additional auto racks and Superliners?