Little Train That Could

Oldtime railway executives hooted when Washington Attorney Eugene Garfield bought some railroad cars and rolled out the Auto-Train a year ago. After all, everybody knows that passenger trains are unprofitable and unpopular. Who would want to pay to haul his automobile along with his family by rail from the Washington area to northern Florida? The answer is that 157,329 travelers have wanted to--so far. As the Auto-Train Corp. closed its books on its first year last week, the company's annual revenues were running around $11 million, and in the past six months after-tax profits totaled $295,648. All of which shows once again that passenger trains have a future in the U.S., provided that they offer comfortable service along with some extras.

Like some European and Canadian trains, the Auto-Train hauls passengers and their autos in separate coaches. Manned by crews from the Seaboard Coast Line and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac, the 400-passenger train takes 15 hours to make the 1,000-mile trip from Lorton, Va., to Sanford, Fla., which is a few miles from Walt Disney World. One-way fare is $190 for a car and two people, and $20 extra for each additional person. Passengers ride in reclining chairs in domed coaches, see up to two free movies and eat two free meals. The menu frequently includes such dishes as chicken kiev, veal parmesan and ham with pineapple sauce. "We try to make each trip seem like a visit to a resort hotel," says Garfield, the chief executive, who has made a paper profit of some $3,420,000 on his stock in the company during the past year.

Because the train is often booked well in advance, Garfield plans to add a second train on the Lorton-to-Sanford run. In addition, he is considering putting on a train from Cincinnati to Florida. With that, travelers from the Midwest can drive to Cincinnati and load themselves and their cars on a train, and avoid the high cost of renting a car during the peak seasons in Florida.

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