Lorton station is a railroad terminal in Lorton, Virginia. It is the northern terminal for Amtrak's Auto Train, which operates between this station and Sanford station in Florida. When Auto-Train was originally established in Lorton in 1971, the station house was still under construction. Until it was completed sometime between 1972 and 1975, it consisted of tents and pre-fabricated houses and trailers, and the parking lot was still paved only with gravel. When it was completed, it included a former caboose and boxcar previously owned by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad that was converted into a gift shop. As with the rest of Auto Train, the station closed in 1981 and was reopened in 1983 when Amtrak acquired the service.
The current station, which opened in 2000 as a replacement for the original Lorton Auto-Train station,[2] features a large, modern waiting area designed in a modern Art Deco style, with high glass walls, a small gift shop, a snack bar, and a children's playground. There is one long low-level platform (which is 1,480 feet (451 m) long) designed for Auto Train boarding and 6 vehicle ramps for boarding vehicles onto the 20+ autoracks that are on the Auto Train.[3][4][5] This station is one mile south of the Virginia Railway Express Lorton station. No other Amtrak trains stop at either station.
Image gallery
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Contemporary platform at Lorton station. Superliners are lined up at the left -
Autoracks are lined up on the right. -
Autoracks lined up at their loading ramps
References
- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: Commonwealth of Virginia" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
- ^ Photography from the collection of Harv Kahn (1971–1981 Auto-Train railfan site)
- ^ Weinstein, Donald; Warner, David & Sutton, Harry (2008). "Auto Train Travel Tips". On Track On Line. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "Lorton Auto Train Terminal". Travelblog. 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "Lorton, VA (LOR)". Amtrak. 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
External links
Media related to Lorton station at Wikimedia Commons