Amtrak has a route called the Floridian. So instead of driving I-95, I rode a train

Amtrak launched a new temporary route last fall called “the Floridian” — the name of a route that was discontinued in 1979.

This version of the Floridian, it said, would travel from Chicago to Miami, making a 47-hour journey “across Indiana and Ohio, through the Allegheny Mountains into Pittsburgh, past scenic Harper’s Ferry, along the historic B&O line through the Potomac Valley to Washington, and then across the south towards Florida’s beaches, cities and family attractions.”

I thought of this when my wife, Toni, was working at a tennis tournament in Delray Beach, and I planned to travel there from Jacksonville for Valentine’s weekend.

What if instead of driving down and back on I-95, I rode the train?

The last time I rode Amtrak was another Valentine’s weekend, 34 years ago, when we got engaged. We lived in Orlando. I couldn’t afford plane tickets to some faraway place. So perhaps inspired by movies — from Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in “North by Northwest” to Tom Cruise and Rebecca de Mornay in “Risky Business” — I booked two train tickets to West Palm Beach, upgraded to a sleeper cabin, and proposed somewhere in the middle of Florida.

Considering that we’re still on that journey, I obviously have some fond Amtrak memories. But I also haven’t ridden Amtrak since, probably for the same reasons as a lot of people. In theory, it’s faster to drive, I’m in control and, for better or worse, I know what the experience will be like. I wasn’t sure what to expect from an Amtrak ride.

But I figured if I rode the train from North Florida to South Florida, I could get some work done on my laptop and — a key selling point — I might be able to get a column out of it.

So I looked at options and decided on a Friday morning departure from Jacksonville, scheduled for 9:49 a.m., arriving in Delray Beach 7 hours and 44 minutes later. With a return on Sunday, the round-trip cost for a coach seat (including a few dollars extra to make it refundable): $131.

For the record, I wasn’t technically riding the Floridian. That train goes across the state to Tampa, then comes back to Central Florida and continues to South Florida. To do that would’ve cost more and taken longer. So since I was paying for this out of my own pocket and figured more than 15 round-trip hours on the train would be plenty, I decided to sacrifice being able to bill this as “a Floridian on the Floridian” and instead ride the “Silver Meteor.”

It operates daily between New York and Miami, with similar trains to the Floridian, and following the same route in Florida, minus the jaunt from Auburndale over to Tampa and back.

But, first, it had to arrive in Jacksonville.

On my way to the Amtrak station, on the Northside off New Kings Road, I got texts from Amtrak saying there had been a track obstruction near Savannah — commercial power lines down — and Train 97 was approximately 2 hours late.

I thought about canceling my ticket and driving.

Then I reminded myself about a recent trip to Orlando. Because of accidents on the highways, it took about 5 hours to get back to Jacksonville. Plus, I would be returning from South Florida the day of the Daytona 500. The idea of avoiding that traffic sounded really good.

The view from inside the train

We did depart a couple hours later.

When you buy a coach ticket, it doesn’t come with an assigned seat. I figured it would be like some other mass transit, or like Southwest Airlines used to be, where you just find an open seat. But, in this case, as you board, you are assigned a seat — in my case, an aisle seat.

The seats and legroom are much more spacious than coach seating on a plane, and with no middle seat. But I was counting on using the power outlets I’d read were available. And it turned out there were a pair of outlets next to the window, on the other side of a passenger who was sleeping, his hoodie pulled over his head.

Instead of trying to thread my laptop cord over or under my sleeping neighbor, I moved to an empty row, got out my laptop, connected to power and WiFi, and began working.

As Train 97 rolled south from Jacksonville, I noticed the flipped vantage point of some familiar intersections — cars behind gates at railroad crossings — and thought of the San Marco Train, the satirical social media account that takes mock delight in drivers’ complaints about being stuck waiting for trains. It was good to be living like the San Marco Train.

I also noticed the sounds, the steady rumble of the train and the whistle blowing, again and again. While it sounded like it was somewhere in the distance, it didn’t fade. This combination of the rumble and whistle felt like railroad white noise. I was starting to relax and enjoy the ride when the conductor came around to check tickets.

I said that I had moved back a few rows and asked if it was OK if I stayed there, at least until the next stop. Absolutely not, he said.

It turns out that throughout the journey, with passengers getting on and off at each stop, the attendants are working on a Tetris-like seating plan. I was told I had to go to my assigned seat. Immediately.

But — and this was a key tip — he mentioned there also was power, WiFi and tables back in the cafe car.

That’s where I eventually ended up, initially doing some work, then talking to other passengers, eating lunch and having a beer, thinking there are worse ways to travel.

Meeting fellow passengers

At the table across from me, Richard Beasley, Jimmy Haselden, Rene Morales and Sandra Haselden played a card game, Rummikub.

While Frances Beasley waited her turn, she and the others explained that they were part of a group of 14, ranging from age 5 to 90, traveling from Florence, South Carolina, to Fort Lauderdale for a cruise to Cozumel.

For most of them, it was their first Amtrak trip.

They figured instead of driving four cars, probably stopping for a night halfway, they’d all ride the train. Even with a very early (and delayed) start, so far it had been good.

“On here, you can move around, you can play games, you can socialize, you can sleep,” Richard Beasley said. “I definitely prefer this (to driving).”

Plus, one of them noted, they didn’t need to pull over whenever someone needed to go to the bathroom.

At the table next to them, a father and son played chess.

Rob Feagin, 53, explained that he lives in Jacksonville and Ben, 13, lives with his mother in Charleston. He surprised his son the previous day with a reward for good grades: They were taking the train to Orlando and going to the theme parks.

Neither had ever been on a train before. But particularly after driving I-95 to Charleson every other weekend, Rob was enjoying the experience.

“I’ve always wanted to do this,” he said.

As I was eating lunch — a sandwich purchased in the cafe car — Salvatore Procopio, 19, asked if he could sit down across the table. He lives in Tampa. And he does ride Amtrak regularly. He was taking the train back to Orlando, then a bus to Tampa, then soon after that heading to the Midwest for Navy boot camp.

He talked about his love of history, writing and video games, giving me a tutorial on “Hearts of Iron IV,” and explaining why he prefers riding the train to driving.

“It’s more relaxing,” he said. “And you meet a lot of interesting people.”

Northbound, back to Jacksonville

Not everyone agreed.

After spending the weekend with Toni in Delray Beach — noticing the sleek Brightline trains zipping through town, wishing we had more of that in this state and country — I got back on the Silver Meteor.

This time the train arrived on time. I took my assigned seat. And the woman behind me was saying that she was traveling to New Jersey and after upgrading to a roomette, she’d been told that car hadn’t been put on this train. So she was stuck in coach.

“After this, I think I’ll stick to flying,” she said.

Somewhere around Sebring, I again moved back to the cafe car, got something to eat and drink, and after answering emails and reading part of a Florida book (“Mile Marker Zero: The Moveable Feast of Key West”), simply sat and watched Florida pass by.

It isn’t as dramatic as riding a train in Alaska with a view of Denali (yes, I’m still calling it that), but I was noticing more of the Florida landscape than when I drive.

There were urban and rural areas, golf courses, trailer parks, orange groves, small lakes in Central Florida, a fisherman in a bass boat, cows, strip malls, a lumber yard. Around DeLand, it began to rain. Around Middleburg, it began to feel more like the North Florida woods. And with the trees much closer than when you’re driving on a road, it felt like we were going really fast.

We passed familiar areas — Doctor’s Lake, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, alongside Roosevelt Boulevard, under I-295 — and began to slow. And by the time we stopped at the Jacksonville station, we had arrived several minutes ahead of schedule.

When the Floridian first started running — temporarily combining two existing routes while the East River Tunnel in New York is undergoing upgrades — some people immediately booked tickets and rode the entire route, just to say they’d done it. A writer from the Chicago Sun-Times wrote a story with the headline: “I rode Amtrak in coach for 46 hours from Chicago to Miami. Here’s why it’s worth it.”

I wouldn’t say I ever want to do that. But I would say I’d consider riding a train across Florida again — especially if we ever made train travel more like some other parts of the world.

I’d also say what I told my wife: We should do another train trip, although maybe some place more exotic than the middle of Florida next time.

mwoods@jacksonville.com

(904) 359-4212