The Vacationer was a seasonal passenger train operated by Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 between New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

. The Vacationer, like its predecessor the Florida Special, was designed to supplement regular Northeast—Florida service during the winter months. It made its first run on December 15, 1972.

History

The Florida Special was a uniquely popular service, earning a reputation for luxury during its 84-year history. While desiring to continue the tradition of expanded seasonal service, Amtrak could not continue to maintain the same high standards which the name demanded and adopted the name Vacationer, while retaining the same route and schedule. Some of the luxuries previously found aboard the Special migrated to the Silver Meteor

Silver Meteor

The Silver Meteor is a 1389-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Silver Service brand, running from New York City, New York, south to Miami, Florida, via the Northeast Corridor to Washington, D.C., thence via Richmond, Virginia; Fayetteville, North Carolina; North Charleston, South...

.

The new Vacationer departed New York's Penn Station

Pennsylvania Station (New York City)

Pennsylvania Station—commonly known as Penn Station—is the major intercity train station and a major commuter rail hub in New York City. It is one of the busiest rail stations in the world, and a hub for inbound and outbound railroad traffic in New York City. The New York City Subway system also...

 at 6:35 pm, which permitted a same-day connection for passengers coming from Boston. The Vacationer carried both coaches and sleepers New York—Miami; in Washington it exchanged a Miami—Montreal sleeper with the Montrealer. Sleeping accommodations included bedrooms and roomettes, plus single and double rooms in a slumbercoach

Slumbercoach

The Slumbercoach is an 85-foot-long, 24 single room, 8 double room streamlined sleeping car originally built in 1956 by the Budd Company for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad for service on the Denver Zephyr...

. The train carried a lounge and full diner. Seasonal service ended April 28, 1973.

The Vacationer returned on December 14, 1973, with a slightly earlier departure from New York. It no longer handled a Miami—Montreal sleeping car; such service was taken over by the Silver Star

Silver Star (train)

The Silver Star was a luxury passenger train that ran overnight between Auckland and Wellington on the North Island Main Trunk railway of New Zealand. The train ran from Monday, 6 September 1971 until Sunday, 8 June 1979...

. The 1973 oil crisis

1973 oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...

 led to a surge in patronage; the Vacationer ran with a total of 18 cars. Amtrak later added a second dining car to the train to meet the increased demand. Seasonal service ended March 31, 1974.

The Vacationer did not return for the 1974—1975 season; Amtrak instead introduced the Miamian over the same route but with a slightly different schedule and different numbers, but canceled it after three weeks because of equipment shortages. In 1975 Amtrak dropped the special seasonal trains altogether when it returned the Champion, which had been combined with the Silver Meteor New York—Jacksonville

Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

, to independent operation for the winter season.