The service was profitable during its first years of operation, frequented by snowbirds making their annual winter migration to Florida, with a disproportionate share of elderly travelers, many taking along their Cadillacs, the vehicle that accounted for as much as 60% of the Auto-Train's car load. In later years losses mounted in the face of lower prices available to leisure travelers heading to Florida by airplane and renting a vehicle at their destination, as well as a money losing branch route to Kentucky. The Auto-Train operation went out of business in 1981, but Amtrak decided to take over the operation in 1983 and continues to offer the service. He was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Pan American Development Foundation, American University in Washington, D.C., and the National Symphony of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Garfield was a member of the Transportation Committee of the Metropolitan Orlando International Affairs Commission. He was also an Advisory Board Chairperson for the Institute for Transportation Research at Barry University. He served as the primary advisor to the Governor of Florida and the Florida Department of Transportation on the development of a high speed rail system in Florida. Garfield lectured at many schools in the United States including the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Florida State University, and the Andreas School of Business at Barry University. Later years Garfield retired from Auto-Train along with the practice of law and served as the Chairman of the North American Maglev Corporation, his next locomotive endeavor. He died at the age of 74 on December 26, 2010, in Hollywood, Florida due to esophageal cancer. References External links Bill's Railroad Empire - the original Auto-Train page George Elwood's Fallen Flags site, original Auto-Train pages from a 1971 Auto-Train Corp. brochure, including information on the 2nd short-lived Auto-Train route (Louisville-Sanford service) Orlando Sentinel newspaper article about Auto-Train Corp and Amtrak's Auto Train replacement SEC filing for company which operated Florida Fun Train Florida Fun Train information on trainweb Orlando Weekly article about Bee line Monorail System Florida Fun Train history Maglev "not likely to be developed without significant Federal Government investment." The Rise & Fall (& Rise) of Auto-Train by Peter Dibble on YouTube. 1936 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American railroad executives Auto Train Deaths from cancer in Florida Deaths from esophageal cancer Businesspeople from Newark, New Jersey Rutgers