Two weeks ago I came over from England to NYC for a few days, and whilst I was there I made a day trip to Washington DC by Acela. I splashed out on First Class both ways and I enjoyed the service on both trips (even though I never got any hot towels!)

I've got a question regarding boarding the train at Union Station in DC. At NY Penn I was very early for the train so I used the Acela Club Lounge, and when the train was called for boarding everyone made their own way to the platform down the steps along with Business Class passengers. However at Union Station I only arrived 25 minutes before the train was due to depart so I just joined the line at the gate (there were about 30 or so people in front of me) and I waited for it to open. However when I got to the First Class car it was already 75% full! Presumably there's priority boarding from the Club Lounge there, is that correct? How does it work?