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Special NPS Events for Railroad Buffs May 9th and 10th

Submitted by Jim Burnett on May 8, 2009 - 3:57am
Recreation of the historic East Meets West photo.

Recreation of historic East Meets West photograph at the 2008 celebration at Golden Spike. Photo by Tammy Benson, NPS.

Fans of trains and national parks have opportunities for special activities in a number of cities across the country on May 9 and 10, 2009.

Railroad history fans can help celebrate the 140th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad on Sunday, May 10 at Golden Spike National Historic Site in Utah.

Anniversary events will include locomotive runs, reenactments of the last spike ceremony, live music and a Chinese lion dance. Judge Michael Kwan of the American Chinese Community will be the keynote speaker. A complete schedule of the day's events is available on the park website, along with directions to the park. Golden Spike National Historic Site is located 32 miles west of Brigham City, Utah via highway 13 and 83.

The National Park Service is joining Amtrak at more than a dozen stations across the country on Saturday, May 9 as they celebrate the spirit of our nation's railroads with Train Day. Park rangers and volunteers will staff information booths at train stations in the following locations:

Albany, New York; Chicago; Havre, Montana; La Junta, Colorado; Los Angeles; Minot, North Dakota; New Orleans, Philadelphia; San Antonio, Texas; Seattle; St. Louis; St. Paul, Minnesota and Washington, D.C.

The purpose of the event is to promote the NPS Trails & Rails program. The Trails & Rails Partnership Program places park rangers and volunteers on trains to share park information and to point out natural and cultural highlights on several regional Amtrak routes across the country.

Additional information about the Trails & Rails program is available at this site.