Toledo Still Holding National Train Day

It may no longer be called Amtrak National Train Days, but a national train day celebration will continue in Toledo this year and Amtrak might be a part of it.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari declined to confirm an assertion by the organizers of the Toledo event that it will send passenger cars to Toledo for the May 7 event to place on display as it has done in previous years.

Norfolk Southern plans to send its “Honoring First Responders” locomotive, which carried roster number 9-1-1

The units is painted in a livery of  red, white, and black. Show organizers say they are planning a ceremony to honor the region’s first responders as part of the event.

The Toledo event also will feature an open house at Central Union Terminal, which is now named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza.

This will be the ninth train day in Toledo and as in past year there will be operating model railroads along with railroad-themed vendors, safety exhibits, children’s activities and musical entertainment.

Amtrak said earlier this year that it was ending its sponsorship of National Train Day.

Amtrak’s Magliari said that before National Train Day began in 2008 that the passenger carrier would on occasion send an equipment display to various cities for promotional purposes.

“Each event request every year, everywhere, will continue to be considered,” Magliari said.

Amtrak Ending National Train Day

Amtrak is doing away with its annual National Train Day celebration, citing financial reasons.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the Amtrak Exhibit Train tour this year would continue.

National Train Day began in 2008 as a way to celebrate the history of railroads as well as tout the advantage of travel by train.

It has traditionally been held on the Saturday closest to the May 10 anniversary of the completion of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad in 1869.

Events have been held at Amtrak stations, tourist railroads and railroad museums. Some of the larger events have featured equipment.

Between 2008 and 2012 the event would feature an official celebrity spokesperson appearing at a single event.

Last year, Amtrak retooled the event and began calling it Amtrak Train Days with a format of a series of events held in multiple cities throughout the year except during the winter.

One of the larger celebrations in Ohio has taken place at Toledo Union Terminal. The Orrville Railroad Heritage Society has also held a National Train Day.

Cleveland’s first National Train Day event was held in 2015 at the Amtrak station and feature locomotives from Norfolk Southern and the Cleveland Commercial Railroad along with exhibits inside the depot.

It is not clear what will happen to the various local train day events, but the Toledo event will continue as scheduled on May 7 and feature the 9-1-1 first responders tribute locomotive.

Amtrak Exhibit Train to Visit Grand Rapids

The Amtrak exhibit train will roll into Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 25.

The train will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as part of the year-old Amtrak Train Days. The train will be parked at the Amtrak station.

Also being featured will be the Chuggington Kids Depot with toy train and coloring tables.

For more information, visit  http://www.amtrak.com/exhibit-train