Day 4 - TrainWeb Grand Opening Ceremony
The official time of the ceremony was 12:00PM. This was very convenient since the Lets Talk Train radio show starts at 10AM Pacific Time. After a short continental breakfast, several of us decided to catch the arrival of the Eastbound Southwest Chief. This was actually the train that the one and only Chris Guenzler would be traveling on, as well as many others. Chris would also be departing in the evening back to California on the Westbound train #3.
L: The Amtrak Depot, R: Passengers waiting
Train #4 arrives at La Plata!
As well as my photos, I also video recordered the train arriving on my Digital Camcorder. The video came out rather well, however I was forced to compress it in order to upload it onto YouTube for viewing. I would like to upload my videos on my TrainWeb site, however they are very large and use almost all of my disk space. When I upload them onto YouTube, they are compressed even more, and make the quality not nearly as good as the actual capture. Below is a link to the video of train #4. Further down this page you will also find other videos from this trip as well.
The Southwest Chief #4 arrives in La Plata, MO
Hosted by YouTube.
Highball!
After the train departed, we headed back to the Depot Inn for a few hours before everyone was shuttled over to the TrainWeb building for the TrainWeb 10th Anniversary Celebration!
Ahen we arrived, several local residents from La Plata were already seated. A few of these included some Amish workers. As the program began, many familiar faces began to speak.
Tom Marshall, Owner of the Depot Inn and Suites, spoke about the Rail Resort Development
Ray Burns of TrainWeb Inc.
Amtrak Historical Society
Larry Herron, Mayor of La Plata
Richard Hamilton, Host of Lets Talk Trains
Everyone enjoying the ceremony
TrainWeb Inc. becoming apart of La Plata!
After the ceremony, everyone headed back to the hotel. A few hours later we would all be heading over to the Red Rooster for another meal. When I get to the hotel, I immediately retrieved my SD card. I had left it in my SD card reader to view my photos on my laptop. This was unfortunate because I could only take photos using the 16MB disk space on my camera instead of the 1.0GB on the SD card. I made sure to have it for the evening dinner.
At dinner, I learned several people would be departing that evening on the Westbound Southwest Chief back to California. They were seated at the first table to be served first, as the rest of us sat at the second table. During dinner I talked with Chris Parker (who happens to live very close to me), Shivam Surve (TrainWeb tech expert), and Ken Ruben (long-time caller on the Lets Talk Trains show). I had very interesting conversations with all 3 of them. For my dinner, I ordered a Top Sirloin steak. It was very good, just as my chicken was the previous night. After socializing had seized, we left the Red Rooster to stop at the Depot Inn so passengers leaving can retrieve their luggage before heading over to the depot. While they were doing this, many of us stayed outside in the freezing cold taking pictures of the recreation railroad cars infront of the hotel.
The Red Rooster Restaurant
The speeder the Depot Inn purchased for display.
The Handcar purcahsed by the Depot Inn for display.
A few minutes later, everyone was going over to the depot. When we arrived, we learned the train was going to be a bit late. On the platform, I callled Amtrak with my cell phone. We learned the train would be arriving in about 15 minutes. As it arrived, I said goodbye to Andy Smith who had boarded in Los Angeles on my train. I also said goodbye to Chris Guenzler. It was a pleasure meeting them both. I also recorded another video as the train arrived.
The Southwest Chief #3 arrives in La Plata, MO
Hosted by YouTube.
As the train left, I spoke with Chris Parker, Richard Elgenson, and Ken Ruben. Since Chris and Richard had flown from Southern California, they had rented a car in Kansas City. I got a ride with them back to the hotel. As we arrived at the hotel, Chris, Richard, and I decided to go out for a bit of train-watching at the depot.
The depot was FREEZING but there were plenty of BNSF trains to watch. We stayed at the depot for about an hour and saw several freights pass, including 2 BNSF units with no freight cars. We all shot several photos and video, and here are a few videos I took...
BNSF train speeding past the La Plata Amtrak Depot
Another BNSF train speeds past La Plata
BNSF train with 2 UP lead locomotives passes La Plata
Hosted by YouTube.
After awhile we headed back for the hotel. Some people were still in the meeting room socializing a bit. I headed to my hotel room after 10PM and went to bed around midnight after being on the computer and telephone for a bit.