Chris Guenzler
The Million Mile Rail Man Rides Again:
Rails to Recovery
www.trainweb.com/depotinn/chris1.html
Chris Guenzler is a special education instructional assistant in Orange County, California, home of Disneyland. Chris' hobby is railroading, but a more accurate description of Chris would be "passionate rail enthusiast," and a regular writer of travelogues for Trainweb.com. The factor that sets Chris apart from other passionate rail enthusiasts is that he's a recovering alcoholic who used his love of the railroad as his road to recovery from this debilitating addiction.
On January 17, 1995, Chris finally stopped denying his severe alcoholism problem, admitting to himself and others for the first time that he had a problem. After achieving sobriety, initially, he began riding the rails during his free time as a driving factor to remain sober. He set a rule for himself to remain sober and ride the rails in every state of the nation. In adhering to his self-set rule, Chris managed to travel by rail in all 50 states, covering every Amtrak route multiple times and the vast majority of U.S. tourist railways, the routes of VIA Rail Canada, and many interurban rail lines. Amazingly enough, during his upcoming trip from Fullerton, CA to LaPlata, MO, April 25-27, 2007, Chris will complete his millionth mile of rail travel as a passenger.
The Amtrak route between Fullerton, California, and La Plata, Missouri, was selected for this occasion because these two towns are very integrated with the rail ventures of Chris and TrainWeb. For several years, Chris has been posting his rail travelogues on TrainWeb.com, which until recently was located above the Amtrak Ticket Office in the Fullerton Depot. Last year Trainweb relocated to LaPlata, Missouri, and became integrally involved in the development of the Rail Resort, a future Valhalla for train enthusiasts, as well as the expansion of the rail-themed hotel, the Depot Inn & Suites. Trainweb has also been integrally involved in the planning of future rail museums in both Fullerton and La Plata, making the trip between these two towns an ideal choice for this lifetime achievement.
A departure party is being held in Fullerton, April 25, from 5-7 PM at the Knowlwood Restaurant, near the Fullerton Amtrak Station. At 7 PM, the group will proceed to the station for the send off. In addition, a celebration will be held at the millionth mile mark on the eastbound Amtrak Southwest Chief, Friday, April 27. Upon arrival in LaPlata, MO, a media reception will be held as Chris steps off the train, followed by a press conference and full-blown celebration at the new railroad-themed hotel, the Depot Inn & Suites. Additional media coverage of the trip and the event is being provided by the "Let's Talk Trains" internet radio talk show (LetsTalkTrains.US), broadcasting live interviews on Saturday, April 28, 2007, from Noon to 3PM CDT.
Chris will begin his travel back to California on Sunday, April 29, through the Rocky Mountains on the Amtrak California Zephyr. He will arrive back into Fullerton to participate in the annual Fullerton Railroad Days (www.scrmf.org/rrdays/), May 5-6, and will be available for follow-up interviews during the event at the Trainweb booth.
Chris' complete story of his rocky rails to sobriety is posted on the web at www.trainweb.org/chris/Sobriety.html. Likewise, photos and travelogues of Chris' rail travels are also posted on the web at www.trainweb.org/chris. Additional information about the radio broadcast and coverage of the event is available at: www.LetsTalkTrains.US .
We hope that you will join us to cover this unique passenger rail event.
Before the advent of jet travel, traveling a million miles by passenger rail was not uncommon. However, there are no records of anyone having covered 1,000,000 miles by rail as a passenger in North America in modern times.
Be there to witness and celebrate this record event!
For further info contact:
Ray Burns, Ray@TrainWeb.com or 800-761-4294
regarding Departure/Onboard Events and Amtrak Travel
John Rhein, John@depotinnandsuites.com or 1-888-814-3669
regarding Arrival Events or the Depot Inn & Suites
Click here to read the Press Release
Click here to read the General Info Page about this event
Please feel free to copy or quote any or all of the information on this page and distribute it to anyone you believe may be interested in this event including friends, associates, newsgroups, mailing lists, newsletters, blogs and other media outlets.
