JOIN US FOR TRAINWEB's
10th ANNIVERSARY & GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9th, 2006
IN LA PLATA, MISSOURI!
The domain name "TRAINWEB.COM" was registered on December 6, 1996. That makes this the 10th anniversary of TrainWeb.com!
TrainWeb will have a combined celebration of our 10th Anniversary and the Grand Opening / Ribbon Cutting of our new
building in La Plata, Missouri, on Saturday, December 9th, 2006. You are invited to attend!
If you would like to attend, make your hotel reservations directly with the Depot Inn & Suites by calling 888-814-3669.
Let them know you are coming for the TrainWeb Grand Opening Celebration and you will receive a 10% discount off the
normal room rates. Also, please
click here to send e-mail to me at
steve@trainweb.com to let me know that you will be coming to our event!
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2006
This is just a proposed list of events and times that will probably
change a bit as we get closer to the actual date of the celebration.
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09:30 AM - Those that arrived at The Depot Inn prior to Saturday that need a ride will be driven by the TrainWeb staff
over to the TrainWeb building.
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09:57 AM - Scheduled arrival time of the eastbound Amtrak Southwest Chief. If the train arrives about on time, the TrainWeb
and hotel staff will drive passengers to the Depot Inn where we have reserved a couple of rooms where you can freshen up
and have access to a shower. You do not need to make a hotel reservation if you are just arriving Saturday morning and
leaving the same day. Transportation will then be provided from the hotel to the TrainWeb building. If the train
arrives late, passengers will be driven directly to the TrainWeb building but we will make sure that you get to the hotel
later in the day to freshen up.
-
Noon to 3:00 PM - TrainWeb 10th Anniversary Celebration at the new TrainWeb building.
Free food and beverages will be available throughout the day.
The Ribbon Cutting Grand Opening Ceremony will be held at noon, but may be delayed until as late as 2 PM
if the eastbound Amtrak Southwest Chief arrives late. The Ribbon Cutting will not be delayed any later than 2 PM as
we wish to hold this ceremony during the "live" coverage by "Let's Talk Trains" from Noon to 3 PM.
Cake will also be served for the TrainWeb 10th Anniversary and Grand Opening Celebration.
Amtrak memorabilia and other items of Amtrak history will also be on display in a section of the TrainWeb building.
There are a large number of items of Amtrak history that both TrainWeb and the Amtrak Historical Society
have collected over the years. We will try to place as many of these items on display as time and space permit.
A few months from now, these items will be moved and placed on display in a museum of Amtrak History that might initially
be located in the baggage section of the La Plata Amtrak Station and inside 2 Amtrak freight cars that have already been
acquired. You will be able to wander at your leisure between Noon and 3:00 PM over to the section of the TrainWeb building
where these items will be on display and take a "Sneak Preview" of this Amtrak collection.
We will also provide a short tour of the new TrainWeb building and grounds taking small groups of people at a time
between Noon and 3:00 PM. The new TrainWeb building and grounds are right next to the BNSF mainline.
This will also include a brief explanation of the railroad history of our building.
-
03:00 PM to 04:00 PM - Weather permitting, we will wander over to the train watching vantage point where there used to be
a bridge where the old Wabash line used to cross over the Santa Fe line. This is an excellent spot for train watching! From
this lookout, you can see the TrainWeb building, the Amtrak station, and a very long stretch of the BNSF mainline! We'll
talk a bit about the sheltered train watching facility that we hope to build in that location in the future. Depending how
many people want to go to the train watching area, we might start taking small groups over to this area at 2:00 PM.
-
04:00 PM to 6:00 PM - Tour of The Depot Inn and The TrainParty Gift Shop. The Depot Inn & Suites is a railroad museum itself!
A guided tour will be provided through the hotel pointing out the artifacts and photographs on display throughout the hotel.
We will tour all of the facilities of the hotel, some of the themed suites, some of the regular guest rooms, the hotel grounds,
the exhibits out front of the hotel, and last but not least, a stop in the TrainParty Gift Shop!
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06:00 PM to 07:30 PM - We'll stop at The Red Rooster Restaurant for a bit of dinner and some socializing. The Red Rooster
Restaurant is just two doors down from The Depot Inn. After dinner, we'll stop by The Depot Inn so that everyone leaving
on the train this evening can retrieve their belongings before we head to the La Plata Amtrak Depot.
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07:30 PM to 08:06 PM - Last stop is the La Plata Amtrak Station. You will be able to tour the recently remodeled interior of
the station while we wait for the arrival of the westbound Amtrak Southwest Chief that is scheduled to depart at 8:06 PM.
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08:06 PM - Scheduled departure time of the westbound Amtrak Southwest Chief! Rides will be provided by the TrainWeb staff
back to The Depot Inn for those that will be staying overnight.
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For those of you staying at The Depot Inn, free food and beverages will be available at the hotel for Friday and Sunday
as well as entertainment on Friday and Saturday evenings. The meeting room at The Depot Inn will be available all day
Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the out-of-town attendees of this event to gather and socialize and where you will find
the free food and beverages on Friday and Sunday. (Free food and beverages will be served at the new TrainWeb building
on Saturday).
You are probably going to be on your own for finding activities on Friday other than socializing in the meeting room of
The Depot Inn. The people flying to Missouri won't arrive until late afternoon and several TrainWeb staff members may be
involved in some last minute planning before they will be able to join everyone Friday evening. There will be entertainment,
refreshements, and socializing in the meeting room of The Depot Inn on Friday night
and on Saturday night after the departure of the westbound
Amtrak Southwest Chief. We may be able to provide a tour of the town and surrounding area on Sunday. More details will be
available once you have arrived at the Depot Inn in La Plata.
The best way to get to La Plata is by the Amtrak Southwest Chief. Alternatively, you can fly into Kansas City, Missouri,
and then rent a car for the 3 hour drive to La Plata. Depending on your timing, you may be able to book a connecting
flight to Kirksville which is only about 13 miles from La Plata. You also might be able to connect with the Southwest Chief
between Kansas City and La Plata to do the last 2 hours of your trip to La Plata by train as I did on my most recent trip
(Click here
to read that travelogue).
Another possibility is to fly to Chicago and then take the westbound Amtrak Southwest Chief to La Plata,
about a 5 hour train journey.
If you are looking for flights to Kansas City, try
Midwest Airlines.
They are a discount all first-class airline that has several flights from around the nation into Kansas City.
Southwest Airlines
also offers quite a few flights into Kansas City every day.
All the partners that own TrainWeb will be at this celebration, including Ray Burns, Shivam Surve, Stephen Grande and
Barbara Cepinko, plus a number of our major correspondents including Chris Guenzler and Carl Morrison.
The event will be covered "live" on
"Lets Talk Trains" by Radio Talk Show Host Richard Hamilton
who will be broadcasting from the event in La Plata in person!
So, be sure to join us in person yourself in La Plata, or listen in to live coverage of this event on Saturday,
December 9, 2006, 10 AM to 1 PM Pacific Time on
"Lets Talk Trains!"
As more details become available, they will be posted to this page. Please check back frequently!
More Info About TrainWeb's New Building and La Plata, Missouri:
Photos from celebration in La Plata, Missouri !
KTVO TV Channel 3: TrainWeb buys land for Rail Resort (video)
KTVO TV Channel 3: Family resort on the way to the Heartland
KTVO TV Channel 3: New business coming to LaPlata - TrainWeb.com
Lets Talk Trains recorded LIVE at TrainWeb's 10th Anniversary (MP 1288)
A Brief History of TrainWeb.com
Suggested Travel Itineraries
Effort to Establish An Amtrak History Museum
Steve Grande's Travelogue
Ray Burn's Travelogue
Lorraine Symons Travelogue
Depot Inn & Suites
City of La Plata, Missouri
