Tours, exhibits mark National Train Day

5/1/2010

An Amtrak train will be open for tours and other train-related exhibits and activities will highlight the third annual National Train Day celebration today at Toledo's Martin Luther King, Jr., Plaza.

Events will start at 9:30 a.m. with opening ceremonies on the building's third floor. Among those scheduled to speak are Toledo Mayor Michael Bell, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), and Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jolene Molitoris.

The third-floor stage thereafter will be the scene for live entertainment, including the Cakewalkin' Jass Band, Lori LeFevre Johnson Trio, More Jazz Messengers, and the Joe Baker Band.

National Train Day commemorates the completion of the first U.S. transcontinental railroad on May 9, 1869, at Promontory, Utah, and is also designed to raise awareness of rail's importance in the nation's transportation system.