Mon, January 19, 2009
PHILADELPHIA, the United States, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- By choosing to ride a "whistle stop" train to Washington for inauguration Saturday, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama picked up a tradition abandoned by other president-elects for 56 years.
The last president-elect who took an inaugural train trip to Washington is Dwight D. Eisenhower. On Jan. 18, 1953, Eisenhower, accompanied by his family and staffers, boarded a five-car special train for the journey from New York's Pennsylvania Station to Washington.
While John Quincy Adams was the first ex-president to ride a train in 1830, the first sitting president to travel by train was Andrew Jackson, when he rode a train to Baltimore in 1833.
The first president-elect to ride a passenger train to an inauguration was William Henry Harrison in 1841. He was also the first presidential candidate to campaign by train.
In 1845, president-elect James K. Polk also traveled to Washington for inauguration by train. On March 3, 1913, Woodrow Wilson boarded a 14-car special train in Princeton, N.J., that would carry him to his swearing-in. As the train pulled out of the station, Wilson stood on the observation platform of the last car, waving to the crowd.
After Eisenhower, all president-elect chose air travel for inauguration.
An important and well-known reason for Obama to pick up the long-lost tradition is his admiration for Abraham Lincoln, who took a train from Illinois to Washington for inauguration in 1861.
But Lincoln's journey was much longer and was full of suspense. It lasted 12 days and covered 2,574 km, taking him north and south and east and west. Trains were slower then, requiring stops for fuel and water. River crossings, which often relied on ferries, could be major undertakings.
Lincoln departed Springfield, Ill., on Feb. 11, 1861, moving through Indianapolis and Cincinnati. He turned north through Columbus, east to Pittsburgh, then north again to Cleveland. His train hugged the shore of Lake Erie as it moved northeast to Buffalo, turned east to Albany, and then due south to New York.
From there, Lincoln travel southwest to Philadelphia, west to Harrisburg, back to Philadelphia, and finally southwest through Baltimore to Washington. Because of a possible assassination plot, Linclon had to travel in disguise and in secrecy during some parts of his inaugural trip.
Obama delivered a speech in Philadelphia on Saturday before embarking on a "whistle stop" train journey to Washington, calling on fellow Americans to carry on the spirit of the American revolution and deal with today's challenges with courage and confidence.
Calling Philadelphia a city where the journey of the United States as a nation began, Obama said that the American revolution "was and remains an ongoing struggle" in the hearts and minds of the people, who shall reclaim the spirit of the revolution to deal with present challenges.
According to the pre-announced schedule, the inaugural train will first stop in Wilmington, Delaware, where Obama will be joined by Vice President-elect Joe Biden. Another stop before Washington is Baltimore, Maryland.
Philadelphia is where American independence was declared in 1776, and Baltimore is the birth place of the national anthem. Obama will hold public events at both stops.
