Rail tour visit welcomed by Urbana

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Memorial weekend in Urbana was bustling with the arrival of passenger trains from Washington Court House. The tours, carrying 250 passengers each day, were arranged by the Champaign County Visitor’s Bureau in coordination with the Cincinnati Scenic Railway. Although it was a holiday weekend, the downtown merchants sacrificed their family time to welcome the visitors and we are grateful for their support! We feel the weekend was a huge success and in future negotiations with the rail company, we hope to be in the decision making relating to tour dates.

A sincere thank you to the merchants for being so understanding and opening their doors! A thank you to Lydia Hess and Susie Koennecke in communicating with the merchants and coordinating details of the weekend. It was a lot of work on short notice! Thanks, also, to the shuttle drivers, Charlie Greer, Vince Gonzalez, Paul Waldsmith and Kim Pence and to the Free Will Baptist Church, the Renewed Strength Church and the YMCA for providing the vehicles. A special thank you to Ken Koch and John Nolte for coordinating the church vans. We could not have offered the transportation to the downtown without their support!

To our downtown hostesses, Dorothy Yoder and Mary Mott, thank you for standing in the hot sun with a smile on your face to welcome the guests! The response from the visitors was positive and many plan on return trips to explore the shops and restaurants at their leisure. Discussions are being held on future trips and we look forward to bringing more rail excursions to town. Thank you Urbana for welcoming our visitors!

With sincere thanks to the community,

Sandy Gonzalez

Board Trustee

Champaign County Visitor’s Bureau

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