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Home > Archives > Turboliner at Detroit Amtrak Family Days, 1980.

Turboliner at Detroit Amtrak Family Days, 1980.

Black and white photograph from the August 1980 issue of Amtrak NEWS.

Turboliner at Detroit Amtrak Family Days, 1980.

Starting with Washington, D.C. in February 1979, Amtrak held a series of “Family Days” celebrations in cities across the country. The events quickly blossomed into opportunities to invite the public to learn about the company and show off new equipment. A celebration that took place at Detroit's Michigan Central Station on the weekend of August 2-3, 1980, attracted more than 30,000 participants.

According to the accompanying Amtrak NEWS article, "One special feature of the show were one-hour, 36-mile, round trip rides to Wayne Junction aboard a Turboliner. Three daily trips were scheduled but demand was so great that an extra section was operated on both days."

The spirit of Family Days lived on in a new Amtrak tradition: National Train Day. Inaugurated in 2008 and celebrated each May, National Train Day marked the way that trains—intercity passenger, commuter and freight—drive the nation’s economy and connect us to one another. Attendees enjoyed displays of historic and modern equipment, live entertainment, fun kids’ activities and train rides.