September 15, 2008—You might want to catch ABC News’ Good Morning America this week: it’s broadcasting live from an Amtrak charter train! It’s the centerpiece of a five-day Whistle-Stop Tour traveling across the Northeast and Ohio. Anchors Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Chris Cuomo, Sam Champion and the ABC crew started the first show Monday going through Massachusetts aboard specially equipped Amtrak equipment and two private rail cars. Powered by two P-42 locomotives, the train has been scheduled to travel through Massachusetts Monday; New York on Tuesday; Ohio, Pennsylvania,Maryland on Wednesday; and West Virginia on Thursday. The tour concludes on Thursday inWashington, D.C. According to Amtrak, the 11-car, 874-foot-long traveling studio, operated with Amtrak Train and Engine crews with host railroad pilots and staffed by On-Board Service employees, includes two Superliner Sleeping cars, a Cross Country Café car, two Diner Lounge cars and a Transition Dorm, plus two private cars. The equipment conversion, paid for by GMA, was performed at Beech Grove and at the Albany Maintenance Facility. For more detailed information about the Whistle-Stop Tour, including a behind-the-scenes look at the months of preparation put into the project, visit
www.abcnews.go.com/gma.
