New Years Celebration Tradition at the Depot Inn & Suites (First Year!)

There WILL BE a 2010 New Year Celebration at the Depot Inn & Suites with events scheduled from New Year's Eve on Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 through Sunday, January 3, 2010, at the Depot Inn & Suites in La Plata, Missouri.

The Depot Inn & Suites will be inviting train enthusiasts throughout the nation to come celebrate New Year's Eve in La Plata. This will be the first of a new tradition of New Years for Train Enthusiasts at the Depot Inn & Suites. Come and take part in a new railroad tradition!

In order to get the economics of this event to work there is a 3-night minimum stay at the hotel. But I'm sure everyone wants to be there by New Year's Eve at the latest and wouldn't want to leave till the end of the weekend anyway! When you call to make your reservation, be sure to mention you are coming for the Train Enthusiasts New Years. The hotel rooms are all blocked out and only available to those attending this event.

A lot of train enthusiasts from across the nation may want to participate in the first year of this new annual tradition, but there are only 30 rooms in the hotel. Please call [masked] to make your hotel and travel reservations soon before the hotel fills up. Once the Depot Inn & Suites fills up, we can accommodate additional guests in other nearby hotels and will provide free shuttle service to events. But for the best experience, you'll want to stay at the Depot Inn & Suites to be right in the thick of things with other train enthusiasts immersed in a rail themed environment!

If you need any help with train, plane, hotel or car reservations, please call Carole Walker at [masked]. A rental car is not needed if you only plan to come for this Train Enthusiast New Year's Extended Weekend Event as shuttle service will be provided. But if you will want to go off on your own, car rentals are available. Either call Carole at [masked] or click here for additional travel information.

For those of you would like a bit more time railfanning in La Plata, come early, stay late, or both, and join Chris Guenzler on his extended stay in La Plata from December 27, 2009 through January 5, 2010! (Those are the latest/earliest dates you can arrive/leave from La Plata if you want to travel using Amtrak Guest Rewards). If you extend your stay either way you'll be able to join Chris on some of his railfan sightseeing in the area.

NEW YEARS PARTY at the SILVER RAILS EVENT CENTER, Thursday, December 31, 2009
Doors will open at 6:30 PM on Thursday, December 31, 2009 and the party will go on until 1 AM on Friday, January 1, 2010. An Italian Buffet Dinner will be served along with free soft drinks and a glass of complimentary champagne to toast in the New Year! Additional wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages may be purchased. DJ entertainment will also be provided. Further details to come. Tickets are $30 per person. You do not need to be staying at the Depot Inn & Suites to attend this party. Everyone is welcome to purchase tickets and attend. Come join this FIRST ANNUAL DEPOT INN & SUITES NEW YEARS PARTY FOR TRAIN ENTHUSIASTS! Profits from this event will go to the American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation (APRHF) which owns and operates the Silver Rails Event Center."

OTHER INFORMATION:

Some of the other items you will be able to tour during your stay at the Depot Inn & Suites include the Exhibition of Amtrak History and the Professional Model Railroad Display in the ex-Amtrak Mail Handling Cars (MHC) next to the hotel, watching trains from the heated cabin and deck at the Chris Guenzler Millionth Mile Lookout Point, touring Amish Country, visiting the restored La Plata Amtrak Depot, touring the Heartland Dairy, 50's cafe and Ford Museum. We will also tour the new Silver Rails Gallery and maybe get a chance to taste some railroad themed Loco Vino wines from West Winery!

More details about this event will be posted at a later date but now would be a good time to start thinking about making your travel plans and reservations!

So far from our SoCal Train Travel Group I'll be there with my wife, Barbara, along with Chris Guenzler, Bob Manning, and Bob's wife. And of course the whole TrainWeb crew including Ray Burns and Shivam Surve (back from India) will be there. Tom and Kelly will be there along with the rest of the Depot Inn & Suites staff that many of you have met. Plus my sister Shelli will be there who has been to a few of our Meetups in Fullerton and fills in at both the Depot Inn and TrainWeb.

My wife and I along with Bob Manning and his wife will be departing from Fullerton on the Amtrak Southwest Chief on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 and arriving into La Plata on New Year's Eve, Thursday, December 31, 2009. We'll both be leaving from La Plata on Sunday evening, January 3, 2010, on the westbound Amtrak Southwest Chief.

To help keep track of the count, please ONLY RSVP YES after you have made your hotel reservation.

We hope to see you there! Happy New Year!