The committee members who were present at the Abingdon Weekend met in the pool at Jumers on Saturday, August 4. The first committee meeting was held in the very same pool, and there is generally a meeting every year. Quite a few of the regular group were absent, but we did review the basics: The event must be reachable by Amtrak, be planned for the middle of winter, have a automobile-related activity (any marque will do), and be close enough that the Amtrak trip has a scheduled length of 3 to 5 hours each way, leaving Chicago on a Friday afternoon and returning Sunday afternoon. So far, the Amtrak Road Trip has included Dearborn, MI two times (the Ford Museum, the Automotive Hall of Fame), St. Louis (a private collection/dealer), Auburn Hills, MI (the Walter P. Chrysler Museum), and South Bend (the Studebaker Museum).

We discussed a Milwaukee trip to the Harley factory, but the distance is too short for a good Amtrak trip. We would also like to eliminate any special arrangements for transportation at the destination because these trips are supposed to be open to anyone who wants to squeeze it in at the last moment, while giving everyone the same rates for everything. Anyone who is interested in going on the next Amtrak Road Trip is automatically a committee member, and thoughts on a destination and accommodations can be addressed to us or another committee member.