A steam train carrying about three dozen Fort Riley soldiers and their families rolled through Marion and Peabody Friday morning?giving local crowds an opportunity to thank the soldiers for their service in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.
The soldiers rode the train from Herington to Wichita. Union Pacific
had offered similar treks to soldiers in other parts of the country.
This was the first one in the Midwest.
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The train passes through a bridge south of Marion, toward Peabody.
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Soldiers and their families walked along the street to be accept the appreciation of those who clustered around them.
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Children were mesmerized by the sight of the soldiers.
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Marion matriarch Norma Hannaford, 103, came in a golf cart to greet
the soldiers. She remembers greeting soldiers in World War I and II.
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The train arrives in Marion with color guards at attention and observers armed with cameras.
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