SOURCE: http://www.telegram.com/article/20120524/NEWS/105249802/-1/NEWS05
WORCESTER — The MBTA's Memorial Train made its inaugural run yesterday from Boston's South Station to Worcester's Union Station in a tribute to the 136 Bay State servicemen who lost their lives during recent wars in the Middle East.
The train made its way into Worcester about 1:50 p.m., catching the eyes of commuters waiting to make the reverse trip back to Boston.
“This is really something else,” said William Costa, a 26-year-old Worcester resident who takes the train to his job at Wendy's in Westboro. “It's a good way to remember the men and women who gave their lives for our freedom.”
The Memorial Train is actually a 1988 passenger coach that has been “shrink-wrapped” with patriotic imagery.
Coach car 1528 is emblazoned with red and white striping against a blue background. Along the bottom are 136 gold stars with the names of the Massachusetts airmen, soldiers, Marines and sailors who died in recent in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A plaque with the names hangs inside the coach.
The coach will be integrated into trains making runs on all MBTA commuter routes.
The Memorial Train made its debut with the 12:22 p.m. trip into Worcester.
It was introduced beforehand at a ceremony at South Station attended by state officials, including Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey, Secretary of Veterans' Services Coleman Nee and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority General Manager Jonathan Davis.
“I'm happy that the state decided to do something like this,” said Mr. Costa, who took several photographs of the coach with his cellphone.
State officials said the train's crew will be made up at times of veterans who served during the recent wars.
They include conductor Christina Clark, an Army staff sergeant who became disabled in Iraq after a device exploded under the diesel fuel truck that she was in.
The coach “is a good reminder to people about the sacrifices some have made,” said Tryrone Stokley, a conductor on the trip to Worcester.
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