U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and his entourage arrived in the Union Station in Washington Saturday evening, wrapping up a one-day "whistle stop" inaugural train journey from Philadelphia to the U.S. capital.
　　Starting from Philadelphia earlier in the day, Obama's private charter train had make stops in Wilmington, Delaware, where he picked up Vice President-elect Joe Biden, and then in Baltimore, Maryland, before winding up in Washington, where the two men will be inaugurated on Tuesday.
　　Obama was following the more than century-old tradition of many U.S. presidents-elects, in particular Abraham Lincoln, to travel to the national capital for inauguration by train.
　　The trip on Jan. 17, three days before Obama's swearing-in, was designed to highlight the inaugural theme of "Renewing America's Promise" by reviving the tradition of presidential whistle-stop tours.
　　U.S. President-elect Barack Obama delivered a speech here on Saturday before embarking on a "whistle stop" train journey to Washington, calling on fellow Americans to carry on the spirit of the American revolution and deal with today's challenges with courage and confidence.
　　Faced with unprecedented challenges such as the financial crisis, two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the global climate change, the nation needs "the same perseverance and idealism that our founders displayed," Obama told more than 200 supporters at an indoor invitation-only event in the North Waiting Room of the 30thStreet Station. Full story
　　U.S. President-elect Barack Obama continued his inaugural train ride on Saturday after making a whistle-stop in Wilmington, Delaware, where he picked up Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
　　Both men, together with their families, led a brief ceremony and addressed well-wishers at the Wilmington train station before boarding the train.