The first regularly scheduled train to stop in Leavenworth in more than 40 years arrived at the new Icicle Station at 8:12pm Friday. Mayor Rob Eaton and some 25 town dignitaries in full Bavarian regalia caught a 4:40 train in Seattle, and arrived to a  throng of hundreds excitedly crowding the new platform in Leavenworth.

       Officials who helped oversee the project like state senator Linda Evans Parlette were on hand to help the town celebrate the new station:

       Senator Parlette said in addition to all the hard work that went into getting the project off the ground, Icicle Station is a unique victory:

       The first whistles could be heard at about 8:00, and the crowd pressed towards the track to welcome the Chicago-bound Amtrak train:

The new destination is already proving popular, and some 70 passengers stepped out into the autumn air.

Mayor Eaton was visibly overwhelmed with emotion as he stood among the crowd at Icicle Station.

       Of course, the project couldn’t have been completed without the cooperation of many officials and the support of the public. Kurt Laird from Amtrak welcomed the station and presented Mayor Eaton with a huge ribbon-wrapped stack of the thousands of letters he had received in support of Icicle Station:

Meanwhile the construction on North Road, which leads to Icicle Station, was not completed as planned. Traffic moved slowly but steadily across a steep temporary roadway. Chelan County Public Works Director Jolene Gosselin Cambell said manufacturer delays have put the contractor some 2 and a half weeks behind schedule. Flaggers will be on site to guide traffic through a single lane on North Road for the next two weeks.