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December 7, 1999 9:45 AM, EST

The U.S. Capitol’s first intermodal Christmas tree landed in Washington Nov. 29, after wending its way more than 3,000 miles, via two truck trips, a tour across the state of Wisconsin, and a journey over the rails.

	Michael James - Transport Topics
	Workers prepare to place the tree at the Capitol.

The 70-foot white spruce started its travel from Wisconsin — after its branches were tied down because it would stretch over two highway lanes — where it was lifted onto a Mack truck equipped to handle the oversized load.

The tree was then paraded through the state before it was placed onto a special rail car at the end of an Amtrak passenger train in Milwaukee and sent to the Nation’s Capital.

This trip marked the debut of Amtrak in the transportation mix for the tree, which will decorate the Capitol building’s west lawn. The idea for the intermodal trip came from Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who is also chairman of Amtrak’s board of directors.

For the full story, see the Dec. 6 print edition of Transport Topics. .