OLYMPIC SYMBOL EN ROUTE : TRAIN WILL CARRY TORCH THROUGH SIMI VALLEY.Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff WriterHauling a cauldron full of fire, a vintage Union Pacific train will pass through Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. on Thursday carrying the 1996 Olympic flame The Olympic Flame, Olympic Fire, Olympic Torch, Olympic Light, Olympic Eye, and Olympic Sun is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, when a fire on its relay across the nation. The train is one of several modes of transportation being used this year to carry the torch for the 84-day trek, said Cathy St. Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. , spokeswoman for Coca-Cola, the sole presenter of the Olympic torch relay. ``The different modes of transportation reflect the American landscape,'' said St. Denis. ``It brings the Olympics Olympics Sports medicine An international competition among (traditionally) nonprofessional athletes trained in a particular summer or winter sport, which is held every 4 yrs in a selected city. See Paralympics, Special Olympics, World Medical Games. to the thousands of communities along the route.'' The torch also will be carried by boat, bicycle, horseback and plane, St. Denis said. The 20-car passenger train is scheduled to pass through at 6:08 a.m. at the Hasson siding, which is roughly 100 yards east of the historic station off Kuehner Road. At 6:37 a.m., the train is scheduled to reach the west end of Simi Valley at the Strathern siding between First Street and Madera Road. Should the train conflict with Metrolink's schedule, it will pass through without stopping, St. Denis said. Anchored on a specially built passenger car, the cauldron's flame has been tested to sustain 75-mile-per hour winds. Thursday's visit to Simi Valley will mark day six of the 84-day relay. The train began its excursion excursion /ex·cur·sion/ (eks-kur´zhun) a range of movement regularly repeated in performance of a function, e.g., excursion of the jaws in mastication. Tuesday morning in Yuma, Ariz., and will pass through states including Washington, Colorado, Mississippi Mississippi, state, United States Mississippi (mĭs'əsĭp`ē), one of the Deep South states of the United States. It is bordered by Alabama (E), the Gulf of Mexico (S), Arkansas and Louisiana, with most of the border formed by and Wisconsin. The torch also will be passed by other modes of transport along the way. The train is scheduled to make its final stop June 3 in Chicago, where the torch will be picked up by a runner. |
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