SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Hundreds of people gathered at the Old South Bend Union station to see the Freedom Train, a specially designed locomotive, and hear about a new development coming to our city.

Trains move people in more ways than one. For some a train is simply a way of transporting them. For others, like Greta Claeys, who spent 18 months on the bicentennial train starting in 1975, trains hold memories of an out of college job that took her to 44 states.

“They needed someone to meet and greet-as my mom would say-people that came on the train.” Claeys said, “And since I love to talk and love to meet people, that was my main job.”

This is the third iteration of the Freedom Train. The first was post-World War 2, the second, which Clays worked on as the only person representing Indiana, was to celebrate the country’s 200th birthday and increase national pride following Watergate and the Vietnam War. Although 50 years have passed, Claeys knows the train is needed more now than ever.

“There’s still that confusion in our country-and yet we have an American Freedom Train coming.” Claeys said. “And hundreds of people are coming out to see a locomotive for one, the love of their country, and two, because they love trains, and the transportation of trains.”

Still wearing her 50-year-old scarf, she joined people as they watched the train arrive and went on a station tour. Families poured in to watch the historic moment that memorializes our country’s legacy and also brings some people home.

“South Bend is my hometown, said Patrick Whitehead, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at CN Railway. "So being a part of this entire whistle stop tour is very special for me. I'm a lifelong railroader, family of railroaders, started here. So, to be a part of this, be a part of the America 250 celebration, I couldn’t ask for a better day than doing this.”

And for some, this is only the beginning. A $3.8 million investment has been given to South Bend for the planning and development of a new South Bend station that’s more efficient and brings passengers to and from Chicago-the rail capital of the country.

“Building a new station in a city is a big, big step in the right direction,” said Drew Feeley, Deputy Administer of the Federal Railroad Administration. "It shows the growth in the city and interest in passenger rail.”

The project will take years to develop.

As for CN's America 250 train, it will end in East Lansing, Michigan as a celebration of people’s connection to rail.