WASHINGTON - Barack Obama (web | news | bio) has arrived in Washington at the end of a majestic train ride across the frigid mid-Atlantic seaboard, moving another step closer to the presidency.

Celebratory crowds braved subfreezing weather to salute Obama along his 137-mile journey to the nation's capital from Philadelphia. For his part, Obama often couched his moment of triumph in sobering words, saying the country is burdened by staggering problems like the economy, global warming and war.

He will take the oath of office in three days, succeeding George W. Bush (web | news | bio) . 

A buoyant President-elect Barack Obama waved to cheering throngs of people standing, leaning and jumping along railroad tracks as his whistle stop train took off from Philadelphia, slowing to a crawl at stops in Delaware and Maryland en route to the nation's capital.

Obama, standing on the caboose's flag-draped platform in front of a presidential insignia, waved enthusiastically as he rode by. He and his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha got an enthusiastic send-off a short time earlier when the train pulled out of Philadelphia's 30th St. station.

Among the hand-painted signs seen in the crowd were: "Hail to the Chief!" and "Hallelujah, we did it!"

As the train lumbered out of Philadelphia, a conductor bellowed: "Welcome aboard the 2009 inaugural train to DC."

The route - the same that Abraham Lincoln took nearly a century and a half ago - was 137 miles long, and Obama's arrival in the nation's capital was scheduled after the fall of dark Saturday. A couple such "slow-moving" visits were scheduled along the way.

The 10-car train built by Pullman Standard in 1939 moved at a fairly fast clip for the 45-minute ride to Wilmington, Del., passing knots of crowds gathered in the bitter cold so as not to miss their piece of the historic events. Commuter train platforms were filled, and smaller groups stood along the train tracks in between as well.

Obama/Biden Whistle-stop tour glides through Edgewood, Md.

Several thousand people braved the cold, hopping in place to stay warm, to catch a glimpse of President-elect Barack Obama at a Maryland commuter rail station.

Some people waited as long as six hours to see Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden wave from the back of a vintage rail car as it slowed down at the Edgewood MARC (web | news) station north of Baltimore.

People chanted "O-bama" and "Yes, we can" and waved American flags. Gwendolyn Muok of Syracuse, N.Y., said she brought her three daughters so they could say they witnessed history.

People waited in line before the station parking lot opened and a steady stream of arrivals continued through the morning and early afternoon.

Obama is taking a preinaugural train ride from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. He held a rally in Wilmington, Del., and plans to speak in Baltimore. 

 As a result, Baltimore's War Memorial Plaza is filled with people who hope to catch a glimpse of the Obamas and Bidens. About 30,000 people are expected inside the square between the War Memorial Building and City Hall. Many began lining up in the early morning hours on this bitterly cold day.

The War Memorial Building has huge flag banners draped between its columns. Banners also grace City Hall and the lampposts in the plaza. A line of thousands has snaked its way through at least four blocks. Vendors are selling buttons, shirts, hats, pennants and other paraphernalia.

Many people are excited about seeing Obama personally, which they don't believe would be possible for them on Inauguration Day. Elementary school principal Bud Beehler calls this "a historic moment in time" and says the Baltimore stop "is the only place to be."

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