I am curious how many bonafide railroad museums embrace the Santa Train concept. They would seem to be a good draw and money maker, although expenses and operations could be troublesome in areas that have some genuine winter weather. Is there a bare minimum that needs to be done to make the kids happy? Are there unique features that seem to work well? In general, how do you do it right? Where do you put the bearded man?
Thanks for any input.

The Heber Valley Railroad has presented the reading of Chris Van Allsburg's award winning Christmas story "The Polar Express for the past know, this is a very popular event and contributes greatly to the bottom line. We follow the story as closely as possible, serving hot cocoa and cookies like in the story. Readers and elves, from the Heber Valley Arts Council, on each car keep the passenger happy by singing Christmas caroles and telling funny stories. The train travels to the North Pole (about 7 miles down track) where Santa is waiting. Just before the train arrives at the pole, the Polar Express story is read. When the steam engine is run around for the return trip, every child and their parents are glues to the window to watch it go six years. As many railroad around the country by. That's when Santa board the train. Because of the lenght of the train we use two Santas. One visable the other hides on the train. He visits with each child on the return and gives the first give of Christmas, a bell off his sleigh. Doing just the minimum to please the children is not a good approach. Kids are happy with just about anything you do. It's the parents that need to be pleased with a quality show to insure repeat business. Warner Brothers is putting out the animated movie next year so using the name Polar Express is currently in question. But, because of the movie, Christmas trains next year promise to be popular. My suggestions is to put on a quality show no matter what name you put to it. I think it will pay off for your bottom line.

kenm9@msn.com

As one who used to clean the coaches after our RR's annual Santa Train, I'd suggest passing out the candy as they leave the train. One brand of chocolate in particular used to have some tiny gold strings as part of the wrapping, that I'll bet are still embedded in that carpeting, 20 years later.

ryarger@rypn.org

> As one who used to clean the coaches after
> our RR's annual Santa Train, I'd suggest
> passing out the candy as they leave the
> train. One brand of chocolate in particular
> used to have some tiny gold strings as part
> of the wrapping, that I'll bet are still
> embedded in that carpeting, 20 years later.

I shudder to think of heritage cars with plush and carpet, fancy wood work and all that goes with it being subjected to crowds. We had a couple of these on our trains and it took a lot of fun out of the sessions having the attendants keeping things under control ... both for the attendants and the passengers. Take a good set of Long Island coaches that have interiors designed for abuse and you can be a little looser and the cleanup is easier.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

> As one who used to clean the coaches after
> our RR's annual Santa Train, I'd suggest
> passing out the candy as they leave the
> train. One brand of chocolate in particular
> used to have some tiny gold strings as part
> of the wrapping, that I'll bet are still
> embedded in that carpeting, 20 years later.

It kind of goes back to the discussion about preserving artifacts vs. consuming them!! Prudence should rule when selecting the kinds of goodies which are distributed. The most important thing is to create a truly memorable experience for these young people and for the adults who foot the bill. We have also found that the heritage-type cars are much more challenging to keep clean than the commuter-type cars, and try to tailor the event to the accommodations.

It is still worth the effort and expense, to have a program which can generate a sizable amount of income at an otherwise slow time of the year. In addition to the various benefits derived by the railroad, Heber Valley's program generates tremendous amounts of business for the local restaurants and lodging establishments, and is the principal fund-raiser for the local arts council. It is definitely worth continuing for us!

clacey@hebervalleyrr.org

The Puffing Billy Railway, Melbourne Australia, runs a series of Santa specials in December. This is actually a summer peak-season activity for us rather than a way of creating some off-peak busibness. See link for details.

http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/info/specials/santa.htm
chairman@pbr.org.au

We also run an 'adult' Santa product in mid winter. See link for details


http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/info/specials/jingle_bells_in_july.htm
chairman@pbr.org.au

> The East Troy Electric Railroad Museum does "Trolley Rides With Santa," onthe first weekend in December. As we are in Wisconsin, bad weather is usually the rule rather than the exception. Still we deal with it.

Being a seasonal operation which means our depot is closed, the waiting room is one of our diners, which is heated. Passengers enter one end, get hot chocolate in the galley, enter the gift shop area, then purchase their tickets at the bar at the other end. Then, the riders pass through the vestibule directly into decorated Chicago Elevated cars 35 & 45. Being from a later era, these cars are very functional and easy to clean. (Lots of stainless steel and fiberglass). Plus they can be made to be nice and toasty warm!

The folks then ride down the line and Santa passes through the train, talking to the tykes and giving them candy canes. Elves, reindeer, bears, and other creatures follow him and make merry with the passengers.

Santa and his helpers are from a local service organization which receives a percentage of the fare revenue for their efforts.

After Saturday's runs are completed, in the early evening Santa and Mrs. Claus are brought into town on the train, where they get off and get on a fire truck to go to the Village square to light the Village Christmas tree.

All in all, a nice small town way to start the holiday season.

East Troy Electric Railroad
jftrolley@aol.com

We do a custom gift each year and Santa "gives" one to each ticket-holding child. This year we had a custom tooth brush with a "float" in the handle that was patterned off our Alco RSD4. A background with the Snoqualmie Depot and a foreground with our restored bridge 35 gave the locomotive somewhere to "go". During the event they were a huge hit with kids and parents. Our cost was about $1.21 each based on an order of somewhere around 3,500. A very few extras are available in the Depot Bookstore for a modest $2.95...

Our program also includes hot chocolate, Starbuck's coffee and cookies baked fresh in our railway kitchen car for all ticket holders. This year we baked around 1,400 dozen cookies.

Northwest Railway Museum
rra63@hotmail.com

Winter weather is a big factor in NEPA. This year, we scheduled Santa Trolley for the 12-6 - 7 weekend. Forecasts of a huge snowstorm cancelled it. We rescheduled for the next weekend. We did OK on Saturday for short notice but cancelled Sunday again for another snowstorm.

We have the Festival of Trees inside the Museum for people to see before the trolley trip.

Electric City Trolley Museum Association