(The following story by David McGee appeared on the Bristol Herald Courier website on November 23.)
ABOARD THE SANTA SPECIAL — Santa Claus and an army of elves took to the rails Saturday to spread some early holiday joy through the coalfields of Appalachia.
With Christmas music blaring from the loudspeakers, the Santa Special made its 61st annual run through parts of Eastern Kentucky and Southwest Virginia before returning to Kingsport, Tenn.
On board, Santa and his elves distributed more than 15 tons of toys, food and other goodies to the thousands of people who lined the 110-mile route.
Standing on the rear platform car of the CSX train, Don Royston ? the man in the bright-red, fur-lined suit ? went through much the same routine at a series of 15 stops.
He waved, smiled and handed out lots of toys.
Royston also remained on the back while traveling between stops, waving to hundreds who lined the tracks just to get a glimpse of the holiday tradition.
“Ho, ho, ho! Santa sees you. Santa loves you,” Royston called out.
After four years of serving as an apprentice, Saturday was his first time replacing now-retired Santa Frank Brogden for the full run.
During a rare break, Royston said he looks forward to the annual trip.
“I love seeing the smiles and the continuing tradition that the train represents,” he said. “We?re seeing great-grandparents coming out here.
“One of the most rewarding things I remember was seeing a child?s eyes light up when I handed her a toy and then seeing her turn around and hand it to a child in the back who couldn?t get close enough. That was not the norm. The euphoria of it all is hard to explain.”
At every stop along the way, children ? many perched upon shoulders for a better view ? would raise their hands in the air and shout for Santa?s attention.
For many years, Santa and his helpers threw objects from the train while it was moving. Co-sponsor CSX Transportation stopped that practice three years ago for safety reasons.
“I can put a stuffed animal in somebody?s backpack on the back row,” Royston said. “Of course, you have to be careful what you throw. You don?t want to hurt anyone.”
He said this year he even got special glasses to help him better see those children at the back of the crowd.
At each stop, helpers climbed down from the train to hand out toys to those too young or too timid to venture into the crowd.
Meanwhile, up on the platform, a host of volunteers stood beside Santa to help toss everything from food to wrapping paper to waiting hands below.
With each stop carefully timed, the train whistle signaled volunteers to return to the train to depart for the next town.
People gathered before sunrise in Kentucky to see the train, with the size of the crowds increasing at each Virginia stop. An estimated 5,000 people gathered along the tracks in St. Paul.
Among them was 6-day-old Colton Younce of Haysi.
“We?re just standing back watching. There are too many people for us to get in there,” said his mother, Angela Younce.
Colton got his first look at Santa earlier in the day in Fremont, where several hundred people turned out. The crowd included Betty Younce of Haysi, who said 12 members of her family came out to meet the train.
Standing alongside rural railroad tracks that now carry freight instead of passengers, a number of people relived their childhood memories.
“I?ve been coming to the train for 35 years,” Betty Younce said.
“I brought my children, my grandchildren, and today I have brought my great-grandchildren,” she said while holding 5-month-old Abigail Jones and several toys.
“I think it?s marvelous, absolutely marvelous,” she said. “We love it.”
James Mullins, who was among those in the crowd in Haysi, said he remembered coming to see the train as a child.
“We came to the train when I was 6. It was a thrill to see that train come through the tunnel,” he said. “We were at Splashdown ? the old mining camp. We very seldom ever missed it.”
Mullins, who now lives in Ohio and was visiting relatives Saturday, brought his 11-year-old nephew Cody for his first visit to the train.
“Back when we came, they didn?t do stops like this,” Mullins said. “They just threw off candy.”
The tradition began in the early 1940s, when a group of Kingsport businessmen devised the gift-giving jaunt as a way to thank those who traveled south to the city to shop.
It has grown every year and has garnered national and international media attention.
During Saturday?s trip, $150,000 worth of toys, candy and other goodies were thrown from the train.