(The following story by Richard Ecke appeared on the Great Falls Tribune website on December 10.)
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — The Polar Express can take a break.
Military children and their families rode the Holiday Express train out of Great Falls on Tuesday to celebrate the season.
“That’s cool,” said 11-year-old Caitlin Adair, shortly before she boarded the holiday train with her family. Adair added she was excited for her first train ride.
“I think it’s pretty slick,” said her father, Joseph Adair, who is stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base with the 819th Red Horse Squadron. “I appreciate it.”
A second train trip is scheduled this afternoon. All the spots were booked in advance.
The train, which is festooned in holiday splendor, had room for 255 people each day. BNSF Railway provided the train rides for free for military members and their families as a salute to their service and sacrifices.
Families boarded the train at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday before being treated to special holiday snacks and a visit from Santa. Riders also were given a commemorative holiday ornament.
The train ventured 20 miles east to Belt, then headed back in a trip that lasted about 90 minutes. Locomotives decorated with Christmas wreaths marked both ends of the train. The twin-engine setup meant the train did not need to turn around for the return trip.
The Holiday Express featured 11 1940s and 1950s vintage cars that were refurbished and retrofitted with modern devices such as GPS tracking and computer equipment, said Gus Melonas, spokesman for the railroad.
“This is the first time we’ve put together the Holiday Express,” Melonas said. “It makes it extra special this year because of the downturn in the economy.”
Military members experiencing the thrill of the passenger train ride included the Red Horse Squadron’s Rob Cullison and his three children, 4-year-old Regan, 6-year-old Iann and 9-year-old Colton.
Melonas said some military members reported riding trains while stationed in Europe, but many had not yet experienced passenger trains in the United States. The nearest passenger train to Great Falls is the Amtrak train that serves Hi-Line communities including Shelby.
Throughout the holiday season, the Holiday Express will carry more than 1,800 members of military families in Wyoming, the Dakotas and Montana.
The railroad also donated $5,000 each Tuesday to two nonprofit groups that help military families — the Big Sky Top 3 Association, which assists families and youth at Malmstrom Air Force Base, and the Montana Air National Guard Support Fund. The checks were presented during am evening ceremony in Great Falls. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Montana Air Guard Brig. Gen. John Del Toro and Chief Master Sgt. Steve Sargent, the highest-ranking enlisted man at Malmstrom Air Force Base, were among the officials accepting the checks on behalf of the organizations.
In all, the railroad will donate more than $40,000 this fall to groups that help military families, officials said.
A BNSF news release said the railroad appreciates the sacrifices made by military members and their families, and notes the railroad has a history of supporting the military stretching back to the Civil War.