(Canadian Pacific Railway circulated the following article on November 5.)
MINNEAPOLIS — This holiday season will be a little brighter for Midwesterners who rely on food banks and food shelves in more than two dozen Upper Midwest communities as Canadian Pacific Railway’s 2004 Holiday Train is set to roll in support of food banks.
From Dec. 9 to Dec. 16, the U.S. Holiday Train will make 26 stops in the Upper Midwest following a weeklong journey in Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario.
The Upper Midwest portion of the U.S. Holiday train will begin Dec. 9 in Franklin Park, Ill., on the outskirts of Chicago.
Stops include Brookfield, Wis., outside of Milwaukee; through central Wisconsin to La Crosse, Wis., and up the west bank of the Mississippi River to the Twin Cities where CPR’s U.S. offices and locomotive maintenance base are located and 1,200 employees work.
From the Twin Cities, the Holiday Train heads across central and western Minnesota, up to Thief River Falls, Minn., and back down and across North Dakota from the southeast corner of that state to Minot. See schedule at the bottom of this release.
The John Cowan Band, a “new bluegrass” group, Canadian country singer/songwriter Beverley Mahood and Santa will ride the 11-car train, which will be illuminated with thousands of multicolored Christmas lights. The entertainers will perform a live holiday music show from a boxcar stage at up to four stops a night, while Santa and CPR employees distribute train whistles to children in the crowd. Food shelves and food banks will collect cash and nonperishable food items and load them into trucks for local hunger relief efforts. The donated items and money will remain local.
This is the sixth year that CPR’s Holiday Train will be taking to the rails for local food banks, where its message of hope and community support continue to grow each year. Since its beginning in 1999, the Holiday Train program has raised closed to 213 tons of food and more than $1.5 million (Cdn) for North American food banks. CPR will donate money to local food banks in addition to the food and money collected along the way.
While the U.S. Holiday Train is making its way across the Northeast and Upper Midwest, a second Holiday Train will be stopping in more than 50 communities in Canada raising awareness and collecting donations for hunger relief.
About Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway is a transcontinental carrier operating in Canada and the U.S. Its 14,000-mile network serves the principal centers of Canada, from Montreal to Vancouver, and the U.S. Northeast and Midwest regions. CPR feeds directly into America’s heartland from the East and West coasts. Alliances with other carriers extend its market reach through the U.S. and into Mexico. Canadian Pacific Logistics Solutions provides logistics and supply chain expertise worldwide. For more information, visit CPR’s website at http://www.cpr.ca .
2004 CPR Holiday Train Schedule for the Upper Midwest
Thursday, Dec. 9
ILLINOIS
Franklin Park, Ill. – 5:45 p.m. to 6:25 p.m. – B12 Switch Tower park, off of Cal Wagner Street by U.S. Post Office. Benefits Leyden Family Service food pantry.
Gurnee, Ill. – 7:20 p.m. to 8:10 p.m. – North side of Grand Avenue underpass, east side of Depot Road across from Viking Park. Benefits Northern Illinois Food Bank.
WISCONSIN
Sturtevant, Wis. – 9:15 p.m. to 10:05 p.m. – Amtrak depot, one block north of Highway 11 and Wisconsin Street. Benefits Racine County Food Bank.
Friday, Dec. 10
Brookfield, Wis. – 5 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. – Fox Brook Park, Barker Road at River Road. Benefits Food Pantry of Waukesha County.
Watertown, Wis. – 6:20 p.m. to 7 p.m. – Third Street crossing. Benefits Watertown Food Pantry.
Portage, Wis. – 7:50 p.m. to 8:50 p.m. – Amtrak depot, 400 W. Oneida St. Benefits St. Vincent De Paul Society.
Mauston, Wis. – 9:30 p.m. to 10:20 p.m. – Mauston Industrial Park, West State Street. Benefits Mauston Community Sharing Pantry.
Saturday, Dec. 11
La Crosse, Wis. – 5:10 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. – Amtrak depot, 601 St. Andrew St. Benefits WAFER.
MINNESOTA
Winona, Minn. – 6:30 p.m. to 7:25 p.m. – Amtrak depot, 65 E. Mark St. Benefits Winona Volunteer Services.
Lake City, Minn. – 8:35 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. – Hearth Technologies, 800 W. Jefferson St. Benefits Lake City Food Shelf.
Sunday, Dec. 12
Red Wing, Minn. – 4:45 p.m. to 5:25 p.m. – Amtrak depot, 420 Levee St. Benefits Red Wing Area Food Shelf.
Hastings, Minn. – 5:50 p.m. to 6:40 p.m. – CPR depot, 500 E. Second St. Benefits Hastings Family Service.
Cottage Grove, Minn. – 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. – Belden Street crossing behind Mobil station on Hadley Ave. S. Benefits Friends in Need Food Shelf.
St. Paul, Minn. – 8:10 p.m. to 9:10 p.m. – Upper level of All-Right Parking Ramp at Broadway & Kellogg in Lowertown. This location is east of the old post office and is under the Lafayette freeway bridge. Benefits Second Harvest Heartland and Hunger Solutions Minnesota.
Monday, Dec. 13
Northeast Minneapolis – Yard opens at 4 p.m. for parking. Show will be from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. — Shoreham Yard, 2800 Central Ave. NE. Benefits Salvation Army Central Corps.
Loretto, Minn. – 6:40 p.m. to 7:20 p.m. – Hennepin County Road 19 crossing downtown across from Axel’s Restaurant. Benefits Hanover Area Food Shelf.
Buffalo, Minn. – 7:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. – 612 NE Third Ave. behind McDonalds. Benefits Buffalo Food Shelf.
Annandale, Minn. – 9:15 p.m. to 9:55 p.m. – West side of downtown park over the Oak Avenue crossing. Benefits Annandale Community Food Shelf.
Tuesday, Dec. 14
Mahnomen, Minn. – 5:15 p.m. to 6:05 p.m. – 300 E. Jefferson Ave. by Shooting Star Casino. Benefits Helping Hands Food Shelf.
Thief River Falls, Minn. – 7:35 p.m. to 8:25 p.m. – Depot/City Hall, 2017 Highway 59 SE. Benefits Thief River Falls Area Food Shelf.
Wednesday, Dec. 15
Elbow Lake, Minn. – 4:50 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. – Main Street crossing. Benefits Grant County Emergency Food Shelf.
NORTH DAKOTA
Hankinson, N.D. – 6:45 p.m. to 7:25 p.m. – Former depot site, 410 First Street SE. Benefits Richland-Wilkin Emergency Food Pantry.
Enderlin, N.D. – 9:15 p.m. to 9:55 p.m. – CPR depot, 101 Harvest Lane. Benefits Ransom County Food Pantry.
Thursday, Dec. 16
Carrington, N.D. – 4:35 p.m. to 5:25 p.m. – Former depot, 6th Street North. Benefits Foster County Food Pantry.
Harvey, N.D. – 6:30 p.m. to 7:20 p.m. — CPR depot, 600 Lincoln Ave. Benefits Central Dakota Ministerial Alliance.
Minot, N.D. – 9:30 p.m. to 10:20 p.m. – Main Street crossing. Benefits Minot Area Homeless Coalition.