(The following story by Andrew Nash appeared on The Morning Sun website on December 15, 2009.)
PITTSBURG, Kan. — It may not have been Christmas on Sunday, but it sure seemed that way to more than 1,544 people who came to the Holiday Express train.
The train, in its ninth year, takes Santa Claus and elves through 23 dates to 22 communities throughout the Kansas City Southern rail system.
Led by the smiling tank car “Rudy”, the six-car train also includes a car carrying Santa’s sleigh, reindeer and a small village, and a car with the elves’ workshop. But that’s not the main attraction.
Participants start by climbing on board the train through an entrance at the caboose, where they are greeted by Santa in all his wonder. After meeting Santa, the children get to walk through the train, with festive decorations throughout. One of the cars hosted two separate toy train exhibits, while the last rail car on the tour is a land of Santas, with hundreds of Santas of all kinds packed into the car.
Willis Kilpatrick, the director of heritage operations for Kansas City Southern, said that the train is a chance for the railroad to give back to those it serves.
“Pittsburg is a big railroad town,” Kilpatrick said. “We want to be good corporate citizens. This is for any children ages 3 to 95 to get on the train and see the exhibits. The kids under 10 get a bag of goodies. Sometimes that’s all they get for Christmas.”
Even kids younger than 3 years old got to come on the train and see the sights. Some clad in red Elmo hats and coats, others bundled in knit caps each got their turn with Santa on the train.
The Gronau family from Girard is just one of those who made their way through the train.
“This is the third year we’ve come to see it,” said Emily Gronau. “The kids like seeing Santa and looking at the trains. It’s very different. There’s not anything like it. It’s neat to take the kids. They get excited about it.”
Kilpatrick said Kansas City Southern got the idea from Gateway Western, a railway the company bought in 1997. Gateway Western used to make trips from East St. Louis, Ill., to Blue Springs, Mo. Kilpatrick said that after the rail was bought, Kansas City Southern expanded upon the project. In fact, by Monday night, the train was in Blue Springs.
But the stories are not always happy on the Holiday Express.
“One time, a little girl, 8 years old, went to Santa and he asked her what she’d like for Christmas. She said, ‘I’d like you to make Mommy and Daddy like each other. They’re home, but they fight all the time.’ That’s hard for Santa, and he asked her if she’d talked to anybody beside her mother and father, like a preacher. She said, ‘It wouldn’t do any good. My dad is the preacher.’”
Thanks to the help of numerous volunteers who give up a week or a month at a time to be helper elves, the train is able to put on its production every year.
In fact, there’s a sign on the back of the inside of the Elves’ Workshop railcar that reads: “Smile! You’re an elf!”
“This is a magical car,” Kilpatrick said. “People walk off the street, put on a green hat and clothes and suddenly they’re elves. It’s a magical transformation.”