(The following report appeared on the Leesville Daily Leader website on November 20.)
LEESVILLE, La. — Kansas City Southern railroad will host its seventh annual Holiday Express Run, beginning this weekend.
The event will take place from 4-9 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 25, at the KCS Yard, 901 South Third St., in Leesville.
The train will bring Santa Claus and his elves to 28 stops in 26 communities in eight states throughout the Kansas City Southern Railway company. The states will include Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Illinois.
At each stop, KCS will make a charitable contribution of Wal-Mart gift cards to a local Salvation Army chapter to provide warm clothing for needy children.
Due to contributions by KCS employees, vendors and friends, the railroad raised approximately $122,700 for purchasing the gift cards this year. This is an 8 percent increase over last year’s total amount raised.
In addition to these contributions, visits to the Holiday Express Train will be free and open to the public. led by KCS’ Southern Belle, the six-car train will include “Rudy”, the smiling tank car; a flat car carrying Santa’s sleigh, reindeer and a miniature village; a gingerbread box car; the elves’ workshop; the reindeer stable and a little red caboose.
The train was created in 2001, after more than 8,000 volunteer hours of work to a retired freight train.
Each year, the decoration theme inside the train focuses on a new theme. This year’s theme will be “Santa Claus.” After a personal visit with the jolly old elf, visitors will find images of Santa throughout the train.
New features for this year include an ice castle exhibit in the caboose, the “northern lights” and subtle additions to the model train displays. Festive music and lights complete the mood.
Ed Laughlin, KCS Senior Train Master said that the event is truly a one of a kind experience and a great way for families in Central Louisiana to kick off the holidays. “It’s good for all ages, even adults,” Laughlin said.
The Holiday Express Train was built on the tradition of the former, Gateway Western (GWWR) Santa Train, which made stops in small towns in Illinois and Missouri. GWWR was purchased by KCS in 1997. In 200, KCS employees recognized that the holiday train was the only Christmas some children had and some didn’t even have essential items such as coats, hats and gloves. The employees began building the tradition to the experience that communities throughout KCSR’s service area enjoy today.
The next stop for the train after Leesville will be at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 29, at 111 North Washington Ave., in DeRidder.