CVSR Offering Virtual Santa Visits

With its Polar Express trains canceled for the rest of the year, the Cuyahoga Valley is trying to pick up the slack of lost revenue by offering Zoom visits with Santa Claus.

The fundraising program begins on Monday (Dec. 7) and runs through Dec. 20.

Children will be provided a 10 minute visit with Santa on Zoom for a $30 charge plus a $1.50 processing fee.

Parents will be asked to answer a series of questions when registering for a visit for their children so that Old Saint Nick will know their names and what they want for Christmas.

More information is available at the CVSR website at https://www.cvsr.org/book-tickets/virtual_santa_visits/

How Santa Rode the Rails Into Kent

Back in the day, as we like to say, the first Saturday night in December was a special time on the former Erie Railroad in Kent.

Santa Claus would ride into town in the cab of Shelly Materials SD18M No. 321. At the throttle was Akron Railroad Club member Bob Rohal.

Bob would “play” Jingle Bells on the locomotive horn as the locomotive named “Flash” brought Santa Claus to town.

The occasion was the annual Kent Festival of Lights and if you look on You Tube you can find a video of the 2011 rendition.

I never saw this event because it was always held on the same night as the ARRC banquet.

But on a Saturday afternoon in 2011 I made my way out to the Shelly facility where Bob was setting up Flash for its appearance that night, complete with lights and wire reindeer on top of the cab.

Santa was back aboard Flash on Dec. 7 this year to make his entrances to the annual Festival of Lights celebration.

Mad River & NKP Museum Sets Holiday Caboose Rides

The Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum will conduct its 5^th annual Holiday Train event in Bellevue on Saturday and Sunday.

The hours are noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 per person with tickets available at the museum on the day of the event.

The event designed for young children and families and offers a short ride on one of the museum’s cabooses.

The cabooses are heated and enable visitors to experience the same ride as railroaders of a bygone era. The ride will last about 10 minutes.

Participants can enjoy hot coco and cookies (included with the ticket price) in a 1927 Nickel Plate Road diner.

Santa Claus will be greeting children in Monument Station where the gift shop will be open and selling train related items including books, DVDs, apparel, toys, memorabilia and collectibles.

All proceeds from this event will go directly to support the museum.

Due to the historical nature of the equipment used for this event, cabooses and dining car are not handicap accessible.

FtWRHS to Operate Santa Trains Starting Saturday

The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society will operate its 18^th annual Santa trains starting this Saturday.

Trains will operate on Dec. 7, 8, 14, 15, 21 and 22 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Tickets are $7 per person with children age 3 and under carried for free. All tickets must be purchased online at https://www.showclix.com/event/fort-wayne-santa-train-2019?fbclid=IwAR3_P8wCzhSZATser-IImThgzF2FfeRASHAp4Vw9NIRGe8dD5x0psf7FjoI

However, a notice on that site indicates that all tickets have been sold but there is a link to click to be notified when tickets will next be available for sale.

Each trip is pulled by a diesel locomotive and lasts approximately 20 minutes. The trains are heated.

Saint Nick’s historic cabooses are heated and Amanda Lee Coffee will be served along with warm beverages and baked goods that are sold separately.
Limited group charters are available for up to 15 people and include a 45-minute trip with Santa, refreshments, and cookies on Saturday evenings for $300

Proceeds from the event are used to support non-profit historic railroad preservation efforts in Northeast Indiana. For more information visit fortwaynerailroad.org.

Worthington Museum Sets Letters to Santa Event

The Ohio Railway Museum will hold its annual Letters to Santa event on Dec. 8, 14, 21 and 22.

Attendees will be able write a letter to Santa Claus that they can mail to the North Pole in one of the museum’s Railway Post Office cars.

There will also be visits with Mrs. Claus and opportunities to make Christmas crafts and ornaments.

Interurban car No. 64 will be providing rides throughout the day on an as-needed basis.

There will be no pre-sale tickets for this event. Tickets can be bought on the day of  visit in the depot.

Admission for adults is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors and $7 for children is $7. Children age 3 will be admitted for free. Hours of the event are noon to 4 p.m.

The museum is located at 990 Proprietors Road in Worthington. The museum phone number is 614-885-7345.

Santa to Visit B&O Roundhouse in Cleveland

Santa Claus will be at the former Baltimore & Ohio roundhouse in Cleveland on Nov. 30, Dec. 1, and Dec. 7.

The Midwest Railway Preservation Society, which owns the roundhouse said children and their parents or guardians can come see Santa and take a ride on a caboose.

Admission for the event is $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 4 to 11. Children age 3 or younger will be admitted for free.

The hours of the Santa visit will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

The roundhouse complex will be decorated with Christmas light and decorations. There might even a Grinch handing out lumps of coal.

But Santa will be handing out cookies and gifts to children,
The cost for this event is $10 for adults. Children from 4 to 11 are $5 and all children age 3 will be admitted for free.

All proceeds will be used for roundhouse restoration efforts

Visitors should wear weather-appropriate clothing and closed-toe shoes. Children must be under the supervision of an adult at all times.

AOS Roundhouse Winter Events to Include Expanded Museum Store Hours, Speakers, Santa Claus Visit

The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum in Sugarcreek has announced a slate of activities for the winter, including holiday shopping hours, model train layout displays, a speaker series and a visit with Santa.

In a news release, AOS said its store will be open for special holiday shopping hours on Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. between Nov. 21 and Dec. 20 except for the week of Thanksgiving when the store will be closed on Nov. 28 and 29.

Division 1 Mid-Central Region National Model Railroad Association (The Akron-Canton-Youngstown Division) will have an operating model railroad layout on display in the store during the holiday shopping season.

Among the speakers appearing during the monthly winter speaker series will be architect Ted Goodman, who designed the roundhouse.

He will speak about the design process and construction of the roundhouse on Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Age of Steam Roundhouse Depot.

There is no admission charge for the event, but attendees should pre-register via the AOS website.

As for Santa, he’ll be appearing at the roundhouse on Dec. 14 from noon to 2 p.m.

Visitors should bring their own cameras or phones to create photographs.

There will also be an opportunity to make a take-home Christmas ornament to remember the visit.

Pictures with Santa are $5 per child and an additional $5 if they wish to make an ornament. Tickets can be purchased in advance on the AOS website or on-site on the day of the event.

For more information on all of the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum’s activities, including the 2020 public tour season, visit http://www.ageofsteamroundhouse.org.

Toys for Tots Train in NJ, NY Brings Together Several Railroad Heritages for a Good Cause

The annual Toys For Tots Train, sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, travels through northern New Jersey and lower New York State on various short lines, making stops to pick up toys.

This year’s train featured a Conrail caboose, a U.S. Marines boxcar, a restored Pennsylvania Railroad express-baggage car, restored New York Central lounge car No. 43, and former 20th Century Limited tail car Hickory Creek.

The host short line provided the motive power. Shown is the train operating on the New York, Susquehanna & Western with SD33ECO No. 3012.

It was a cold, but beautiful day for a chase. I chased the train for about 20 miles and I caught it in several spots along the Susquehanna, including the train leaving the yard at Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, and passing the Marcal Paper Plant in Elmwood Park, New Jersey.

I waited for the train at its scheduled stop in Wortendyke, New Jersey, and visited with Santa and the crew, many of whom I have known for years from my 30 years of volunteering.

A car from one of the world’s greatest trains carrying Santa Claus on a short line that has outlived the mighty New York Central might seem like an unlikely, but unforgettable, combination on a beautiful fall day.

Article and Photographs by Jack Norris

Santa Still Riding the Rails In Kent

Tonight [Dec. 3, 2016], there was an emotional event for me. This was the first time in 18 years I was not involved with the decorating and operation of the Santa train here in Kent for the Festival of Lights.

My only involvement now was to give my friends a theme to use for the Christmas lights on the locomotive.

I had planned to use the star theme and they did a great job putting it into reality.

It was wonderful to see the guys I worked with and to be greeted with hugs and wishing I would have stayed working.

And, yes, Dan Ashley from the Akron Barberton Cluster Railway brought Santa into town on time.

I was very pleased to see a tradition continue just as you would as you nurture a child from birth to see them develop into a life of their own.

The picture is not the best as I never took good night pictures.

Article and Photograph by Robert Rohal

Santa Trains III — Riding an NS Caboose

We had our company picnic on Dec. 8 at the Rockport Mechanical Building in Cleveland. Again this year we loaded Santa aboard our local caboose and “delivered” him to the waiting crowd, seen here arriving at the shop.

Photograph by Roger Durfee