Since 2014 the Friends have operated the North Pole Express offering a 60-minute train ride on the Union Depot grounds. After departing the depot platform, the trains travel to the east end of the depot property to Santa’s Workshop, a structure built by Friends volunteers. Santa then boards the train and collects letters written to him by passengers. He visits with each child on the trip back to the depot. Volunteers offer children cookies and hot chocolate in the depot head house on their return.
“I think the biggest thing this year was overcoming the weather. I can’t imagine what it was like in the old days, being on a steam locomotive in the middle of North Dakota when it was -10 degrees,” says Steve Sandberg, Friends of the 261’s president and chief operating officer.
New this year was former Milwaukee Road E9A 32A, still lettered as Wisconsin & Southern 101, which pulled the trains west back into the depot (No. 261 led east). The Friends acquired the E unit earlier this year from WATCO. “The E unit was fantastic,” Sandberg says. “It provided head end power to the entire train.”
No trips with the 4-8-4 have been announced for 2020, but the Friends organization typically operates one to two trips on short line Twin Cities & Western since Amtrak instituted changes in 2018 that essentially ended mainline charter trips with steam locomotives.
There is a Trains special issue about movies featuring trains. Came out maybe 7 years ago.
There would have been more passengers if the tickets hadn’t been so expensive, with some close to $60.00.
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10,000 passengers is just this location. I can’t imagine how many polar express trips the countless rail museums hold annually across the country.
I remember stopping in one museum and they said bluntly, “that movie saved us”. They acquire more revenue in the month of December than the other 11.
Maybe a future issue of Trains will feature “Trains in the Movies” and interview/honor Robert Zemeckis (director) for his one (large) contribution to rail preservation.
someday 261 will run an excursion train on the mainline again if amtrak will ever revoked their chonge
22,000+ passengers by time we stop running for the Christmas season on our North Pole Express trains at the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso,MI. Home of world-famous Pere Marquette 1225 a.k.a The REAL Polar Express.