Operation Toy Train, the annual series of train trips to collect toys for the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation, set records for toys collected and toys collected in a day, the organization has announced.
The expanded operation — with collection efforts on 10 railroads in five states, covering 52 stops in 48 cities — collected 44,191 toys this season. That included 21,749 on Dec. 14, on the New York, Susquehanna & Western railway trip visiting 11 locations in New Jersey. The largest collection at any spot was 4,649 toes in Washington, N.J., during a five-stop trip on the Dover & Delaware River Railroad that gathered a total of 7,580. Other leading trips were Dec. 15 on the Middletown & New Jersey, with 7,051 toys collected, and Dec. 8 on the Dover & Rockaway River, which gathered a total of 4,424 toys.
The organization says late-arriving toys typically arrive after the trains conclude operation, so that total of 44,191 should still increase. These late donations will be given to the Toys for Tots next October to begin the 2025 campaign.
