Santa Claus is Comin to Town... by Train! This Saturday, 23rd - TopicsExpress



          

Santa Claus is Comin to Town... by Train! This Saturday, 23rd November 2013, marks the 71st appearance of a seasonal tradition begun by Clinchfield Railroad and continued annually today by CSX Transportation. The train is hosted by CSXT, Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce (Tennessee), and local businesses and will distribute some 15 tonnes of donated gifts to poor children at 14 stops along the mountainous 110-mile route through parts of three states. Diesel locomotives and ten vintage passenger carriages from CSXTs business train fleet will transport the gifts, Santa, and his brigade of volunteer elves. At the finish of the run, the Santa Train will arrive just in time to carry the markers for Kingsports annual Christmas Parade, leading to its run being referred to as The Longest Christmas Parade in the World. The article linked below, from the Kingsport Times-Review newspaper, lists the names, numbers, original owners, and heritage of the Christmas Trains cars which date from the 1920s through the 1950s. Also featured is the trains timetable for stops between Shelby KY and Kingsport TN via extreme southwestern Virginia. CSX Transportation is much-maligned amongst train buffs and historians for seldom recognising and celebrating its rich history and heritage as competitor Norfolk Southern Railway and western giant Union Pacific Railroad do for theirs, but no other railway in America has a tradition as long and beloved as the Santa Train that snakes through the valleys and hollows of Appalachia each November. Well done CSXT!
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 19:17:27 +0000

Trending Topics



Recently Viewed Topics




© 2015