I was thinking about the very amusing “all I want for Christmas post.” That got me to thinking about various companies “Christmas Trains” which then got me thinking about “the Polar Express.”
Then it hit me, it is like strawberries and ice cream, oreo cookies and milk, Bonnie and Clyde . . .
It seems to me that the Polar Express–to say nothing of the success of Thomas–has train enthusiasm at a particular high right now, especially among the young.
You hear about many railroads having their Christmas trains for gifts and what not for the needy. How good of an idea would it be to have a steam engine pull the train. The general public would go crazy! Think of the positive publicity railroads would get. Kids all across the country could have their parents take them out to see a train like the one in Polar Express. Just think how enthusiastic the young would be.
Papers would say “Polar Express” comes to town.
If the point of the Christmas trains is to generate positive publicity, I don’t see how it could be done any better.
Gabe – great idea! Pity there are so very few really road-worthy (by which I mean thousands of miles in what amounts to regular service) steamers out there. CP could do it, but it’s a lot cheaper with diesels; UP could do it too. Pretty much everyone else would have to borrow one (although there are enough, I would think, to do the job).
But even a Christmas train coming to town is a really big event… and I’m glad that the railroads do it (particularly hats off to CP: that’s a pretty fierce schedule those guys run).
CSX has not been known for doing many things well lately, but one thing they have always done well is their Christmas Train over the former Clinchfield RR. Although the power isn’t steam, the genuine show of caring for the less fortunate of the Appalachin area has always brought a tear to my eye.(And I even admit it), Apparently, I’m not alone because there seems to be no shortage of entertainers who like to ride along with Santa on this train each year.
I think there are enough steam locomotives out there to do it (I think there are more groups who have restored a steam locomotive and would just love to have it pull a Christmas train than you might realize).
Even if it were only for three or four hundred miles, I just think that alone would make a child’s Christmas. I can hear the “Mommy, it is the Polar Express” already.
It only takes one steam locomotive to do it. Pere Marquette 1225…
The sad part is that something like this was tried a few weeks back, and the movie company wouldn’t cough up the money for insurance.
Perhaps the starting place for this (excellent!) idea would be to arrange the necessary support from the Polar Express people… Tom Hanks would be a reasonable contact… to underwrite insurance or even indemnify the carriers involved. (I suspect the insurance cost would be a full writeoff, as a promotional expense, so there are beans there to be counted). I suspect this would make railroads somewhat more amenable to allowing the “Polar Express” access.
I presume the train would travel in daytime, and be stopped-over at night (much as UP’s trips with 3985 are operated) – this might not even conflict greatly with necessary freight movements…
Would insurance be as much of a problem? I mean, the reason I think my idea works is the train doesn’t really haul passengers and is not an excursion train. The contact with the public is as it is passing by and stopping in various towns accross America. I would have to think the insurance on this woud be no greater than a regular Christmas train run by freight railroads.
Methinks the insurance thing is mostly a cover for “we don’t want the inconvenience of dealing with your special movement.” I recall reading not long ago that CSX seemed to have an aversion to steam, possibly even issuing a “don’t even bother to ask” type of statement.
The local NHRS chapter ran an excursion behind E8’s a few years ago. There were 4 on the point - the excursion power (2 EL-painted E’s) and two backups (in Pennsy paint, IIRC). One unit could easily have hauled the train. The ended up in a siding for one of the regular trains, meaning that spikes had to be pulled so they could make the move (turnouts were spiked).
I’d almost be willing to bet that if someone stepped up to the plate with the usual insurance package in hand, the “new” requirement would be for more.
One time CSX got the UP Challenger to do it. Pentrex got it on Tape. CSX & relettered the Challenger so it would fit into the old Clinchfield Challenger number series…here is the like for the tape from Pentrex.