## With the Holiday Train, Caltrain and the Golden Gate Railroad museum turn commuter travel into vibrant holiday experience.
by sean mccourt
Sentinel correspondent
From the iconic Lionel model railroad running around the Christmas tree to the magical locomotives that steam through books and films such as “The Polar Express,” trains have been a beloved part of the holiday season for generations. Continuing the seasonal tradition, Caltrain presents its annual Holiday Train this weekend, making nine stops between San Francisco and Santa Clara, bringing music, carolers, and, of course, Santa Claus to the thousands of people that flock alongside the tracks to see the brightly lit and colorfully decorated train.
A cooperative effort between Caltrain and the Golden Gate Railroad Museum, the Holiday Train has been entertaining and delighting spectators since 2001, evolving and growing with every passing year. Ross Peterson, a volunteer with the museum and chief decorator of the Holiday Train, points to the old-fashioned fun of the event and its wide-ranging appeal as the reason for its enduring popularity.
“People can come down to see the train and the carolers and the characters,” he says, “so it’s a chance for the community to really get involved in something special. It’s different than the Santa Claus at the mall.”
Work begins on the Holiday Train in October, when Peterson and a crew of dedicated volunteers start transforming an ordinary locomotive and commuter passenger cars by adding more than 40,000 lights and a host of decorations to the exteriors. Candy canes, toy soldiers, snowflakes and other seasonally themed images come to life in lights, and on two specially customized flatcars, stages have been built for the groups that will be performing at the station stops, including a Salvation Army band and a local boys choir.
"It’s takes a lot of people to put all this together, there’s