Many line tracks as Santa Train makes annual 110-mile trip
KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Thousands of people lined the 110-mile route as the Santa Train made its 74th annual run from near Pikeville, Ky., to Kingsport, Tenn. For many, the day was more about tradition than stuffed animals or new backpacks.
As the train pulled into Dante, Virginia, Saturday morning, Colleen Massey was there to greet it, like she has for more than 50 years. She was joined by her children, grandchildren, aunts and cousins.
“I love the train; it’s part of my life,” said Massey, who now lives in Kingsport. “I grew up in Dante, Va, and it’s always been something I look forward to every year to come back. It’s a homecoming.”
The scene was much the same at every stop Saturday, as people clustered around the train with hands outstretched, The Bristol Herald Courier reported. The train carrying Santa and volunteer helpers distributed an estimated 17 tons of toys, food, clothing and other items during multiple stops.
Items began flying off the rear platform of the train at 5:30 a.m., as a handful of families clustered in the dark at the Shelby railroad yard just south of Pikeville in Kentucky, where the annual run begins.
At another stop, Dixie Mitchell stood back and surveyed the large crowd swarming around the train. Mitchell witnessed one of the first Santa Train excursions while growing up in Dante.
“I’m a little older than this train, but I’d say I’ve been coming since I was 6 years old,” she said, while standing with her daughter and granddaughter. “This is all the Christmas some children get.”
Some concerns about the train’s future arose last year after CSX shuttered much of its operations in the region, coinciding with dramatic declines in coal production. But the Florida-based railroad remains committed to it, said Tori Kaplan, CSX assistant vice president for social responsibility.
“It is our everlasting hope that it will (continue),” Kaplan said. “It’s overwhelming how it touches people. It’s the true meaning of the season.”
Now, rather than throwing everything from the rear car, volunteers distribute a wide range of items on the ground.
Jamie Horton, who coordinates Food City’s involvement in the train, made her 19th trip on Saturday, spending her day working in the Santa car.
“When I started riding the train, we threw things from the train. We don’t do that anymore for safety reasons. The way we give out the gifts, the way they’re packaged, that has changed for the better so we can reach more people,” Horton said.
“What I enjoy is just seeing the kids when they see Santa Claus on the back of this train.”