Taking the point for a "Santa Special"
In preparation for an afternoon Santa Special back in December of 2014, Valley Railroad Mikado #3025 runs around her passenger consist in the yard at Essex, CT, near Milepost 4.0.
Back in 2017, the railroad was running two types of Christmas trains, one being a daytime "Santa Special" and the other, the night-time, "North Pole Express." The daytime trains were a little shorter in duration and did not offer the on-board theatrical productions that the night-time trips did. It was also offered at a lower price-point, to account for the fact that some families just can't afford the higher fare for several people. In later years, due to incredible demand for the North Pole Express product, the railroad dropped the Santa Special trips and simply started their North Pole Express at 2PM, offering 9 trips on weekdays and 13 on the weekends. The demand seems to be there. Every year, the tickets go on sale in September and are gone within days. In 2024, the railroad fielded 4 trains, 3 of which were steam-powered, and carried something like 87,000 passengers during the 6-week holiday season.
Taking the point for a "Santa Special"
In preparation for an afternoon Santa Special back in December of 2014, Valley Railroad Mikado #3025 runs around her passenger consist in the yard at Essex, CT, near Milepost 4.0.
Back in 2017, the railroad was running two types of Christmas trains, one being a daytime "Santa Special" and the other, the night-time, "North Pole Express." The daytime trains were a little shorter in duration and did not offer the on-board theatrical productions that the night-time trips did. It was also offered at a lower price-point, to account for the fact that some families just can't afford the higher fare for several people. In later years, due to incredible demand for the North Pole Express product, the railroad dropped the Santa Special trips and simply started their North Pole Express at 2PM, offering 9 trips on weekdays and 13 on the weekends. The demand seems to be there. Every year, the tickets go on sale in September and are gone within days. In 2024, the railroad fielded 4 trains, 3 of which were steam-powered, and carried something like 87,000 passengers during the 6-week holiday season.