CPKC Holiday Train begins its Christmas journey

The Holiday Train has become a tradition for many families in North America. On Thursday, it left Calgary for Montreal, where it will be split in two.

The CPKC Holiday Train is based in Calgary and, on Nov. 6, leaves for Montreal where it will be split into two trains, one to head west to Vancouver and the other to head south to New Orleans.

Both trains will stop at a total of close to 200 towns and cities along the way.

“We have one train that covers the majority of the U.S. and one train that covers Canada,” said Kevin Hrysak, CPKC corporate heritage managing director.

“We’re looking at just about 2,100 feet of cars, so you’re close to 30 rail cars in this train, so it’s a big train when it’s all put together.”

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A Holiday Train has boxcars covered in Christmas lights and a generator car to make sure those lights and every other electrical item on the train works without fail.

But the big draw at every stop is the entertainment. One of the railcars has a side that drops down to create a stage for performances from various artists including Barenaked Ladies, Smash Mouth and American Authors this year.

“It’s really a credit to these artists that they’re willing to come and live on the train for seven to 10 days and do between four and six shows a day because it’s kind of a grind for them right,” said Adam Meeks, CPKC heritage services and operations director.

Meeks travels with the Canadian train as the “onboard train master” and says once the trains are separated in Montreal, the journey for each begins Nov. 19 and will last until Dec. 21.

The Holiday Train got its start in 1999 and some of the cars have been refreshed with a new coat of paint and the light displays are regularly altered.

“We actually change out the light displays on the boxcars every two years,” Meeks said.

“We’ll do a new light display and that train will go across Canada and then the next year, we shift that train to the United States and redo the lights for the Canadian train, so that every year you come to see the train, there’s going to be something new to see.”

While the mission of the Holiday Train is to get people into the Christmas spirit, it’s also used as a fundraising tool for local food banks.

“Everybody is focused on the mission of the train, which is to bring holiday cheer to these little communities, but also, donate to the food banks and fight food insecurity,” said Peter Boyle, CPKC heritage services and operations manager.

“In some towns, particularly areas I’ve been, I’ve been told by the local mayor that it’s the biggest tourist attraction of the year. People come from all around the region and you’ll pull into this little town and there’ll be 6,000 people all bundled up in the cold, bonfires going and marshmallows for the kids and hot chocolate and it’s a huge community event.”

Since its inaugural journey, the Holiday Train has raised more than $26 million and collected approximately 5.4 million pounds of food for community food banks in Canada and the U.S.

Justin Tracy, the U.S. train’s “master,” says the trip has become his holiday tradition for him, with his first journey taking place in 2008.

“You roll into a town and the families, the kids, everybody’s having a good time,” he said.

“It’s for a great cause but when folks can come out with their families and enjoy a concert, enjoy giving back to the community like this, I don’t think there’s a better tool. It’s just a big RV bringing probably one of the coolest block parties to your town that you can get.”

The train is scheduled to arrive in Calgary on Dec. 12, and you can find a full list of stops and entertainment here.