Has anyone seen the Canadian Pacific Holiday train in person??

A real show stopper. I saw it a couple years ago in Oneanta NY. The train stops and performers entertain from one of the cars with music. If possible, take a walk along the length of the train and pay special attention to the engine which is adorned to the hilt.

I suggest going up the tracks a few minutes before it departs so you get the full effect of it going by at speed. They really do a great job with the lights and decorations.

Paul

I need to catch it in Chicago myself, nothing else like it. The only rival being Disneys electric light parade

In the mean time youtube is your friend:

I watch it go by at night out in the bean fields of south east Michigan. Great site even from a 1/4 mile or more.

clem

For almost a decade I was the pilot when the eastern unit CP Holiday train began its trek from Steamtown in Scranton PA.  It was always a pleasure to work with the crew.  I would pilot it in from the CP late on the night before the show and then work it all the next day.  Because of its size and our small space I had to wrestle with fuel trucks (CP liked to buy local fuel for the power,the special generator car and the business cars) water and waste trucks not to mention the local and mainline DL trains and Steamtown's shuttle and excursions trains.  All while the band wanted to practice when the train was standing still. Keeping everyone safe and fouling tracks off and on all day was a challenge and I loved it. In the yard and on the running track I was the 500 lb. gorilla.  The dispatcher, the other trains and I were in nonstop conversation until just before show time when I would re-position the train for the last time.  Often the CP person in charge (who changed every other year or so) would ask me if we were going to meet the deadline. I never had to hurry.  I just stuck to my game plan.  And I always had the train in place and the show ready to go.  A couple of times I rode on the Binghamton, NY with the crew and enjoyed seeing the chasers and  the small crowds along the way. At Binghamton the train arrived to a huge waiting crowd.  Most years, at the end of the night I would pilot the train out the north leg of the wye and turn it over to the CP and walk the tracks back to Steamtown.....tired and pleasantly satisfied, having had a safe and successful day of railroading.  I do miss the train, CP having pulled out of Pennsylvania, but I can still see all of the smiling faces that greeted us every year.        

P.S. Check out the thumbnail photo.  It was taken on the front of the Holiday Train a few years ago. Just out of sight along side of me are Norm Barrett, CP Road Foreman of Engines and Joe Walsh from the CP Safety Committee. Sorry guys, the picture had to fit the space. 

I guess it's the 30th in Mich.?? Does anyone have a link to a schedule to know for sure when and where?

Most definately take the time to go if you get a chance Jeff! Especially if you have kids, but it's great for everyone. And when everyone starts singing along, sing really loud, of course your kids will be really embarrassed :-) It rolls through Dubuque Iowa just about every other year and every time it comes we fill a few bags of groceries for the local food pantry and Canadian Pacific matches any monetary donations given up to a certain point, huge amount, 250,000 I think?

It's a great show, train is always decorated to the hilt, really gets the kids excited because Santa's always there running around, and great music, soon as the train comes to a stop, the side of a boxcar rolls down and away the band goes doing their thing. Really is a great time for all. We were spoiled the first couple years it stopped hardly anyone showed up, I could never figure that out, must have been early on...but now that it's better known, the crowd is huge! That's great for the food pantry...

These won't be great, but they'll give you a tiny idea assuming I post this properly. I have never posted a video before so forgive me if it doesn't work out... This is a link to my photobucket account, can't remember how long they were, probably not long though...

http://s405.photobucket.com/us...ic%20Holiday%20Train 

Here is the 2016 schedule: http://www.cpr.ca/holiday-trai...hedule-united-states 

Conductor Earl, I bet that was a ton of fun for you! Lots of work though also I'm sure. It sure is a great outing for the family every chance we ever got to go, kids and parents alike loved it! Going again this year as well...

Adriatic posted:

I guess it's the 30th in Mich.?? Does anyone have a link to a schedule to know for sure when and where?

http://www.cpr.ca/holiday-train/united-states

Thanks for all the responses!!! We're going!!!

Thanks guys!!!

US Holiday Train Schedule for New York

See Canadian Schedule

Here is a making of video ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgilGmpr-Qw

Yamawho...love the video!

Love all this talk of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train...keep it up, perhaps some day Lionel or MTH will make an O Gauge set!

I saw the CP Holiday Train at Steamtown in Scranton, PA a few years ago. It was a couple of hours drive and I arrived early. I wasn't sure what I was going to do while I waited, but the train was already positioned, so I was able to take photos during the day without too many people around, but it was very cold. I was also able to take photos at night before the show started. A much larger crowd by then, and an even larger crowd for the show. The show was fun and the crowd enjoyed it. The decorative lights on the train are great. Looking at more recent photos of the Holiday Train, it looks like they have added more sophisticated animated lights to the train as animated lighting has become readily available. As has been mentioned, don't forget to bring a few canned goods to donate for the food pantry. I'm glad I made the trip, it was worthwhile and I have fond memories.

What happened to the Scranton stop? Not going there anymore because they sold the line to NS?

It's really cool, especially if you can see it at night when it's all lit up. It makes a stop each year in my hometown, Cottage Grove MN. In some places where it stops, it has a music show with entertainers on a stage that's part of the train, with cookies and hot cider and things for the kids to do. It usually also has collection points for donations, like non-perishable food items that go to local food shelves. Proud to say the Cottage Grove stop usually 1st or 2nd for US stops as far as donations.

Well my bride and I headed to Gurnee, IL last night to see the CP Holiday Train and were not disappointed. We arrived too early, yes just a little anal, brought our donation for the food bank and had a little hot chocolate.

Train arrived on time and I can't begin to tell you how infatuated my wife was with the whole thing. She accepts my trains but is not really "in" to them, this all changed with access to the real deal! We never got close enough to the stage and the music as she was off to see the GP20. We spent most our time there talking with the engineer.

She said it was one of the best things she's done in a long time!! Little cold, but a good night!!

Thanks for all the comments that convinced me to go!

   I'm just outside of Detroit and after visiting the site numerous times for details all I could find out was it's departure time from Windsor.

   I walked for 1.25 hours (I move slow, 1 mile) and waited 2.25 hours for 15 seconds of oohh ..aahh as it rolled past at speed, because it had made an unlisted stop only three miles away, at a field where I often played as a kid.

 Had I known, I could have waited indoors or gotten a ride there and waited indoors too. Somehow lots of folks knew about this stop, but it wasn't listed. That was very disappointing to find out about, but it WAS pretty cool for those 15 seconds.

I mingled in public for the first time in years, meet a nice local lady who's sister my aunt once beat up (awkward despite the laughs), and "Tim", a lifelong train fan, son of a railroad worker, and member of a local HO club.

  We killed time talking about trains, modeling, watching the signal lights in anticipation, looking at a few of each others pictures, getting yelled at by the cops to get off the tracks we weren't on,  and hating the cold together.

  Then despite preperation, something messed with the autofocus on my camera at the last second so my video and a last second attempt at pictures didn't turn out   (I think it was the lights moving and throwing out some infrared)

Now exhausted, I headed for a warm store to rest for an hour or two, but got offered a ride by a couple of guys that saw I was beat and creeping even slower.

What I saw, was mostly just the Christmas Spirit

But Im still looking forward to next year 

I guess I missed the other, a CN train, just a few days ago...?