If you love train travel and Christmas as much as I do, you'll love Santa's countryside train ride.
Let me tell you all about it!
My mom, grandma, and I went on a Christmas themed countryside train ride for the first time last festive season.
When we went, we experienced the weekend morning train. I wasn't aware prior to boarding, but the morning train is more suited towards a younger crowd, while the evening train is more entertaining for adults (apparently last year, there was a performance from Barbie).
During the ride, we were given a paper and pen so we could write a letter to Santa, who later came through all the train cars with Mrs. Claus and an elf to collect the lists and take photos with the passengers. It is such a magical moment for the children. We also got a real cute photo with everyone in it.
They also had a few sights for us to see. I remember we passed by what they called Santa's caboose, a festive train car with Santa in front of it, waving at all the passengers. Prior to that, we passed an old gasoline train car that was said to contain candy cane mix. It's these kinds of child-like things that bring out the magic of the season and make it that much more special.
During the whole ride through the countryside, they played Christmas music and had a few sing-alongs.
Prior to, they handed out a song list that had all the lyrics of all the songs they would be playing during the ride. This was so that the passengers could sing along is they wanted.
They had their own version of the 12 Days of Christmas, but we sang also some classics like Feliz Navidad, Jingle Bells, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. The elves and conductor aboard the train really gave their all as they sang and danced while moving up and down the aisle.
Thankfully for us older folk, in between songs, the conductor told us some of the history of the train. The train they use for this ride is now called the WCR Steam Locomotive 1238. It was originally built in Montreal back in 1946 and was used by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Back in 2015, the train was transported back to Canada after spending the last 50 years in the US. This was done under the ownership of the Vintage Locomotive Society (VLS), who cared for and maintained the train over the years.
In December of 2023, the WCR, Waterloo Central Railway, was able to raise $150,000 for it's continued restoration, which the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society (SOLRS) took care of. This project has made this train "one of the very few heritage railways in Canada with two fully operational steam locomotives". How cool is it that you get to ride in a piece of history!
Aboard this train, there is coach seating and first class seating. For the coach seating, the prices range from $30-$35 for adults, $25-$30 per child between ages 2-11 (younger is free), and the first class seating range from $50-$55 for all passengers older than 2 (younger is free).
During the morning train, we sat in one of the coach train cars, which happened to be frosty the snowman themed. The car was decorated with shades of blue, blue lights, snowmen of all shapes and sizes, as well as snowflakes scattered on the walls and dangling from the ceiling.
There was also a Christmas tree decorated with silver and blue ornaments and lights. It was also very chilly in the train car, definitely could not have taken off my jacket, which was very on-brand for a frosty theme.
As we were getting off the train, the elves handed each of us a candy cane for the road.
I'd definitely recommend going on an festive adventure with the Santa Countryside Ride this holiday season, be it the morning or evening train. Because my grandmother enjoyed this train ride so much, she decided to take a train trip from Barrie to Cornwall, but that trip did not go as planned. That's a story for another time though.
Something to be mindful of when considering this experience though, is that the train is not very accessible. To get into the train car, there is a pretty big step that my grandmother struggled with when getting on and off the train. That said however, they do have helpers there to assist passengers.
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