No CPR Holiday Train This Year

[NS VIA Fan]

For the first time since 1999.....there will not be a Canadian Pacific Holiday Train this year. There's usually two trains with stops from coast to coast in many communities along the CPR routes in the US and Canada......providing entertainment and a opportunity to donate to local Food Banks/Pantrys.

This year it's going 'Virtual'.....and I guess it only makes sense!

Holiday Train

 

[Thunder]

Same with the Clinchfield one. Hadn’t heard about CP’s though.

 

[Dakota 400]

there will not be a Canadian Pacific Holiday Train

I have never heard of this. It's an interesting concept whose purpose is certainly worthwhile.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

I have never heard of this. It's an interesting concept whose purpose is certainly worthwhile.

Here's a good video of the Holiday Train. Hopefully it's back in 2021!

 

[jiml]

VIA just announced that the resumption of the Canadian and Ocean are postponed indefinitely.

I've moved the link to the correct thread.

 

[jiml]

I have never heard of this. It's an interesting concept whose purpose is certainly worthwhile.

There are usually two - one in Canada and the other on their lines in the US. They often stop right on the main line near level crossings where there is parking and entertain for up to an hour at a time.

 

[Dakota 400]

Here's a good video of the Holiday Train.

That is really, really neat! If watching that video wouldn't get one into the Christmas spirit, I don't know what would! Kudos to CP Rail! Many thanks for posting the video!

 

[NS VIA Fan]

That is really, really neat! If watching that video wouldn't get one into the Christmas spirit, I don't know what would! Kudos to CP Rail! Many thanks for posting the video!

Here was the route map for the US Train from last year. (click on each state at the bottom for stops.....and there were many)


Holiday Train


Because of the routing....the US train also did stops in Quebec and southern Ontario along the way between New York State (the D&H) and the US mid-west. The Canadian Train took the transcontinental route across northern Ontario.

Now that CP has reacquired their old mainline east to Brownville Jct, Maine......hopefully when the train returns in 2021....it will begin it's westward journey there or possibly even in Saint John, New Brunswick.....then once again will be Coast to Coast!

 

[Dakota 400]

Here was the route map for the US Train from last year. (click on each state at the bottom for stops.....and there were many)

Why have I never learned of this? It would be worth a trip to Illinois or Wisconsin or Windsor to experience this.

The narrator of the videos reports of the extreme low temperatures (-40 degrees Centigrade is the lowest I think I heard) just boggles my mind! Our Northern neighbors are hardy people to be out in those kind of conditions.! There was one clip of a Mother holding a young child, well dressed for the cold, but the child seemed "less than thrilled" with the experience.

 

[jiml]

-40 is where the Centigrade/Celsius and Fahrenheit scales meet. The lowest temperature I've ever experienced wasn't in Canada, but Minneapolis, MN, where we were stranded a couple of years ago when flights misconnected. Man it was cold and we were under-dressed. The folks who live there deserve serious respect.

 

[Bob Dylan]

-40 is where the Centigrade/Celsius and Fahrenheit scales meet. The lowest temperature I've ever experienced wasn't in Canada, but Minneapolis, MN, where we were stranded a couple of years ago when flights misconnected. Man it was cold and we were under-dressed. The folks who live there deserve serious respect.

Coldest I ever got was North of Edmonton watching the Northern Lights, 40 Below with a Strong North Wind blowing.

2nd Place is a tossup between Winnipeg( aka Winterpeg) and swimming in Lake Superior @ Thunder Bay.

 

[Barb Stout]

Ok, if we're going with cold weather stories, there probably isn't much to beat my story. I was traveling with an elderly lady (I was driving) on I-94 between St. Paul, MN and Bismarck ND when we encountered a surprise blizzard. We found out later that the temperatures were in the -40s or -50s, but the wind chill was -90 F. The heater was just blowing cold air, so I turned it off. I was worried about my lady friend because she was wearing a dress and only had dress gloves. We saw many semis that were waiting it out on the side of the road (I guess diesel doesn't work at those temps?). Finally, my passenger said that she needed to get something to eat to take her angina pills. Of course, if we stopped, we wouldn't be able to start again, so between that and the decreasing visibility, I pulled into a motel at Jamestown, ND. The first room that the motel clerk gave us the key to wouldn't open because it was frozen shut. The 2nd and last room in the motel we were able to get into probably only because the door had been left ajar, so the room was cold and it never warmed up sufficiently even after we shut the door. We were able to walk to a nearby restaurant for sustenance, then slept in the same bed with our coats on. Someone had stolen the last outdoor electrical cord to plug cars into so they start the next day, so my car didn't get plugged in and of course wouldn't start the next day. The automobile service people in Jamestown did a booming business that day (Christmas Eve) going around to restart cars. I was told the only way my car could be restarted (they told me this after they did it) was to use ether. Happily the explosion was limited to where it is supposed to be.

But after that fun story, I have to say the coldest I have ever been was in October during a drizzle rain that I got caught riding my bicycle in. My hands (I wasn't wearing gloves or mittens) were in such unbearable pain due to the cold (and maybe also my bad circulation) that I couldn't use them to get into my house, so I went to my neighbors who let me in and where I rolled around on the floor howling in pain. I was a kid.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Coldest in the USA Story:

I was attending a Cubs/ Phillies ( Pere Rose and Joe Morgan were leading the "Grandpa" Phillies to the NL Pennant )Game @ Wrigley Field in September on a warm Sunny Day in Chicago.

Dressing in Shorts,a T- Shirt and Sandals ( my usual Summer attire),I hopped on the EL after eating Lunch downtown in the Loop, and upon arrival, joined the crowd walking the bustling streets of Wrigleyville to Wrigley Field.

I grabbed a Dog and a Beer and went to my First Base side Box Seat( $23!!! Such a deal!!)

All went well( Charlie Hustle got a couple of hits) and the Cubs were winning as the 7th inning stretch arrived.

Suddenly the flags on the Center Field Scoreboard starting Blowing in, Thunder and Lightning began happening and an Ice Cold Rain started drenching the Field!

The fans all started leaving or at least going under the Stands. (except for the infamous Cub Fanatics in the Bleachers)

After waiting around under the Stands ( Beer sales had ended!)for an hour, the game was declared over.( Cubs Win! Cubs Win!)

I went out of the Stadium and tried to catch a cab to get back to the EL or my Hotel, but there weren't any to be seen!

By this time I was drenching wet,it was still pouring Rain, and the temperature had dropped into the 50s with a strong wind blowing the rain in sheets.

Since I was already wet, I started walking back to my Hotel which was located in Lincoln Park ( close to the Zoo), shivering and feeling miserable.

By the time I got to the Hotel, I desperately wanted a Hot Shower and a stiff drink, so went up to my room and Suprise, the Power went out, and there was No Hot Water!!!

Now,Everytime I hear the announcers @ a Cubs game say "the Wind is Blowing in @ Wrigley!" I think of that day in the Windy City when it went from Summer to Winter in 7 innings!!

 

[trainman74]

I went out of the Stadium and tried to catch a cab to get back to the EL or my Hotel, but there weren't any to be seen!

The 'L' station is only half a block from Wrigley Field, so it would have been a very short ride if you'd asked for that destination! Of course, you probably would have been just as cold and wet on the 'L' platform as you were on the street.

 

[snaebyllej]

I made it to the stop at St Louis Park, MN last December 11th. First time I'd heard of it, too. Fairly cold for the date, maybe mid teens. Lots of stamping of feet. Fortunately the offerings for sale by various non-profit causes included hot chocolate.

Holiday Train arriving at St Louis Park

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Holiday Train arriving at St Louis Park

I clicked on the photo of a Paddle-Wheel in you link.......Thanks for posting that too!