Santa came to our small town this weekend, but not in a sleigh powered by reindeer – but by train accompanied by Mrs. Claus and some helper elves. And, of course the train crew.
The Santa Train is an annual event in early December here on this part of the VA eastern shore.
The sign told him WHERE to stop.
Families gathered by the historic Onley Train Station to await his arrival. There were several stops ahead of ours. Thankfully the weather cooperated with clear skies, although snow would have been a nice touch.
Santa’s train was an hour behind schedule because of large turnouts in several towns preceding our stop. Still the crowds waited.
The Onley Station was decorated and ready for Santa and his entourage. Members of the Society for the Preservation of the Historic Onley Train Station (SPOTS) of which Grenville is a founding member, provided refreshments – hot chocolate, popcorn, and cookies. Members also decorated for Santa’s stay.
As soon as Santa was settled, the lineup started. Everyone wanted to be sure Santa knew what was on their “wish list.”
Eagerly they came one-by-one or in groups.
Mr. & Mrs. Claus posed for pictures too.
After every child had talked to Santa and received a gift, it was time for the Santa Train to head to the last stop. Of course, that’s before Santa returns on Dec 24 using his traditional travel methods.
But not before wishing one and all . . .
Merry Christmas
14 comments:
Love the train! Since Santa is right down the road at North Pole there is no big arrival here. He hangs out at Santa Claus House most days. Santa does fly out to many of the villages that are off of the road system, and there are lots of those.
Fantastic photos ! I dont think to many people worried of how or when he got there by the looks of things just as long as he showed up ! Looks a wonderful time was had by all ! Have a wonderful day !
Wonderful series! My wife tells of the Santa Train that used to run through this part of the state. It's a shame the railroad stopped that tradition when the mines closed.
Lovely post! I like the train, and the children photos!
What a lovely event and great thrill for all the children! Mr.&Mrs. Klaus look quite the part with their kind and understanding smiles.
I would wait in the cold too just to see all the children's faces.
I bet that was a lot of fun. Nice pictures! All those kids with their big smiles--I bet Santa and Mrs. Claus had as much fun as the kids did! :)
How great of Santa to come by train! But I was scared of him as a child so it would have taken several boxes of gingerbreads to make me go to him :-) :-)
Have a great day!
Christer.
Great pix! Looks like such a festive, happy day!...:)JP
Isn't that a lovely tradition! Good for you for helping out too with the preservation of the train station.
My now 30 year old son sure would have loved that when he was a youngster.... he was a train crazy little boy!
Grace
Elaine, lots of kids must enjoy having Santa as a "neighbor."
Thanks Elaine, the crowd was patient and the cookies and hot chocolate helped too.
Chip, hopefully this tradition will keep on going for years to come. It's very popular and seems to be growing more so each season. This year's turnouts were larger than expected.
Hi Mona, always fun to capture kid's expressions especially when Santa is involved!
Arija, thankfully the weather was warm enough so no one got cold while waiting.
Daisy, Santa and the Mrs. were enjoying themseles too and were very patient with the line of visitors.
Hi Christer, none of these kids seemed too shy to talk to Santa. Even if you didn't see Santa, hope you enjoyed the gingerbread!
Thanks JP, it was a lovely day and fun for all.
Grace, the train station preservation group does work hard. Grenville still loves everything to do with trains!
I shared this with Possum and it's nice to see that you were part of it too. What a great celebration!
What a festive day you had there, the icing on the cake would be to ride in the box car with santa.
Looks like you all did have a beautiful day.
This was a wonderful, fun post to see. Thanks for the post.
Love the Santa train and the Mrs!!! Pretty classy Mrs. Santa.
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