Holiday: Canadian Pacific Holiday Train

People lined up to tour the cab of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train's locomotive during its performance in Toronto, Ontario on 2-December-2008

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Of the eight remaining class I railroads in North America, only the Canadian Pacific runs a Holiday Train over its entire system. In fact, the Canadian Pacific system is so large, running from Quebec and New York in the east to British Columbia in the west, that it actually takes two trains to maintain the ten-year holiday tradition. The so-called "United States" train ran through Toronto yesterday enroute from New York to Illinois, and the "Canada" train performed in the "Junction" neighborhood tonight.


City councilperson Bill Saundercook spoke before the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train's performance in Toronto, Ontario on 2-December-2008

The primary purpose of the "Holiday Trains" is to raise money for local charities. In the Toronto area, the Daily Bread Food Bank is the major beneficiary of the performance, and their volunteers were prominent in the crowd during the performance. City councilperson Bill Saundercook, who introduced the event, made a point of highlighting their presence. In the first nine years of their operation, the trains have raised C$3.56 million and more than 1.8 million pounds of food for local communities.


Santa Claus joined Johnny Reid and Tracey Brown onstage during the Holiday Train performance in Toronto on 2-December-2008

The attraction of the events besides seeing the holiday lighting displays on the trains themselves are the performers on the trains. This year, the Canadian train featured Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame member Tracey Brown and Canadian Country Music Awards winner Johnny Reid, who put on a concert that was almost devoid of country music during the Toronto show. The half-hour concert was instead full of holiday music and upbeat pop music classics. Free concerts usually aren't as good as those associated with the Holiday Train.

Canadian Pacific should be commended for having the class to put on the Holiday Trains each year and raise money for local charities. While the turnout was modest for a free event in Toronto, perhaps three hundred people, a similar amount are known to turn out in the smallest of rural towns when the trains perform across the continent.


The classic Canadian Pacific observation car "Van Horne" brought up the rear of the train at Osler Street in Toronto on 2-December-2008

The Holiday Trains still have several dozen performances to go in Canada from western Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia and throughout the United States' midwestern region. For detailed schedule information, refer to the Holiday Train web site.