FEATURE STORY/TRAIN TRAVEL 2025
The Polar Express and Beyond: Four Holiday Excursions
Take a seasonal train tour—with compartments decked out in festive lights. Many offer hot drinks and sweet treats, plus an opportunity to belt out Christmas carols and, if you have little ones in tow, a visit with Santa
The Polar Express Train Ride, California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento
With the success of author-illustrator Chris Van Allsburg’s beloved picture book and the subsequent 2004 film, several rail lines across the U.S. have launched Polar Express rides. Among them is the ride offered by the California State Railroad Museum. Before the train departs Old Sacramento Waterfront, characters from The Polar Express entertain passengers. During the ride, guests get their golden ticket punched, listen to a reading of the book and receive a gift from Santa.
DATES: November 14 to December 21 COST: From $80.
North Pole Express, Owosso, Michigan
Wear your favorite pajamas or 1940s and ’50s attire for the Steam Railroading Institute’s nostalgic excursion. The institute’s largest locomotive, the Pere Marquette 1225, was inspiration for the train in the Polar Express movie.
Dates: Weekends and Fridays, from November 21 to December 21 COST: From $85.
Holiday Express, 1880 Train, Hill City, South Dakota
This train runs one-hour round trips to the “North Pole.” The vintage diesel-electric locomotive weaves through the forested Black Hills, with views of historic mining encampments and perhaps deer and woodchucks along the way. Sit in an adults-only car and enjoy hot chocolate spiked with schnapps.
Dates: November 26 through December 24, running mostly on weekends COST: Adults, from $46; children, $29.
V&T Candy Cane Express, Virginia & Truckee Railroad, Virginia City, Nevada
Make the nearly one-hour trip to Gold Hill and back while sipping hot chocolate or spiced apple cider. You’ll also hear Christmas stories and sing carols. You might even spot some wild horses along the way.
Dates: Every weekend from Thanksgiving until the weekend before Christmas COST: Around $60 for two seats.
—Robin L. Flanigan