Hello friends! This week’s post will include some stories about work, so please remember that the views expressed here are my own and may not directly reflect those of the organizations I work and volunteer for.
At the time of this writing, it is mid-October in southern New England, where I live and work. For those of us working for heritage railroads and museums, this means hosting Autumn events, concluding the regular season, and preparing for the Holidays.
Here in Connecticut, Autumn is in full swing. The foliage is incredible, the pumpkins are up for sale, and my railroad (the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat) is receiving busloads of autumn tourists (“leaf peepers” as they’re sometimes known). This all makes for exciting times.
The Holiday Season is on everyone’s mind, and indeed we have been busy at the railroad preparing for it. The cast is rehearsing, the train crews are getting ready, and the shop crew is preparing the coaches and locomotives. Everyone is busy!
Autumn in the River Valley
The Valley Railroad’s signature excursion is the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat, which runs from mid-May to late October. On these excursions, guests can experience a train ride and a boat ride on the same excursion. They can also ride just the train if they so choose, but I encourage guests to take the boat ride if they have the time and are willing to spend the money.
What makes the train and boat combination so special is the opportunity to ride in vintage coaches pulled by a steam locomotive, and then view the stunning Connecticut River Valley from the deck of a riverboat. The valley, for which our railroad is named, is truly spectacular in Fall with the foliage on the hills along the river.
For most of the Fall, I have been working aboard the riverboat, named the Becky Thatcher, named after the Mark Twain character of the same name. She has three decks, plus a snack bar, and I anticipate that I will be one of her skippers next year. Becky‘s open decks make her ideal for summer and autumn tourism and charter cruises, and she is stored at our pier during the winter months. She becomes the “iceberg” behind our North Pole display.
Leaf Peeping in Connecticut
When it is my turn to give a tour aboard the Becky, or when I am talking to guests aboard the train, I like to ask guests where they are from. I have heard almost every single state in the USA mentioned along with many different countries, including the UK, Ireland, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Ecuador, South Korea, and even Vietnam. We truly are a destination for tourists from both near and far.
What stands out to me is how far people are willing to travel to experience New England in the autumn months. In my mind, autumn is the most beautiful time of year in my home region. I love the holiday season as well, but for different reasons, which I will discuss in future posts. I admit that until I started working in tourism, I took autumn and all its beauty for granted. Not anymore!
As I mentioned, we get a lot of bus tour groups at our railroad in the autumn months, particularly in October. Many of these groups are senior citizens, traveling together on a group tour, either for a day or for multiple days. Some ride the lunch train, but most ride the train and boat excursions. They often have further questions after the narrated tour on the boat has concluded, and some even have stories to share.
Twice this year, a guest has shown me a photo of me taken two or (in the second case) eight years ago! With that, it has truly dawned on me just how integral I have become in my company. People remember me after meeting me years ago on the train and boat tour? How flattering! It means I made a positive impression on those people, and I sincerely hope they return soon!
Preparing For Christmas By Rail
With all the excitement that Autumn brings, what comes along with it is getting ready for the holiday season at the railroad. Holiday-themed events are huge moneymakers and fundraisers for railroads and museums alike. No single event generates more excitement and revenue than Christmas. That is particularly true in the heritage rail business. For many organizations, Christmas events are the biggest annual moneymaker.
Christmas is a huge deal at the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat. We put on our signature Christmas event, the North Pole Express. Every year the event sells out, and it is a huge production! A typical North Pole Express operating day takes up to one hundred cast and crew members across four train sets. It is a colossal undertaking which we take great pride in.
Recently, us train crew members (conductors, trainmen, and character managers) had a meeting with some of the NPE cast. This year’s cast contains about 75 people, both new and returning cast members. We met with the newest fifteen cast members, as well as some of our returning veteran cast members.
The topics we discussed included safety aboard the train, dealing with unruly guests, and responding to emergencies on board. What was emphasized, I noticed, was the fact that our train crew is there to protect the cast members. If a situation should develop in the train cars, the cast members and stage managers know that they can count on us.
Thoughts on the North Pole Express
At the conclusion of the meeting, some of our train crew members brought up why we keep returning year after year for this event. Conductor Paul shared that more than once, he had spoken to parents on the NPE who remember riding the Christmas trains as kids. Now they are bringing their children on board. Another train crew member shared how special it is to see the kids excited when Santa Claus enters a train car.
I have experienced many scenes of joy and community on board the North Pole Express. Kids meeting Santa for the first time, cast members giving parting hugs to children, even adults wearing matching pajamas. It’s incredibly special. One evening in the 2023 season, I had a family all dressed as Hero Boy from the film The Polar Express. That’s now a core NPE memory!
At one point, we were using tickets that joined together in a roll. It wasn’t uncommon for me for guests to hand me a string of tickets, which I would then punch, and have one of the guests wear as a scarf! Fun times.
I have many wonderful memories of the Christmas trains, the earliest of which I covered in last week’s post. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be working at the same railroad where I rode as a kid, but here I am! I couldn’t be more proud or happy.
Conclusion
There will be plenty more to share about the North Pole Express in the coming weeks as we begin tech nights, then onto dress rehearsal, and finally to revenue trains. Visit this blog each week for more stories. Next week’s story will feature a review of the Connecticut Trolley Museum’s nighttime Halloween event, the Curse of the Rails. It was a good time!
As always, thanks for reading!