Can a microbusiness owner in his sixties become a kid again with all the wonderment of the magic of Christmas?  Yes he can.  I do every year, as part of the crew of the Polar Express Train Ride, at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. 

Since 2014, Railtown has been operating the Polar Express taking guests from Jamestown, CA to The North Pole three evenings a week for five weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.   The train ride is based on the popular book and movie of the same name.  We are licensed by Warner Brothers Studio along with an entity called Rail Events.   This license is granted to about fifty excursion or historic railroads throughout the nation; Rail Events oversees the operation to make sure each “franchisee” lives up to the spirit of the book and movie. (I am proud to say that our operation in Jamestown is consistently rated in the top ten nationally, and has been number one several times!)

Along the journey, the volunteer crew serves hot chocolate and cookies, portray the cocoa chefs, the dancing waiters, reads the story from the original book, leads sing alongs (and dance alongs with kids in a “conga line” down the train car aisles!), and helps ensure each guest has a magically enjoyable time on our trip.   There is even an appearance by “The Big Guy”, who gives each child their “first gift of Christmas” a silver bell, as in the original text.  

Every element of the excursion is tightly timed and choreographed, all things happening on cue so there is no lapse in our performance.   We actually have been referred to as a “stage play on rails” thanks to a highly trained and rehearsed volunteer corps as well as professional theatric-based volunteers.   Every season we seek to improve the experience both technically and from the human side. 

Our forty five Polar Express trips sell out, so tickets become a rarity after mid-September.  Our guests often arrive in their pajamas, many times a whole family arrives in matching “jammies”.   As volunteers, we know that family is ready for magical fun!  

Without grandkids and a widely disbursed family my wife Sue and I get a lot of our “Christmas Family” working the Polar Express.   As a Railtown Volunteer since the mid 1990s, Polar has become an annual treat for my wife and me to be a part of the magic of Christmas.   The eternal debate we have:  Who has more fun, who experiences the magic more?   The guests or the crew?