All aboard the Santa Train!
Nov 23, 2021 12:00AM ● By Thomas J. Sullivan
Personal keepsake photographs taken with Santa Claus are free, where they can later be viewed and downloaded. Photo: SVLSRM
SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Members of the Sacramento Valley Live Steamers Railroad Museum (SVLSRM) welcome the public to ride their annual Santa train, weather permitting, during the first and second weekends of December at Hagan Community Park in Rancho Cordova.
Club members help kick off the holiday season with their participation in the 22nd Annual Cordova Community Tree Lighting at Village Green Park at 3141 Bridgeway Drive from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, November 28 when a special train for young riders will loop around the brightly lit community tree.
Upcoming run times for the Santa Train at Hagan Community Park are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 4, and Sunday, December 5, and the following weekend, Saturday, December 11 and Sunday, December 12th. The museum is located at 2197 Chase Drive in the rear of Hagan Park, past the petting barn.
Tickets for the Santa Experience train ride are $7 per person. Children, ages two and under, ride free with a paid adult ticket. Personal keepsake photographs taken with Santa Claus are free. Guests will receive a login and password to an online gallery where they can later view and download their photos.
“This is the largest fundraiser for the SVLSRM each year,” said club president Andy Berchielli.
Over the two weekends, some 2,400 riders and visitors young and old are expected to visit Santa, he said. “It’s also a lot of hard work and a lot of fun.”
An operating G-scale garden loop layout also gives youngsters a close-up view of scale model operating engines and passenger cars as they patiently wait to board each passenger train.
In advance of the event, club members including train crews, engineers, conductors, station masters, and operations managers will be busy getting the main line ready.
The 6,300-foot main line loop will be festively decorated by club members to enhance the holiday train ride experience. Passengers pass under a large inflatable gateway on their way to meet Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
“It’s an event I look forward to each, and every year,” he said. “Our Santa trains put everyone throughout the community, and all our club members, fully in the holiday spirit.”
SVLSRM began in 1965 and trackwork was completed with a ceremonial Golden Spike ceremony in 1973. Track and guest improvements have continued ever since with new features added each year, Berchielli said. Live steam engines carry passengers through wooded areas and the nearby American River. The railroad also features wooden trestles, a 40-foot truss bridge as well as a girder deck bridge.
For the latest SVLSRM Santa Train event information, visit https://www.svlsrm.org/. Advance tickets should be available for sale soon through the club website, Berchielli said. Contact the club by email at: [email protected] for general information, or call (916) 361-7140.
