And I heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight “Merry Christmas to all. Next stop Davis Street.”
For years I’ve watched news reports of Chicago’s CTA Holiday Train, the cars zipping through Chicago lit with thousands of festive holiday lights. Sightings of the train in person eluded me, seemingly as rare as happening upon leprechauns or unicorns. Until today, when I discovered there was a schedule.
The magic of the train is even better in person. As it pulled into the station I was irrationally excited to see those thousands of lights coming my way. The doors open and CTA elves welcome you aboard with complimentary candy canes. Inside, every surface of the car is decorated in holiday cheer. Instead of their customary industrial blue, seats are clad in colorful holiday fabric. Ads that normally urge you to buy a better phone plan are replaced with signs urging you to visit the North Pole Barbershop — and jokes! What do you call the fear of getting stuck in a chimney? Santa Claustrophobia.
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa. He’s waving from a flat, open-to-all-elements middle car, sitting in his sleigh and led by five not-so-tiny reindeer. One young admirer asked if Santa got cold riding around the city like that but his mother assured him that Santa was a cold-weather fan and begged him to stand closer for a photo. Photo opportunities abound on the train, where cutouts of elves and reindeer await your personal touch.
The Holiday Train debuted in 1992 when a CTA train car was used to deliver food to local charities. That tradition is still part of the charm, with CTA employees donating their time and money to deliver food baskets throughout Chicago.
You can ride the holiday rails yourself, but you better hurry. The train stops running the evening of December 23; obviously Santa has other places to be on Christmas Eve.
You can find the CTA Holiday Train schedule HERE.