The Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad has announced a schedule of special Christmas holiday season excursion trains beginning November 26 and running through Christmas Eve. A&SV president and general manager Ross Boelling made the announcement yesterday as the railroad prepares to be a part of Abilene’s “Cowtown Christmas” celebration.
“As the song says, ‘we need a little Christmas,’ and we want to help Kansans celebrate the holiday season in a special way,” said Boelling, who added that the A&SV has aptly named its holiday train “The Cowtown Santa Express.” Volunteers are currently working to decorate the train’s interior and exterior, and the railroad’s historic Rock Island Depot, for the holiday season. The railroad will run two trains daily at 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. on November 26, and on December 10 and 17, with special runs on Christmas Eve at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The Express will travel the A&SV’s normal Abilene-Enterprise round trip, and will feature hot chocolate, cookies, and a visit from Santa.
Boelling said each train is limited to 100 passengers. The railroad is offering special holiday fares: $15 for adults, $10 for children ages 3-11 and children under three can ride for free.
The A&SV will also run two holiday season dinner trains, the “Christmas Dining Express,” which will run on December 3 and on New Year’s Eve. The December 3 train will be catered by Lucinda’s Katering of Abilene, who will serve a lasagna dinner. The price of that train is $75 per person. The New Year’s Eve Express will feature wood grilled pork loin and chicken breast, prepared by Kite’s Draft House of Manhattan. Tickets for the New Year’s Eve train are $100.
Tickets for the Cowtown Santa Express and dinner train reservations may be made at the railroad’s website, www.asvrr.org.
Boelling added that the A&SV will once again run the annual Abilene Parks and Recreation Commission Santa Train on December 3. That train will run at 1:00 p.m. for a 45 minute trip, and those tickets are $12, which can be purchased thru the Commission.
