- 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧! 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭! 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭!

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

CONTACT:

Matthew Fisher, Senior VP/General Manager - Passenger
Reading & Northern Railroad
610-562-2102
https://rbmnrr-passenger.com

Reading & Northern 2024 Santa Claus Special Trains Begin This Weekend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 27, 2024 – Port Clinton, PA – Continuing its long-standing holiday tradition, Reading & Northern Railroad will launch its 2024 schedule of Santa Claus trains this weekend. More possibilities than ever are available this year allowing families to create special memories.

These rides follow the same schedule and format at every location to make planning easier. All Santa trains depart from their respective stations at 10:30am, 1:00pm, and 3:30pm. Boarding begins 30 minutes prior to departure. Each ride is extended to 80 minutes to allow Santa Claus and his helpers to spend time with every child on board. Every passenger receives a special treat. In addition to our live narration, the sounds of holiday music fill the cars; and each car is decorated to further enhance the festive atmosphere.

The Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, now in its twentieth season in Jim Thorpe, PA, will host Santa Claus trains beginning Friday, November 29 and continue them daily through Tuesday, December 24. This is the only location on the railroad offering daily Santa Claus trains, and the weekday-inclusive schedule offers a great alternative for visitors looking to avoid large weekend crowds.

In addition to the Lehigh Gorge trains, Reading & Northern will offer Santa Claus trains in two communities every Saturday and Sunday during the holiday season; with additional runs on Monday, December 23 and Tuesday, December 24. Tunkhannock opens the community holiday train schedule on Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1. As usual, the railroad is operating these trips in conjunction with the Tunkhannock Business & Professional Association. Our new Nesquehoning Regional Railroad Station will have the honor of hosting the other community trains that weekend, a first for the recently opened location.

Our other flagship passenger stations will get into the holiday spirit as well. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Regional Railroad Station will host a total of six Santa Claus train dates on December 7, 8, 21, 22, 23, and 24. Reading Outer Station will follow suit on December 14, 15, 21, 22, 23, and 24. Rounding out the community Santa train schedule are Tamaqua on December 7 and 8; and Minersville on December 14 and 15. Minersville will feature the only steam-powered Santa trains in 2024, as former Jersey Central 0-6-0 #113 makes an appearance.

Tickets for all these wonderful Santa Claus Special train rides may be ordered online at www.rbmnrr-passenger.com or by phone at 610-562-2102. The lone exception is Minersville, for which tickets are being sold through Railway Restoration Project #113 (by phone at 570-544-8300) and the Borough of Minersville (in person at Minersville Borough Hall, located at 2 Sunbury Street, Minersville, PA 17954, Monday-Thursday 8:00am-4:30pm and Friday 8:00am-3:30pm). We strongly encourage customers to purchase their tickets in advance to avoid disappointment!

Reading & Northern Railroad, with its corporate headquarters in Port Clinton, is a privately held railroad company serving over 80 customers in nine eastern Pennsylvania counties (Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Wyoming). It has expanded its operations over the last 40 years; and now handles nearly 40,000 carloads of freight (which removes over 200,000 trucks from the highway), while its Passenger Department handles over 300,000 riders annually. Reading & Northern operates its freight and steam- and diesel-powered passenger excursions over 400 miles of track, owns over 2,000 freight cars, and employs over 350 dedicated people. Reading & Northern has been repeatedly honored as one of the premier railroads in the nation, including being named Regional Railroad of the Year in 2020 by Railway Age magazine.