Series of Christmastime train rides

                               

    The operators of a planned series of Christmastime train rides have announced that its rides this season will depart from Logansport on three days and from Kokomo the rest of the time.

Indiana Transportation Museum representatives said earlier this year its Christmas train excursions, dubbed the Polar Bear Express, would be moving from the Indianapolis metro area to a route from Logansport to Kokomo. On Monday, an announcement posted to its website stated the excursions would begin Friday, Nov. 24, with two rides starting in Logansport, and run multiple times per day Fridays through Sundays throughout that weekend and most of December.

Additional days are also scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 14; and Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 20-21. The last scheduled ride boards at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 23, according to the ITM's online calendar of events.

Logansport Mayor Dave Kitchell praised the planned rides as a worthwhile effort to attract people to Cass County via "destination tourism."

"You go to a certain place for a certain reason because it's there and it's close to where you are," Kitchell said of such tourism. For anyone looking for a train excursion during Christmastime, "there's nothing within a good 50 miles of Logansport, except this option here," he said.

He recalled taking his children on a three-hour drive to Connersville for a Whitewater Valley Railroad trip one year. He said since Logansport and Kokomo are closer to population centers, "it's a lot more convenient for families in this area."

The museum is expecting more than 5,000 people on the rides originating in Logansport, according to an email Kitchell received from a museum representative.

Most rides will board in Kokomo, according to the museum's website.


Only the rides scheduled for Friday, Nov. 24; Thursday, Dec. 14; and Thursday, Dec. 21, will board near Logansport. On those days, the train will depart from Anoka United Methodist Church south of Logansport, at 4890 E. 300 South just off of U.S. 35.

Kitchell explained he had hoped to start the train in downtown Logansport, but that proved difficult to negotiate with the railroad that owns the relevant lines inside the city. 

Except for the days that the train departs from Logansport, the Polar Bear Express will depart from the Allied Tube and Conduit parking lot at 1000 N. Main St. in Kokomo.

Trips originating in both Logansport and Kokomo will travel to the town of Lincoln just north of Galveston for a North Pole-themed celebration, then head back to the point of origin, Kitchell said.

Rides last about an hour and 15 minutes. Kitchell noted the inaugural ride, at 5 p.m. Nov. 24, should return to the Logansport area in time for passengers to also take in the Light Up Logansport parade, which starts at 7 p.m. in downtown Logansport.

Passengers get hot chocolate, a cookie and a candy cane. Children also get a small gift from Santa Claus, according to the ITM website. A holiday-themed story will be read to children and riders may also write a letter to Santa during the excursion.

Tickets are $35 and should be available by Tuesday, Oct. 17, on the museum's website, itm.org. As of Monday afternoon, the museum was dealing with a website issue that interfered with ticket sales, but that was expected to be resolved by Tuesday, according to David Shank, spokesman for the museum.

The museum advises on its website that rides are often sold out and reservations are required.

In several previous years, the Noblesville-based museum has run the excursions near the museum there starting in late November. ITM announced in July in Logansport that its board had decided to move much of its rolling stock to Logansport.

The details of Monday's announcement by the Indiana Transportation Museum differ somewhat from an announcement early this month by Mayor Dave Kitchell's office. Kitchell explained the date was changed due to logistics surrounding preparation for the train excursions.