Holiday train draws crowds to Meridian
Published 12:43 pm Monday, December 2, 2024
Alaysa Gordon, left, and Jaida Gordon take photos in front of Santa’s sleigh at the CPKC Holiday Train Sunday in downtown Meridian. Photos by Thomas Howard
Thousands of families and children congregated in downtown Meridian on Sunday as the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Holiday Train made a stop at Union Station. Visitors were able to tour the festive six-car train, take photos with the decorated cars and visit with Santa Claus.
Next door at the Meridian Railroad Museum children could visit with Mrs. Claus, watch model trains run through snowy landscapes and take rides on the museum’s miniature train.
In addition to spreading holiday cheer and providing a fun, festive activity for families, the holiday train also works to raise awareness, funds and support for food banks along the way. According to CPKC, the train has collected more than 5.3 million pounds of food for community food banks and raised more than $24.3 million since its first tour in 1999.
The CPKC Holiday Train was scheduled to stop in Vicksburg on Monday before heading into Louisiana with stops planned Tuesday in Monroe, Wednesday in LaPlace and Thursday in Baton Rouge. For more information about the holiday train and this year’s schedule visit cpkcr.com/en/community/HolidayTrain.
