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Like just about everyone on the crew at the Illinois Railway Museum, Tricia Menke says there are few holiday elements that fit more neatly into the modern celebration of Christmas than the steamy magic of trains.
But as Menke sees it, the only thing better than making holiday traditions is becoming such a a tradition yourself.
“People keep coming back year after year, and this has become a family tradition for so many,” said Menke, events and outreach coordinator at the Illinois Railway Museum in the McHenry County community of Union.
“They’re marking it on their calendar, and really looking forward to it every holiday season.”
This holiday season, the Illinois Railway Museum will once again welcome visitors of all ages to their annual Christmas tradition, the Happy Holiday Railway.
Inspired by the iconic children’s story, “The Polar Express,” the event centers on an opportunity to hop aboard vintage train cars for a one-of-a-kind 40-minute Christmas-themed ride along the rails from the museum’s train depot through the surrounding McHenry County countryside.
Aboard the train, visitors can enjoy a light show synchronized to holiday songs, a complimentary cookie and cup of hot chocolate served by costumed elves, and a special visit with the star of the show, that jolly old elf in a red suit, Santa Claus.
The Illinois Railway Museum has offered the event for nearly a decade in its current format, said Menke. But the holiday traditions at the museum stretch farther back into the past.
Today, the museum, which operates a growing fleet of restored antique and vintage locomotives, rail coaches and trolleys, is among a handful of rail centers offering such “Polar Express”-inspired holiday excursions.
Menke noted the Happy Holiday Railway is not an officially licensed and sanctioned “Polar Express” event. But the event continues to grow and expand, year by year, as families from near and far make it a part of their holiday traditions.
Last year, the Happy Holiday Railway welcomed nearly 20,000 passengers over the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year, Menke said they have made plans to welcome as many as 30,000 guests, adding another 1-1/2 coach cars to their train.
Menke said the event has quickly become the second biggest annual event at the museum, only trailing the annual “Day Out With Thomas” event over four weekends in July, featuring the train characters from the ever popular stories and programs featuring Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.
Menke said the Happy Holiday Railway is “quickly on its way to becoming No. 1.”
The event features a train and depot crew of at least 50 volunteers and staff every day, Menke said, including 25 student volunteers from Hampshire High School. The museum partners with the school to allow their music students to raise funds to help pay for band trips, Menke said.
“Without the volunteers, none of this can happen,” said Menke. “We are a volunteer-drive organization.”
In addition to the train ride, visitors to the Happy Holiday Railway also enjoy access to the museum grounds, including to three rail barns where guests can see and in some cases tour and explore restored antique rail cars and engines.
And guests can visit the museum’s model railroad depot, with large model railroad diorama displays in operation, including a special “Polar Express”-themed model rail line.
The museum has increasingly invested in making their depot campus more and more festive and a greater part of the Happy Holiday Railway tradition. Through the years, the museum has added more and more holiday decorations and lights throughout their grounds.
“We have trains that run during the day, of course, but to get the full effect, we invite everyone to come after dark, to enjoy the holiday lights, after the train ride, too,” said Menke.
This year, Menke noted the museum has also added a light show inside its Rail Barn 6, so even visitors who come before dark can soak in a bit more holiday magic.
Also new this year, Happy Holiday Railway guests coming for the weekend after Thanksgiving can also enjoy nightly holiday-themed fireworks shows at 5:45 p.m.
And those wishing to give back will also have the chance to donate canned food and other non-perishable food and personal care products at the museum, as part of a drive to support the Marengo area OutReach Enterprises (MORE) Center, a local charity supporting individuals and families in need.
While the museum continues to link up more magic to the event, Menke said the heart of the tradition remains those special moments on the train with family and jolly ol’ Saint Nick.
Menke noted many of the parents now bringing their own children to the event - as well as some of the regular grown-up volunteers - recall attending a holiday rail event at the museum in the past, where they report having first experienced the synchronous magic of Christmas and the rails.
“For us, there’s nothing more special than getting to be such a part of someone’s family holiday celebration, when they return year after year,” Menke said.
Tickets for the event must be purchased in advance through the Illinois Railway Museum website. Tickets cost $25 each, the same as 2023. Everyone two years old and older must have a ticket to enter and ride.
The first trains will run on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 29, and then will run each weekend, Saturdays and Sundays, through Dec. 23. The museum will operate seven excursions per operating day, between 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.