IT’S BACK!!!! SANTA ANSWERED MY LETTERS!!

It’s back. The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train is returning to the rails. For reals. FOR REALS.

WHOO HOO HOO HOO!!!!

(running around the room)

(jumping up and down)

(celebrating like crazy)

Don’t judge me. I’ve waited THREE LONG YEARS for this. THREE LONG FREAKIN’ YEARS.

And it looks like my travels will include at least six stops throughout New York. The train will make two stops on Saturday, November 26th – Mechanicville and Saratoga Springs; and four stops on Sunday, November 27th – Fort Edward, Port Henry, Plattsburgh and Rouses Point.

Yeah. I’m hella excited.

And here’s the official press release from Canadian Pacific.

CP Holiday Train returns to the rails in support of community food banks after two-year hiatus

(CALGARY) The Canadian Pacific (CP) Holiday Train will return to the rails this season on its first cross-continent tour in three years, following virtual concerts in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. The train will again raise money, food and awareness for local food banks in communities along the CP network.

“I’m grateful to the CP team members who adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver two exceptional virtual Holiday Train shows and to all those who continued to donate while we kept community members safe,” said Keith Creel, CP’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Holiday Train is all about families and communities coming together to celebrate the season and help those in need. We are excited to be back out on the rails and in our communities, taking these two beautiful trains across our network and sharing the joy that comes with gathering in the spirit of giving.”

The 2022 tour will launch on Nov. 23 with the Holiday Train’s first-ever Maine shows in Jackman, Brownville Junction and Hermon. Also for the first time, the Holiday Train will host shows on Nov. 24 in Lac-Megantic, Sherbrooke and Farnham, Que.; the first Canadian stops of 2022. The tour will feature 168 live shows, including Toronto on Nov. 29; Bensenville, Ill., on Dec. 2; Davenport, Iowa, on Dec. 3; Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 4; Calgary on Dec. 10; and a final show in Port Coquitlam, B.C., on Dec. 18. A full schedule is available at cpr.ca/holidaytrain.

Live music is essential to the CP Holiday Train experience. This year’s performers will include Alan Doyle, Tenille Townes, Mackenzie Porter and Lindsay Ell, to name a few. Details about this year’s artists and which performers will play which shows are available at cpr.ca/holidaytrain.

Holiday Train shows are free to attend. CP asks attendees to bring a cash or non-perishable food donation if they’re able. Local food shelves will set up collection stations at each event, with all donations made staying with the local food bank to help people in need in the community. Because local food shelves buy food at a discount, cash donations can go further than food donations to help those in need.

“Food banks and communities across Canada are so excited to see the CP Holiday Train return, as it brings together the City of Calgary to kick off the holidays and give back at the same time,” said Calgary Food Bank President and CEO James McAra. “The Calgary Food Bank is so grateful for CP’s continued support to help us build a Canada where no one goes hungry.”

Since the Holiday Train program launched in 1999, it’s raised more than $21 million and collected 5 million pounds of food for community food banks across North America.

“This year, more than ever, the support, awareness and goodwill that the CP Holiday Train brings will make an impact beyond imagination to the food support programs of East Side Neighborhood Services,” said Mary Anstett, Vice President, Community Engagement for East Side Neighborhood Services in Minneapolis. “With the support that Holiday Train brings in, we can rest assured that so many will have warm nutritious food on their tables in the coldest months.”

About Canadian Pacific

Canadian Pacific is a transcontinental railway in Canada and the United States with direct links to major ports on the west and east coasts. CP provides North American customers a competitive rail service with access to key markets in every corner of the globe. CP is growing with its customers, offering a suite of freight transportation services, logistics solutions and supply chain expertise. Visit cpr.ca to see the rail advantages of CP.

And now I have the cameras I need for this. Two Nikon Df cameras for 3-D photography. My ultra-wide Krasnogorsk FT-2 for that super-long panoramic shot. A couple of squeezes from the Pentacon Six and from Nikon Athena and Kodak Red. Yeah. I’m wanting this like I want a keg of Red Bull.

I’m already parsing through the schedule. Where can I photograph? Where can I travel?

If I feel the urge to drive to Maine, I can photograph on the 23rd, as there will be three stops in Maine this year – the first for the Holiday Train after it purchased the Maine-Quebec rail line during the pandemic. But if I drive there on the 23rd, I’ll have to hot-rod it back to Albany for Equinox Thanksgiving Day turkey deliveries. And my commitment to the Thanksgiving Day tradition is more important. Plus, there are other options and dates for me to photograph the train.

There’s an option for me to drive to Quebec and photograph on Friday the 25th, to places like Lacolle and Delson, but then I would have to dead-head it all the way down the state just to get to the shots I want in Albany and in Mechanicville and in other spots.

And you know where I’m thinking of shooting.

I want the Cohoes-Waterford Bridge.

I want the SUNY Admin Building.

I want the Crown Point Crossing.

I want all of these things. And a couple of spots I didn’t mention in this blog.

And it’s all happening on a weekend. I can do all this. This will be fun.

It will certainly be a test of my endurance. And of my car’s endurance. And of my cameras’ endurance.

But I’ve waited three years for this. And if you think I’m waiting another year to capture this big beautiful holiday treasure …

Then you don’t celebrate Christmas the same way I celebrate Christmas. Trust me on this.

I’ve waited three years to get photos like this.

Now it’s just a matter of weeks.