Hey, remember last month when I chased the CPKC Holiday Train all over the Northeast? And blogged about it for a whole week?
You know … photographed the train in Montreal, drove over and photographed the train in Sherbrooke, drove back down to photograph the train in Albany, then caught it in Menands, and in Round Lake, and in Fort Edward …
Well, this was one of the photos I took from the event. It was during the CPKC Holiday Train’s stop in Fort Edward. At the time, I had hoped to shoot with film, but my film cameras jammed up during the shoot. So I went with my Google Pixel 6 Pro camera. And during the concert … I caught this candid moment.
I posted the photo on Instagram, and that was it.
Until yesterday.
See … one of the reasons I posted the picture on Instagram was because CPKC hosted a Holiday Train photo competition.
Let’s see. Tag @CPKCrail in the photo, done. Add the hashtag #CPKCHolidayTrain in the post, done. A little judicious Instagram-framed cropping for effect. Safe distance away from the train when I took the photo.
Yesterday, I received THIS message on my Instagram feed.
And it was the LAST message I ever expected.
Um … er … would you all please excuse me for just a moment? Just one little moment, I promise.
(checking that screenshot to make sure I’m not dreaming or hallucinating)
(nope, not dreaming or hallucinating)
HOLY CANADIAN PACIFIC KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN MONTH-LONG RAILROAD CONCERT THAT RUNS FROM NOVEMBER TO DECEMBER, BATMAN!!!
This is incredible!!! Absolutely incredible!!! I mean, I have absolutely no idea what the prize pack is, but I don’t care right now – all the train chases and planning and plotting and captures all over the place for the past eight years …
But as far as I’m concerned … this is what makes it all worthwhile.
And in case you’re not seeing this right now, I’m dancing like freakin’ crazy over here!
Wait, wait, wait … I still have to send them my mailing address, or they won’t know where to send the prize pack!
Okay. Typed it in. Sent it.
And a few minutes later … CPKC added a heart emoji to my message response. Aces.
Well, this photo just landed in the Competition Season 2025 folder in nothing flat. And it’s now a “charity designate,” in that any prize money gleaned from this image will be forwarded in full to Feeding America. Because the Holiday Train’s journey is a fundraiser for food insecurity across North America, it’s only fair that this image, if it can, should still earn some charity stripes.
Yeah. Chuck is happy.
Let me hashtag that for all of you.
And I’m already planning my CPKC Holiday Train 2025 chase.
For freakin’ sure.
UPDATE: CPKC just made it official with this Instagram post. Whee!!
Chuck The Writer 
Tonight’s MEGA jackpot is $970 mil. Just sayin’.
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