Run Number 6....and it's only 1PM. Engineer Brian Messinger holds the final note of his crossing whistle until his locomotive's drivers are squarely in the crossing at Old Deep River Road, as he takes the 6th Santa Special of the day north toward Chester, CT. The clock shows just past 1PM and the Valley Railroad is not yet even halfway through the day's schedule of Christmas trains. This is the last of the day's 6 "Santa Specials", which are daylight trips providing a Santa Claus experience for families with kids at a lower price point than the evening North Pole Express. Both offerings have grown exponentially in popularity over the last few years.
Up ahead in Deep River, Brian's train will pass SS-5 as it heads back to Essex, and for a short while, his will be the only train on the line. When he returns to Essex, there will be crew changes on both trains, and a 3rd train will be added to the mix. Beginning at 3PM, a total of 9 North Pole Express Trains will depart, the last of which will not return to Essex until sometime after 9 PM. At that point, fires will be banked and the railroad yard will be quiet for perhaps 8-9 hours until the morning crews arrive and they do it all over again. The operations tempo is hectic. Weeknights, only 6 North Pole Express trains run, but on weekends, there are 15 departures per day. Valley Railroad Christmas Trains run from mid-November until just before New Years, requiring pretty much all hands on deck. It's no wonder that when the new year dawns, the Valley Railroad folks are likely welcoming the break.
