KRISTOPHER GRUNERT / CP
Schreiber, Ontario, is waiting.
The chilled air buzzes with anticipation in the December 2018 afternoon gathering at the railroad tracks between the edge of town and Lake Superior. Christmas music belts out of boom boxes set behind old rail cars, part of the township’s railway museum. A few hundred turned out in this town of about 1,060, and the growing crowd brings a rainbow of bright-colored jackets, hats and heavy boots. “Dressing to impress” here means looking more warm-bundled than Parisian model. All around, kids giggle and romp in the snow, despite a strong north wind and the biting cold.
Nestled in the valley encircled by hills, in the township of Schreiber, I and my husband Rich eagerly await the arrival of the 20th annual CP Holiday Train.
Trains are nothing new to Schreiber, as it was founded as a construction camp for the Canadian Pacific and hosted one of its district offices for many years. Its origins linger in the town’s logo, which features a handsome red locomotive.
RICHARD HOEG
The Holiday Train clings to Lake Superior's shoreline on its way to Nipigon, as dusk approaches. Its exterior lights are always on, except when clearing customs at the border.
As they wait, many adults tote bags of canned goods to drop off at the food shelf, where volunteers in Santa hats serve up sizzling hot dogs and hot chocolate dotted with mini marshmallows. Santa’s “Ho-ho-ho” rings out above the merriment.
The Holiday Train is coming from Marathon, where it first met Lake Superior on its cross-country route from Montréal. As the appointed hour draws near, we all peer down the tracks, excitement building. At the first glimpse of an engine, a murmur ripples through the onlookers as the train slowly eases into the railway station.
Once the train stops, the crowd pours through the gate and floods the platform adjacent to the cars. Fourteen railcars are bedazzled in hundreds of thousands of brilliant LED lights in festive holiday designs. The mid-afternoon daylight dilutes their radiance but cannot diminish the enthusiasm of the spectators.
All eyes are on the train as the side of one railcar gradually descends, forming a stage. Amidst strobe lights and theatrical fog, performers Terri Clark, Kelly Prescott and Sierra Noble step out, immediately belt out the music, twanged with their contemporary country style.
There is no other time of year when Schreiber will host such nationally recognized talent. Terri Clark, originally from Medicine Hat, Alberta, has 10 albums to her credit, all of which went platinum in both the United States and Canada. Kelly Prescott, originally from Ottawa, is a third-generation singer/songwriter on both sides of her family and has released five records in 10 years. Sierra Noble, a singer/songwriter and fiddler from Winnipeg, has opened for Paul McCartney, Kid Rock and Bon Jovi.
At this whistle stop, the half-hour show features holiday favorites with a lively country spin. Our crowd sways to the music, bobbing, bouncing. Kids dance. The boisterous, cheery music vibrates in my feet, traversing through the chilled ground and my thick boots.
I boogie to the beat, too, when Sierra Noble takes a turn fiddling. Despite the cold, her fingers dance over the strings fast, faster and even faster.
Near the end of the show, local community leaders are invited onto the stage and the folks from Canadian Pacific – the founders of this musical feast – present an oversized check with a sizeable $5,500 donation to the North Shore Harvest Food Cupboard. Spreading holiday cheer is the byproduct of this cross-Canada train trek, but shoring up the food shelves during a time of need is its real mission. A second train, with the same goal, dips down into the northern United States on its cross-country route. To date, the Holiday Train has raised more than $15.8 million (CAD) and 4.5 million pounds of food for North American food banks.
At this stop, the beneficiary of the bounty in canned food, money and CP donation, the North Shore Harvest Food Cupboard, serves Schreiber, Terrace Bay and the surrounding communities.
“Our largest single donor is from the Holiday Train, which is a wonderful and generous contribution,” says Linda Collinson, secretary of the Food Cupboard.
The money, in addition to donated food, expands giving options, adds Louise Regis, chair of the Food Cupboard. “We can only give what we are given. The CP donation is used to make more healthy food purchases.”
MOLLY HOEG
Left: The stage is lowered to prepare for the holiday concert.
After a few more snow boot-tapping tunes, the performers retreat back into the railcar (no time for encore, no matter the applause), and the stage door folds back into place. The engine fires up, and the Holiday Train chugs to its next stop, glowing more vividly as sunset approaches.
Louise gets teary just talking about it. “For me it’s the highlight of my holiday season. When that train pulls in, and all the townspeople come out. When it pulls away and is gone, I know Christmas is here.”
When it reaches Lake Superior, the Holiday Train is about mid-way in its three-week cross-country journey. Stunning with its constant holiday illumination, the train trip must be exhausting for the performers since the train stops in two to seven towns each day.
Rich and I have become Holiday Train groupies since first seeing the U.S. train in rural Plummer, Minnesota, in 2017. The warmth of that small-town experience prompted us to track the Canadian train’s route across Lake Superior’s Ontario shore.
Schreiber is only the first of our three stops. Once the Holiday Train’s lights disappear, we hop in the car to race it to Nipigon.
Arriving in Nipigon slightly ahead of the train, this time we get the full experience as the colorful blaze of lights arrives on the tracks, a specter advancing in full darkness. It comes to a stop across from the shops on Nipigon’s main street, where the glowing lights reflect on eager faces. A fire engine’s red flare illuminates it from behind, silhouetting the 300 or so spectators. Kids sit on shoulders, and cell phones are held aloft to catch the performance.
RICHARD HOEG
Tireless entertainers perform in Plummer, Minnesota, the author’s first introduction to the Holiday Train in 2017.
The Holiday Train has been stopping here since its beginning two decades ago. Marilyn Kerbrat, coordinator of the Nipigon Food Bank, sums up the experience.
“It’s a beautiful time of day when that train comes in. The entertainment is great. It brings not only to the food bank, it lifts the spirit of the town. We all get the Christmas spirit. As a town we all look forward for it to come.”
That spirit and community involvement is one of the key factors in how CP selects its stops. A strong partnership with the local food bank and the support of local officials are also important considerations. This has been the Holiday Train’s focus since its inception.
“The railway wanted to develop an initiative to give back to its communities, and they asked employees what causes they would like to support. Hunger and food security were top of the list,” says Andy Cummings, a CP media relations manager. The Holiday Train was born to address these needs.
CP Rail is committed to keeping all donations in the community where they were raised. Marilyn reinforces that approach. “We shop locally – all the money given to us stays right here.” Their Holiday Train proceeds go to filling Christmas hampers for families in need. “We try to get Christmas dinner, plus a week’s groceries,” she adds.
Down the street, the local Canadian Tire store is hosting a spaghetti dinner. When the train pulls out, the tables fill up again. The warm air revives my stiff fingers, and I’m lured by the spicy aroma of simmering spaghetti sauce. Hungry families with rosy cheeks fill their plates with steaming pasta and neighbors greeting one another.
This will be the fifth year they’ve teamed up with the Holiday Train event to support Jumpstart, a national charity dedicated to helping kids of all abilities play by removing financial and accessibility barriers to sports and recreation. It complements the food shelf focus nicely.
Our final venue is Thunder Bay. This city draws 1,000 people to the event. Attendees must first walk through the train station to reach the platform, passing the collection tables and energetic volunteers collecting money and canned goods for the Regional Food Distribution Association.
“The Holiday Train is a big event for us,” says Brendan Carlin, RFDA community services manager. “It is high profile, and it gets people out. It kicks off the holiday season.”
Unlike local food shelves, the RFDA consolidates shipments and food donations and distributes them to local food banks and regional ones in Northwestern Ontario, from the Minnesota border. “Even if folks don’t donate that night, they know there is a need and may donate later.”
Volunteer Dave Blake hands out candy canes to all comers in Thunder Bay's railway station with the help of Joan Stevens.
From the activity in and around the depot, it appears that folks are in the giving mood. The holiday spirit pervades the atmosphere, opening peoples’ hearts and pocketbooks.
Stepping outside, youth hockey team members jingle cans for donations, and Santa Claus dispenses candy canes and big hugs. A local artist has rendered a bear carved out of ice, and enormous ice luminaria flicker in the dark.
The assembled multitudes squeeze together in a tight bunch behind the barriers, intent on being up front to greet the train.
When the temporary stage comes out and performance begins, it is every bit as energetic and engaging as the previous two. For a group of musicians who started out at 8:15 that morning and repeated their show six times since then, it is a testimony to their dedication.
After the train leaves Lake Superior, it continues northwest toward Winnipeg. These performers will continue to delight audiences all the way to Calgary, Alberta. Others musicians perform on the segments in Quebec, and another set from Calgary to near Vancouver.
“You really have to give credit to the performers in the shows,” says Salem Woodrow, media relations advisor for CP. “They give 100 percent at every stop. It’s a lot of work – in warm, cold, blizzards and high winds.”
This year of our train chasing, they have a full Canadian line-up. “Canadian musicians see the good that the program does and want to continue. So they can also give back.”
The musicians and staff all live aboard the train during the journey. “Everyone has their own accommodations. There is a chef on board who makes all the meals,” Salem explains. “It’s close quarters.”
For Kelly Prescott, the Holiday Train has been part of her family’s holiday season for more than half her life. “We keep in mind that even though it may be show number 60 for us, it's show number one for the audience and that drives us to put on the best performance possible.”
She admits that weather conditions can be challenging. “Frigid temperatures and steel strings make for a very painful combo. We keep hand warmers in our pockets so we can get a quick second to get some blood flowing again between songs.”
Kelly’s enthusiasm is infectious. “It's always an honor to take part in this one-of-a-kind, rolling fundraiser. I hope this is a Christmas tradition for years to come!”
As the train pulls out of the station and its lights retreat down the tracks, the merriment lingers. Santa waves a goodbye, and our noses are reminiscent of Rudolph’s. Our triple exposure is complete. And already we’re entertaining ideas for viewing next year’s Holiday Train.
2019 on the Holiday Train
December 1, 2019 – arrival times near Lake Superior
11 a.m. Heron Bay
12:20 p.m. Marathon
2:45 p.m. Schreiber
5:30 p.m. Nipigon
8:30 p.m. Thunder Bay
COURTESY CP
Performing free concerts from Montréal to Calgary are Scott Helman and Madeline Merlo. Scott, a pop singer-songwriter from Toronto, broke onto the music scene in his mid-teens. He has toured extensively across the country and internationally and earned numerous awards, including a 2018 JUNO Award nomination as Songwriter of the Year. His single “Bungalow” went platinum in Canada. Madeline, a singer-songwriter well known for her pop-meets-country fusion style, has five Top 15 singles to her credit. She has racked up numerous awards including the Rising Star Canadian Country Music Rising Star Award and the BC Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year Award.
Find full schedule info at www.cpr.ca/holiday-train/canada
RICHARD HOEG
The Holiday Train lights up the night and paints the icy Nipigon River with its brilliant colors, as it passes in front of the new highway bridge.
Holiday Train Fun Facts
- About 160 concerts are performed on each train trip.
- All concerts are free. Attendees are asked to bring food or a monetary donation for the local food bank.
- All activities surrounding the Holiday Train stops are put on by the local communities and food shelf partners.
- CP’s Holiday Trains are pulled by GP20C 2200 series locomotives, originally built in 1957 and rebuilt in 2013.
- Each locomotive has 2,000 hp, is 56.02 feet in length and weighs 275,000 pounds.
Molly Hoeg is a writer in Duluth who likes nothing better than finding unique Northland experiences that make a good story, while her husband, Rich, captures them with his camera.