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A Tri-Valley holiday tradition that echoes of yesteryear will soon be pulling into the station, as Niles Canyon Railway’s annual Train of Lights is set to be back this November and December – with tickets going on sale this weekend, and likely to go fast.
The major fundraiser for the Pacific Locomotive Association, which operates Niles Canyon Railway activities, the Train of Lights gives people the chance to ride in vintage train cars decked out for the winter holiday season and filled with music, refreshments and merriment. It’s also a rare opportunity to ride through the canyon at night.
“The Train of Lights is simply a unique holiday experience in its size and scope,” said Chris Hauf, marketing manager for Niles Canyon Railway.
“Not only does it impress with its 16 cars lit with a huge array of holiday decorations, but it then continues inside the train where everywhere you turn, the interiors are immaculately decorated as well; all by volunteers we should note who donate thousands of hours to be decorate and ultimately undecorate the train each year,” Hauf told the Weekly.
“Given its longevity, it has become a tradition for many Bay Area families and something they look forward to where they can simply come on board and have a few hours of holiday enjoyment with each other as the train takes you away to a different time and what feels like a different place,” Hauf added.
A momentous undertaking each year, Train of Lights preparations have been underway for weeks as volunteers continue to place decorations outside and inside the classic trains – materials that fill up two, 75-foot railroad baggage cars worth of storage the rest of the year, according to Hauf.
“In all, it takes several thousand volunteer hours to decorate the train, but that is not all. Other volunteers are busy making repairs, undertaking maintenance or doing restorations on the equipment to be used for TOL,” Hauf said, also noting that each evening train will take 30 volunteers to operate.
The program will run on weekends and select weekday evenings between Nov. 17 and Dec. 29, excluding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Offering a 1.5-hour roundtrip ride through Niles Canyon twice each evening of operation, the Train of Lights will depart from the Niles Station at 4:30 p.m. and then again from the Sunol Station at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets will be available for purchase online starting this Saturday (Oct. 7) at 10 a.m. Options include general seating, first-class dome car, first-class parlor car, private caboose or renting the entire train. Visit www.ncry.org/ride/train-of-lights.
