Contact: Janet McGovern, 650.508.6356

Holiday Train Decorating Starts At Redwood City "Home Port"

Caltrain’s sixth annual holiday train will roll down the Peninsula the weekend of Dec. 2 and 3, thanks to the availability of a “home port” in Redwood City.

For the third year, the Port of Redwood City is generously providing space where Caltrain staff and dedicated volunteers will decorate and wire the holiday in preparation for Santa’s mega-watt ride on the big weekend.

“There are limited opportunities for us to be able to do something like this, and we see how important it is to have the holiday train running up and down the Peninsula,” said Port Operations Manager Don Snaman.

“Providing this space just adds to what the port is able to do to show our community spirit,” he added. The port also has an annual toy drive and staffers collect, help wrap and deliver toys for needy children.

Begun in 2001 as a partnership between Caltrain and the rail enthusiasts from the Golden Gate Railroad Museum, the holiday train initially was decorated on the museum grounds at Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard. When the Navy began moving ahead with plans for redevelopment at Hunter’s Point, GGRM needed to relocate and that also meant that the holiday train had to find a new home.

Caltrain did not have a suitable rail yard anywhere on its property between San Francisco and San Jose which could be taken out of active use for some two months as “Santa’s workshop.”

Two years ago, the Port of Redwood City was approached and readily agreed to make available -- at no cost -- a fenced, secure railroad version of a “dry dock” for Caltrain’s holiday train. The bonus: the amateur train-decorators enjoy a spectacular view of the waterfront activity while they work.

“We have the space and it’s convenient for Caltrain and the people decorating the train to come in and out to work,” Snaman said. “We can fit it all around what we do.”

The gradual transformation begins in October, when two Caltrain passenger cars, two flatcars and a caboose morph into a dazzling “show train” for Santa Claus and the entire North Pole entourage.

Led by San Mateo resident Ross Peterson, a commercial bakery installer with a knack for powerhouse logistical challenges, volunteers attach oversized snowmen, animated Santas and giant candy canes to the cars. They connect dozens of electrical cords and run cable the length of the entire train so the estimated 40,000 lights glow when the train revs up each night.

One of the key purposes of the Caltrain Holiday Train is to generate donations for the Salvation Army’s holiday toy drive and the Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots program. People who come to see the train are encouraged to drop a new, unwrapped toy or book in the barrels at the station stops.

Members of the 23rd Marine Regiment in San Bruno roll up their sleeves and help both decorating and un-decorating of the train, when it turns into a “pumpkin” a few days after the Dec. 2-3 weekend. By mid-December, the equipment has to be ready to roll so Port of Redwood City regular operations can resume.

Marine Master Sgt. Willie Fair recalls the first year he saw the illuminated train, which he had helped to decorate, and the enthusiastic crowds who came out to see it. Not only are Marines at the stations to help with toy collection, others ride the train and get off during station stops to hand out candy canes.

“This is our largest Toys for Tots event in terms of personnel,” MSgt. Fair said. “We are able to mingle and interact with the people of the local community. They are really appreciative of our service to the country, and it helps to put a smile on our faces.”

The train will visit nine stations over two nights Dec. 2 and 3, with a 20-minute show at each stop. For a complete holiday train schedule, visit www.caltrain.com or call 1.800.660.4287.

The Caltrain Holiday Train would not be possible without support for expenses ranging from purchasing decorations and wiring to costumes. This year’s sponsors include DRB Partners; Genentech, Inc.; Linear Technology Corp.; the Palo Alto Medical Foundation; and joint-venture partners Shimmick Construction Co., Inc., Obayashi Corp. and Balfour Beatty Rail Services, Inc.

Comcast Spotlight, the Examiner and Movin 99.7 are the event’s media sponsors, and in-kind donations are being provided by Creative Litho of Foster City; Peterson Power Systems of San Leandro; Classic Graphics Body & Sign Shop of Newark; and Amtrak, Caltrain’s operator.

11/08/06 - jrm