The CPKC Holiday Express program has for the time being come to an end according to our sportswriter and railroad enthusiast Jacob McCoy. He was informed by a CPKC Heritage Operations official while attending the KCS Historical Society convention in Rosenberg, Texas two weeks ago.
The tough decision was made by CPKC’s Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel and his staff due to maintenance cost of the Holiday express as well as wanting to integrate with the now former CP Holiday Train which is a much different set up compared to the traditional KCS Holiday Express.
There is a very small chance that Rudy and his five other Christmas cars could possibly run the rails again in the future. However the chances of that happening right now are not very good.
A CPKC official informed McCoy and other KCSHS members that the train will not be scrapped. If the company does decide to retire the Holiday Express that they will look into moving it to the appropriate venue or possession of another railroad.
The Holiday Express was started 24 years ago when a group of volunteers from the Kansas City Southern noticed the need of warm clothes and other items for kids in towns across the KCS system and the Holiday Express gave those kids hope as it was the only Christmas that some kids and even some parents and other adults had.
The Holiday Express would draw thousands of people each night wherever it stopped and has become a Christmas tradition for many communities across eight different states on the now CPKC system and has stopped in dozens of communities across Louisiana over the years including, Baton Rouge, Coushatta, DeQuincy, DeRidder, Gonzales, LaPlace, Leesville, Mansfield, Many, Monroe, Mossville, Pineville, Ruston, Shreveport, and Zwolle.
