Holiday Train

There is an holiday train that runs the Chicago lines in the month of December. I'd only ever heard snippets about it since moving up here, snatches of conversation. It seemed elusive - a rumor way out there on the margins. I put it out of my mind thinking I would probably never actually see it.

Can you imagine my surprise when it pulled up right in front of me?

It was flashy and gaudy, exactly what you would expect from a media driven, commercialized American holiday. But it was also wonderful. I felt like a child as I stepped on. The cold rain that had seeped into my shoes and splattered my bags as I shopped melted away. I didn't care anymore that my hair was frizzy or that my outfit didn't match, I was caught up in the music and the charm, flamboyant though it was.

The car was packed, wall-to-wall, with wide-eyed kids and their parents. I felt a little out of place amongst all of the adorable families, but that hardly dampened my enjoyment. Tinsel and colored lights hung from the ceiling, and the advertisements that normally run along the top of the cars had been replaced by cheesy Christmas jokes. (Where do gingerbread men sleep? Under cookie sheets!) The car even smelled slightly of gingerbread, though there was definitely a stuffy, musty smell underlying it all. The joy and excitement that hung in the air was almost tangible. Everyone was smiling ear to ear, and no one seemed to mind that it took extra long at stops to move passengers on and off.

If you are ever in Chicago over the holidays it is more than worth it to search the rails for the holiday train. You'll know it when you see it. But just in case you are a visual person, here is a youtube video of it. Don't watch all of it, it gets very boring after the first 15 seconds or so. Happy Holidays :)

CTA Holiday Train Video