Virginia's Legendary Santa Trains

by Donna Strother Deekens, Doug Riddell

Overview

Beginning in the 1950s, department stores around the Commonwealth teamed up with rail lines to create a magical Christmas adventure: the Santa Train. Delight-filled children from Richmond and Alexandria to Roanoke flocked to see and ride the trains sponsored by Miller & Rhoads, Cox's Department Store, J.C. Penney and many others. These majestic trains rode the rails across Virginia with old Saint Nick himself. Join railroad author Doug Riddell and former Miller & Rhoads Snow Queen Donna Strother Deekens as they recount heartwarming memories of Christmases past and chronicle the history of Virginia's Kris Kringle trains.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626191402
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	10/08/2013
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Donna is the owner of Teapots, Treats & Traditions, a tea party business. She is author of Christmas at Miller & Rhoads: Memoirs of a Snow Queen and Santaland: A Miller & Rhoads Christmas. A graduate of the University of Richmond, she is married with two sons. Doug is a a retired Amtrak engineer, company photographer, author and columnist. His work has appeared in numerous Railroad publications and he is the author of From the Cab: Stories from a Locomotive Engineer. A Richmond native, broadcaster and journalist, Doug now makes his home in Ashland with his wife.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 9

Introduction: Into Town on a Rail 13

1 A Stroke of Good Luck 23

2 "The Miller & Rhoads of Ashland" 27

3 Hop Aboard 37

4 Won't You Ride My Sleigh Tonight? 41

5 Girls' Night Out 47

6 It's Showtime! 51

7 Three Guys and a Train 63

8 OK, Here's the Plan 69

9 It's Going to Be a Great Day 73

10 On a Roll 101

11 Mama Says 113

12 Stalling 123

13 1960 Endings and Beginnings 129

14 What Are the Chances? 139

15 Blessed Be the Grossties That Bind 145

16 Headin' Home for the Holidays 161

17 The Party's Over 171

Notes 185

About the Authors 191