Field Report: CP Holiday Trains Visit Toronto - Part 1

Click on each image for a closer look!
.
The two CP Holiday Trains which we announced in a recent news post have now passed through our area and several TRHA team members were on hand to witness and enjoy their passing and the associated festivities.
.
Dave Wetherald was on hand when one of the trains passed through Midhurst just north of Barrie during the daylight hours giving us a glimpse (see images above) of the old classic heavyweight cars being used as the base for the displays.
.
Lance Gleich was on hand in the Lambton Yard last night and took the night pictures of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train and reported his experience in the following excerpt from his personal blog on the Internet:
.
"TORONTO, ONTARIO - The annual visit of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train took place in the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto today. The train rolled in to the Lambton Yard site exactly on time for a half-hour performance at 18:30, with a noticeably larger crowd than last year, the first year at the present location.
.
The Canadian Pacific folks know how to put on a good show. The stage for show is the side of a boxcar, and it dramatically opens with a plume of smoke and Santa Claus emerges to start singing the opening act. After the dignitaries, in this case local councilperson Bill Saundercook and representatives of the Daily Bread Food Bank and "Trick or Eat" campaigns, spoke, the rest of the musical performances began.
.
The headline act this year was "The Odds," a band usually described as an "alternative" group with roots dating back to the 1970's. Always an impressive sight, the Holiday Train had mostly new decorations this year, a style described as "whimsical" by some and "child-like" by others. It certainly was an impressive sight as it pulled in for the event, a fundraiser for the Daily Bread food bank in Toronto. Each of the Holiday Train's stops supports local food banks; over the past decade, the train has led to the donation of more than two million pounds of food and $4 million to local groups.
.
The performance could only be a half-hour as the train needed to continue to its next stop at Vaughn, Ontario. The Holiday Train has several dozen more stops as it continues its journey west to Port Moody, British Columbia. For a schedule, see the CP Holiday Train web site."
.
Here are descriptions of each of the night images taken by Lance Gleich on December 1st, 2009
.
#1: The CP Holiday Train parked at Lambton Yard in Toronto, Ontario for a performance
#2: The stage door opening on the train to start the performance
#3: "The Odds" performing from the box car stage
#4: One of the boxcars with new decorations for this year’s train
#5: The CP Holiday Train pulling out of West Toronto, Ontario

Posting by Russ Milland; Pictures by Lance Gleich and Dave Wetherald
.