2 December 2008
CP Rail Holiday Train Makes Special Delivery
Hamilton Ontario - Jonathan Woodruff just couldn't
contain himself when he saw the glistening CP Holiday Train roll into the Kinnear Yard. "Woo, woo," repeated the
three-year-old, sitting on the shoulders of his grandfather, Rick. "Woo, woo."
"He loves trains," said his grandpa, who also was taken back by the sight of the 14-car
Christmas-light decked train, which travels the country raising donations for food banks. "I love the lights. This
is what Christmas is all about."
Jonathan - who is into Thomas the Tank engine "big time," said his grandpa - let out another exclamation as he watched the
train slow down and halt on a rail line just south of Gage Park and Lawrence Road. "There's people inside," he said.
The pair were part of the crowd who came out last night to see the train make its fifth visit to the city since CP launched the train
in 1999. CP spokesperson Mike LoVecchio estimated the crowd at about 2,000. The train was in town to help Hamilton Food Share and, in
addition to collecting donations, CP presented Food Share executive director Joanne Santucci with a $3,000 donation.
Jonathan wasn't the only one young at heart or spirit. There were people of all ages, including many middle-age men
sporting cameras and tripods. The crowd was entertained by Shaun Verreault of Wide Mouth Mason and Juno Award winner Melanie Doane
from a stage in a boxcar.
"Doesn't this train look awesome?" said Mayor Fred Eisenberger, who welcomed the train to Hamilton.
LoVecchio couldn't guarantee Hamilton will be a stop in 2009, but said, "When I see a crowd like this I want to come back."
He said, however, no matter the economic troubles, CP has no plans to scale the train back, even though CP's stock has dropped $25
since September. "This is something we believe we should do."
The train, which now includes both a Canadian and a U.S. version, has raised $3.5 million and 816,000 kilograms of food since it hit
the rails. The U.S. train, which stopped in Hamilton, began in Scranton, Pa. last Friday and will end 18 Dec 2008 in
Estevan-Weyburn, Saskatchewan.
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