Waterloo Indiana USA - Part of me finds it amazing that hundreds of people were prepared to travel to Waterloo next weekend to watch a train covered with Christmas lights speed by in about one minute.
 
The other part of me says I'm fascinated with trains, just like so many of you, for reasons I don't fully understand.
 
Last year, with little formal promotion, hundreds of people streamed into Waterloo to admire the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train as it passed between midnight and 01:00.
 
Waterloo was expecting the crowd to grow this year, so town officials went all out to plan a party with food, beer, wine, Christmas music, and holiday activities.
 
Then a real grinch-like presence came along in the form of anonymous railroad officials.
 
A year ago, some people ogling the train came too close to the tracks, even got onto the tracks, creating a safety hazard, they said.
 
To discourage people from breaking the rules, the train will run past Waterloo and across northern Indiana with its lights off early Saturday morning.
 
The Canadian Pacific Railroad (OKthePK Joint Bar Editor:  That's Canadian Pacific RAILWAY!) posted this statement on the popular Facebook page for its Holiday Train:
 
"Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Thank you for your interest in the CP Holiday Train. For rail security and safety reasons we may turn our lights off through this region. We will not provide details on the timing or route as the train moves between Windsor and Chicago, as there are no stops and these are not CP-owned tracks. Please help us have a safe journey by staying off railroad property, which includes the right-of-way, which can extend approximately 50 feet from either side of the track. Accessing railroad property is not only dangerous, but illegal. We appreciate your support of the Holiday Train and encourage you to donate to your local food shelf/bank this holiday season if possible."
 
To put this all in context, the Holiday Train is a 20 year tradition in Canada.
 
It's actually two trains that travel from the Pacific Ocean to Montreal, (OKthePK Joint Bar Editor:  Nope... it's Montreal to the Pacific Ocean) spreading holiday cheer.
 
The first starts its route today.
 
The trains make several stops daily to present music concerts and collect donations to food banks.
 
They stay on the road for three weeks.
 
The trains also make dives into the U.S., this year visiting New York state, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa. and Missouri.
 
On its way to Chicago, one train travels from Windsor, Ontario, across southeast Michigan and northern Indiana in the middle of the night.
 
This journey does not show up on a map of the train's official route.
 
The reason is not clear.
 
It could be due to the late hour.
 
The railroad's statement hints that it has to do with using "not CP-owned tracks."
 
The train rides on Norfolk Southern rails for the trip to Chicago.
 
Local fans of the Holiday Train caught wind of this late-night trip a couple of years ago, and its fan base started growing.
 
Now, the prospects for train-watchers have dimmed.
 
As comments on the train's Facebook page put it, "Thanks to all the morons who've ruined this experience for all of us with common sense," and "It's a shame the few who don't follow the rules have ruined it for everyone."
 
Common sense, however, would say that Hoosiers aren't the only ones who sometimes stray too close to the tracks over the thousands of miles of the Holiday Trains' routes.
 
Indiana fans of the train should mount a campaign asking the two railroads to work out the problems and turn the lights back on next year.
 
In any case, Waterloo's still throwing a festive party Friday at 20:00.
 
For this year, you can watch a video of the train on the Canadian Pacific website, www.cpr.ca.
 
One version lasts 18 minutes, and it's absolutely stunning, thanks in part to some rugged Canadian landscapes.
 
Which leads to the question of why we can't take our eyes off trains.
 
Train-mania runs deep in my genes.
 
My maternal grandfather worked for the New York Central Railroad, running a switch house (OKthePK Joint Bar Editor:  Methinks the author means signalbox?) at the junction of two rail lines just west of downtown Kendallville.
 
It stood perched on a pedestal, filled with giant levers that controlled the switches.
 
His job held much in common with today's air-traffic controllers, complete with the crushing pressure.
 
One mistake and a lot of people would have died.
 
He never slipped up, but I'm told it took a predictable toll on his nerves.
 
Maybe you can watch too many trains for your own good.
 
Someone who governs the Holiday Train thinks watching one is too many for Hoosiers.
 
Dave Kurtz.