VIRGINIA

Santa has express ticket to Onley Train Station, but not by rail

The Daily Times

Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus will make a visit to the Onley Train Station on Saturday, Dec. 1, even though the tradition of the Santa Train has ended.

The station will open at noon, and Santa, along with Mrs. Claus and the elves, will arrive at 1 p.m.

There will be the usual gift bags for the kids and refreshments including hot chocolate, cookies and popcorn.

Volunteers will have the station's model trains running for people to watch while they wait for Santa to arrive.

For 25 years, on the first Saturday in December a Santa Train ran from Cape Charles to Parksley on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

The Santa Train, which was organized and run by volunteers, used a special, privately owned car.

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Last year, the car failed to pass inspection, resulting in the Santa Train not operating. Instead, Santa arrived at some of the traditional stops by fire truck or on a trailer pulled by town police, but other stops were eliminated, according to a fundraising letter from the Society for the Preservation of the Onley Train Station, or SPOTS.

Santa, Mrs. Santa and elves visited with children at the Onley Train Station in Onley, Virginia in December 2017. They will be visiting there again on Dec. 1, 2018.

After word spread that there would be no Santa Train, attendance was down at the stops.

SPOTS decided to sponsor an appearance of Santa and Mrs. Claus and the elves at the Onley station this year.

"We wanted to continue that tradition," said Tom Rakowski of SPOTS.

"It starts off December," said Jan Siglin.

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The group does not own a train car, but Santa will arrive at the station escorted by town police, according to Siglin.

The group has been raising funds for gift bags, toys and mittens, refreshments and other expenses associated with Santa's appearance.

Children and parents wait outside the Onley Train Station to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus during the Onley stop of the annual Santa Train.

Individuals and businesses throughout Virginia's Eastern Shore have contributed to the cause.

"We've had Shore-wide support," Rakowski said.

The group announced earlier this month it had met its fundraising goal "and passed it a bit."

Onley Train Station then and now

This will be the 26th year Santa visits Eastern Shore children through the railroad-related tradition.

The 1885 Onley train station, which was the freight station, is the only station on the old New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad line that has never been moved from its original location. The station was in use until the 1960s and in its heyday saw tons of local produce and seafood loaded onto railcars bound for city markets in the North.

In 2009, the town of Onley signed a 25-year, $25 lease for the building with Cassett, the railroad management group, and the organizational meeting for the Society for the Preservation of the Onley Train Station was held at the Onley firehouse.

Since then, members of SPOTS work at the station every Saturday morning, typically from 9 to noon, when they are pleased to show visitors the model trains.

Santa and Mrs. Santa and elves visited with children at the Onley Train Station in Onley, Virginia in December 2017. They will be visiting there again on Dec. 1, 2018.

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