Many children spend their nights dreaming about magical lands and far away places. Every December, a child’s preferred travel destination is the North Pole, and at Union Depot Station in St. Paul, that’s just what they’ll find.

The Milwaukee Road #261 is a steam locomotive that was constructed in 1944 and bought in 2010 by the Friends of 261 Inc. for $225,000. The Friends of 261, Inc. (a volunteer-run organization) was founded in 1991 and in 1997 was added to the Railroad Heritage of Midwest America (RHMA), along with other groups from neighboring states.

The RHMA owns a fleet of passenger cars and two engines that it houses in its shop in Northeast Minneapolis. At this shop, cars are painted the “Milwaukee Road” maroon with orange highlights and are refurbished to reflect their original style in a 21st century way.

“The primary goal of the Friends of 261 is to educate the public about railroad safety and the history and future growth of railroads in America,” President of Friends of 261 Steve Sandberg said. “It’s important people attend these events to keep history alive. We notice that in society you don’t know how far you’ve come until you can look back at where you’ve been, so preserving history is a big part in educating people about the past and the advancements we’ve made.”

The group has also partnered with Amtrak many times to use tracks and hold weekend excursions to places like Chicago and Virginia, and they plan on continuing to do so.

Every year in the first two weeks of December, the Friends of 261, in partnership with Amtrak, put on a show at Union Depot Station in St. Paul. The North Pole Express consists of multiple trips back and forth to the “North Pole”, which is set up about a mile outside of Union Depot. The trips run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and a ticket costs roughly 30 dollars for adults and 20 dollars for a child. All proceeds from tickets go to restoring train cars and keeping everything in working order.

 The trip consists of children writing letters to Santa Claus while on the train ride to the North Pole, Santa then boards and on the way back picks up the letters from the children, and the train promptly returns for the kids to deboard. Finally, Santa returns to the North Pole, and the trip starts again with a new batch of kids. 

“I’ve been Santa Claus for eight years now, and the joy that I get from the children keeps me coming back year after year,” volunteer Santa Claus Todd Henshaw said.

Throughout the trip and around the station, volunteers help to make sure everyone stays safe and away from the edge of the platform, keeping kids from getting cinders in their eyes and maintaining order in the crowd. 

Whether you enjoy time outside in the snow, indoors sipping hot cocoa or taking the train to visit Santa, it seems like everyone can find a way to enjoy the holiday season, and make the most out of a well-deserved winter break.