The Polar Express is set to carry 10,000 excited passengers on a magical Angus journey this Christmas.
And Caledonian Railway bosses say the return of the festive treat to Brechin is just the ticket.
In 2021, the volunteer-run Angus attraction became the first railway in Scotland to host the experience.
It was a runaway success, with around 3,500 golden tickets sold for the magical journey based around the 2004 Warner Bros. animation starring Tom Hanks.
This year it is running over five weekends and already fast approaching a sell-out.
Phenomenal response
Caley Railway chairman Jon Gill says it’s a massive undertaking for the team but one they are relishing.
“It was a real coup for us last year to get the Polar Express and we learned a huge amount in putting it on,” he said.
“It was a conscious decision on our part to keep numbers at around 3,500 with Covid still around and it being the first year.
“But we’ll more than double the numbers this year and the response has been really phenomenal.
“As soon as the tickets were announced the demand went crazy. I’d say there are only about 25% remaining.”
The services start on November 19/20 and then run on Nov 26/27, December 3/4 and 10/11.
And as youngsters’ excitement builds to fever pitch, the last trains will operate on December 17/18.
Tickets are available at www.ticketsource.co.uk/polar-express-train-brechin
Spectacular festive experience
Jon added: “It’s much more than a train ride, it’s a theatrical experience as those who enjoyed it last year found out.
“There’s a lot of build up to the event on the platform and then on the train itself before it sets off.
“We’ve got more actors this year and they are the key part so we really expect to have a lot of excited children at Brechin.”
And it’s not just youngsters who want to immerse themselves in the magic of Christmas.
“Last year there were a couple of pensioners whose grandchildren didn’t want to come along so they just came anyway and absolutely loved it.
“Another thing which went down really well is that we’re pretty much the only railway in the UK that deals with allergies for our passengers.
“Everyone gets the same experience, so it means kids who may have an allergy don’t miss out on their Christmas cookie.
“There were mums in tears seeing their children being able fully take part rather than having to sit out part of it.”
Prices pegged
“It costs us a little more, but we think it’s definitely worth it and we’ve held prices to try and keep things as they were given the situation families are facing just now.”
Jon added: “It’s a great event and to see the excitement amongst the kids is absolutely brilliant.
“It’s been a really good season.
“We still only ran seven of the normal 15 weekends that we would usually do, but the number of travellers was up about 20/30% so it means we had around 10,000.
“But over the five weekends of the Polar Express we’ll double that figure for the year so it’s going to be an amazing end to 2022.”
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