A volunteer project, the Holiday Express operated by the Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCS) is a six-car train featuring a smiling tank car called Rudy, a flat car containing Santa and his sleigh, a ginger bread box car, the elves’ workshop, the reindeer stable, and a red caboose.
The Holiday Express premiered in 2001 after volunteers devoted over 8,000 hours to the transformation of a retired freight train.
Contributions of KCS employees, vendors and friends raised over $80,000 for the Holiday Express, a 25% increase over 2003.
In addition to the KCS, the Holiday Express project is supported by DST Systems, the Kansas City Southern Historical Society, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, Michael and Marlys Haverty, Mid-America Car, TransSystems and Wal-Mart Stores.
