Information to Seeing the CSX Santa Practice in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee

November 14, 2023

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Seeing a blue and yellow CSX locomotive hauling freight alongside the railroads by way of Appalachia is nothing uncommon. However on the Saturday earlier than Thanksgiving, the long-lasting locomotive pulls one thing totally different – a string of passenger vehicles, 15 tons of items, and Santa Claus. It’s the annual CSX Santa Practice, a convention relationship again a long time.

My household’s Christmas custom with the Santa Practice began with an accident in 1988. My brother, sister, and I have been crammed into the household automotive on our technique to see household in Huge Stone Hole. Whereas driving by way of St. Paul, my mother seen a throng of onlookers gathered close to the railroad observe in the midst of city.

My dad stopped the automotive and walked towards the tracks to search out out what was occurring. A second later, he returned and shouted, “All people get out. The Santa Practice is coming!”

Twenty-six years later, I returned to St. Paul to expertise the CSX Santa Practice once more. I couldn’t assist the goosebumps that crept alongside my arms and backbone when the acquainted locomotive trudged across the curve. The prepare stopped, and ‘ole Saint Nick stepped onto the lined platform on the final automotive.

The CSX Santa Practice is one thing everybody should expertise a minimum of as soon as. This journey information is the whole lot that you must learn about seeing the prepare because it travels by way of the small cities in Appalachia from Shelby, Kentucky, to Kingsport, Tennessee.

CSX Santa Practice Map

Learn how to use this map: Click on the icon within the top-left nook to open the Map Legend, then click on on any of the legend objects to show extra info. In case you have a Google account, click on the (very faint) star on the finish of the map’s identify to avoid wasting this map to your account, then entry the map out of your smartphone throughout your journey.

Historical past of the CSX Santa Practice

Most coal miners’ households lived in poverty and spent most of their hard-earned revenue on the naked requirements. Christmas was a luxurious few may afford. So, in 1943, a service provider’s affiliation in Kingsport devised a technique to have fun the gift-giving season.

The affiliation collected toys, clothes, and meals from firms and residents. A couple of tons have been collected in the course of the first run in 1943 – almost 15 tons have been loaded onto the prepare in 2023.

The Clinchfield Railroad’s fundamental line linked Elkhorn Metropolis, Kentucky, to Kingsport, Tennessee. The inaugural “Santa Claus Particular” traveled the primary line in 1943. By 1986, the railroad was operated by CSX after a number of mergers introduced dozens of railroads collectively. Since then, the CSX Santa Practice has continued the custom.

2023 CSX Santa Practice Schedule

The 2023 CSX Santa Practice runs on Saturday, November 18, 2023, starting on the Shelby Yards close to Pikeville, Kentucky, and touring by way of Virginia to Centennial Park in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Right here is the entire schedule of stops the Santa Practice makes all through its run:

6:00 a.m. at Shelbiana, KY
6:20 a.m. at Marrowbone, KY
7:05 a.m. at Elkhorn Metropolis, KY
7:45 a.m. at Toms Backside, VA
8:07 a.m. at Haysi, VA
8:40 a.m. at Clinchco, VA
9:08 a.m. at Fremont, VA
10:08 a.m. at Dante, VA
10:53 a.m. at St. Paul, VA
12:03 p.m. at Dungannon, VA
12:48 p.m. at Ft. Blackmore, VA
1:48 p.m. at Kermit, VA
2:20 p.m. at Waycross, VA
3:00 p.m. at Kingsport, TN

Shelbiana, KY

The CSX Santa Practice’s first cease is the Shelby Yard within the unincorporated Shelbiana, Kentucky. The yard is a few fifteen-minute drive from Pikeville alongside U.S. Freeway 23. Parking is scattered however plentiful.

St. Paul, VA

St. Paul is the most effective place to see the CSX Santa Practice after Kingsport. In case you arrive early, round 10 a.m., you could discover straightforward parking alongside Riverside Drive adjoining to the railroad tracks. In case you arrive later, you’ll discover loads of parking all through the small city, however use Clever Avenue for straightforward entry.

It takes about 40 minutes to drive to St. Paul from Abingdon alongside U.S. Freeway 58 Alternate.

Dungannon, VA

Dungannon just isn’t a straightforward city to go to, however it’s a part of a two-hour loop from Norton that features a few different stops. It takes about 30-40 minutes to drive to Dungannon alongside U.S. Freeway 58 Alternate and Dungannon Highway.

The CSX Santa Practice stops close to a pointy bend within the highway close to the center of the unincorporated city. One of the best place to park is close by Dungannon Elementary College – it’s a few five-minute stroll from there. Curiously, you may stand on a bridge the place Sinking Creek Freeway crosses the railroad and watch the Santa Practice move beneath.

Fort Blackmore, VA

Fort Blackmore is likely one of the best locations to see the CSX Santa Practice but additionally some of the troublesome locations for parking. The freeway crosses the railroad and Clinch River. Park anyplace alongside the highway’s shoulder at both finish of the bridge and stroll alongside Islandview Circle to the purpose the place the Santa Practice stops.

There’s loads of room for folks on the cease, and it’s a safer place from the primary freeway.

Copper Creek Viaduct in Duffield, VA

One of the best view of the CSX Santa Practice is from an overgrown scenic overlook alongside U.S. Freeway 23 in Duffield. After the prepare passes by way of a tunnel, it crosses the spectacular Copper Creek Viaduct. Inbuilt 1908, the trestle is 167 ft above the Clinch River and spans 1,091 ft.

Whereas crossing the historic trestle, Santa often seems for keen onlookers on the scenic overlook.

Kingsport, TN

The one cease the CSX Santa Practice makes in Tennessee can also be the ultimate cease. It’s the most effective place to see the Santa Practice on its journey from Kentucky. There’s loads of free parking all through downtown Kingsport and loads of room in Centennial Park to benefit from the prepare.

CSX Santa Practice in Kingsport, TN

The festivities in Kingsport begin lengthy earlier than the CSX Santa Practice arrives. Santa’s Depot opens at 1 p.m. in Centennial Park, a small public park close to Residents Financial institution within the former prepare depot. Vacation actions embrace writing letters to Santa and crafts. Get pleasure from sizzling chocolate, cookies, and festive music whereas ready for Santa’s arrival.

The CSX Santa Practice arrives in Kingsport at 3 p.m. Upon arrival, an unbelievably chipper Santa Claus exits the prepare and visits everybody on the park.

After I was a child, Santa would exit the prepare and hop onto the final float of the Kingsport Christmas Parade. That modified a number of years in the past. Now, the parade is held on the primary Saturday in December.

Ideas for Seeing the CSX Santa Practice

It’s straightforward to get wrapped up within the festive spirit and overlook that the CSX Santa Practice is a giant piece of equipment trudging alongside railroad tracks. CSX staff and native police spare no effort to make it a secure expertise. However you continue to must look earlier than you cross!

Listed here are a number of tricks to benefit from seeing the CSX Santa Practice:

Plan to reach an hour earlier than the prepare to discover a good parking spot
Park your automobile so that each one 4 tires are off the paved highway
Don’t block any driveways when parking
Look fastidiously earlier than crossing roads – don’t assume site visitors will cease simply since you step into the highway
Watch out when crossing over railroad tracks
Hearken to the directions from CSX staff when the prepare arrives and departs
By no means stand in entrance of the locomotive, even when it’s parked
It’s extra essential to be secure than to take a selfie
Youngsters sitting in your shoulders have the most effective likelihood of catching toys