Santa Train Through the Appalachians Not on Track for 2020

Some friends of mine took the Santa Train excursion through the Appalachian Mountains last Christmas and swore it would become a new family tradition.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that particular holiday plan will have to take a pause in 2020.

Instead, the nearly 80-year-old tradition will be "reimagined," according to TRN.Trains.com.

Normally, the CSX Santa Train's route takes it through the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Tennessee, and Western Virginia with Santa delivering gifts at each of its stops. And this always happens the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Seriously, how cool does that sound?

Well, this year, it's going to happen sort of in reverse. It's like that old joke about parades...park the floats, bands, and other entries and let the crowd walk by.

The holiday locomotive will park at various locations along the route and gifts will be distributed via a drive-through process.

Kudos to the event's organizers for maintaining, albeit in an alternate fashion, a tradition that's been around since 1943.