In addition to lighting up the locomotive and providing entertainment, the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train has a charitable purpose: collecting food for local people.
The Holiday Train will roll into Scranton and the Steamtown National Historic Site on Wednesday for the 5:45 p.m. event, a bit earlier than years past, as the train makes its way to communities served by Canadian Pacific.
The event is free, but attendees are asked to bring a nonperishable food item or a cash donation to support a food bank through Canadian Pacific's local partner, United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Food and money raised remains in the local community, said Ed Greenberg, spokesman for Canadian Pacific. On the East Coast, the needs are more acute because of the impact of Superstorm Sandy. The company has agreed to match local donations with a donation to Feeding America.
"The hurricane was a horrific event that impacted our employees, customers and suppliers," Mr. Greenberg said. "We felt we had to contribute to the rebuilding."
Attendance at the event has grown, said Mark Brennan, Steamtown spokesman. Recently, the park received a call from a family in Connecticut planning to visit the Electric City to see the train.
"This has become a growing holiday tradition in Scranton and beyond," Mr. Brennan said. "It is spectacular to see a 14-car train lit up like a Christmas tree."
The train visiting Scranton is one of two. The other makes its way across Canada. They spread the holiday spirit and collect food for more than 150 communities. In 13 years, the event has raised $6.4 million and nearly 2.6 million pounds of food for community pantries in both countries.
Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com