CARBONDALE - With each blow of the whistle, the anticipation grew.
Children waved and parents snapped photos as Santa arrived by train on Saturday morning, the first of six stops as the train traveled through the valley.
In its 15th year, the "Christmas in a Small Town" celebration, also known as the Santa Train, is a project of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area.
With a train provided by the Steamtown National Historic Site, the annual event began 15 years ago with three stops. On Saturday, the train stopped at stations in Carbondale, Archbald, Jessup, Olyphant, Dickson City and Scranton. Next year, a stop in Mayfield will be added.
"The popularity of this train is incredible," said Dominic Keating, a member of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley board of directors. "It's one of the nicest railroading events of the year."
Bernie O'Brien, who started working for the railroad in 1948 and is a Steamtown volunteer, was the engineer for this year's Santa Train.
As Santa climbed off the locomotive, posed for photos and listened to the wishes of at least 100 children, musicians played and juggler Rob Smith entertained.
Six-year-old Evan Brown asked Santa how he got presents down the chimney if there was a fire in the fireplace. Santa told him he found another way to get inside.
Four-year-old Josh Trichilo got to ring Santa's bell, but he was equally impressed to meet Champ, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders mascot, who posed for photos, too.
At each stop, communities planned some of their own activities. After posing for photos, Santa boarded a Carbondale firetruck, and a few minutes later, arrived with Rudolph at City Hall. Children enjoyed crafts, hot chocolate and Christmas carols.
Taylor Bambrick, 8, said meeting Santa was "awesome." Wearing a bright red nose, she matched Rudolph.
This was the first time Taylor and her mother, Natalie Bambrick, came to see the Santa Train. The family moved from Wayne County to Carbondale earlier this year.
"It's pretty cool for the kids. I'm kind of liking it, too," Ms. Bambrick said. "It's nice to have something for the kids to enjoy."
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com, @hofiushallTT on Twitter