Santa Train 2018 - Carson City

One really fun thing we did at Christmas time in 2018 was to take our kids to ride the Santa Train at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. We had so much fun, and the kids are already asking if we'll go back next year.

The Santa Train was a fun, low-cost way to have a pretty unique Christmas experience. To ride the train, you purchase your tickets inside the Wabuska Depot and then find the line to wait for your turn. The train ran every 1/2 hour this year, so if you missed the train you had to stand outside in the cold for a while. 

When it was our turn the conductor signaled for everyone to climb aboard and passengers were directed to one of two enclosed rail cars. The car we found ourselves in was really quite beautiful inside, and even had a wood burning stove to make it nice and cozy.

We settled in and had just barely gotten moving when Santa came waking through our train car. He passed out candy canes to every passenger, and exchanged brief pleasantries as he moved down the aisle. We happened to be sitting at the back of the car, so we got a moment or two longer than most of the other passengers to talk to Santa, but even so only one of our three kids had time to tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

Once the train had completed one lap of the track around the museum, it stopped near the depot just long enough for Santa to move to the next car and then we made one more loop. Because of the age of the cars we were asked not to eat the candy canes until we had disembarked, so the kids were pretty anxious to finish the ride and get out of there to eat their candy. Oh well.

 Once we returned to the station every passenger had a very brief chance to snap a picture with Santa on the platform, then he had to hurry away for the next train ride. I was disappointed with how rushed the whole experience felt, but otherwise we had a good time.

Essential Details:
The Santa Train at the Nevada State Railroad Museum
2180 S Carson St, Carson City, NV 89701
Website
***Dress warmly!