KCS Holiday Express Train Coming to Beaumont

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Beaumont, TEXAS– Kansas City Southern (KCS) will celebrate its 15th annual Holiday Express as the train stops at the KCS Yard located at 4095 South Martin Luther King Parkway in Beaumont Saturday from 4 p.m.till 9 p.m.

During the stop, visitors can board the train, visit with Santa and his elves and tour the inside of three cars of the festive six-car train. The event is free and open to the public.

In addition to free, public events, KCS’ Holiday Express has a charitable component. Over 15 years, the project has raised well over $1 million to purchase gift cards, which are donated to The Salvation Army at each scheduled stop. These gift cards are used to purchase warm clothing and other necessities for children in the local community.

The 2015 KCS Holiday Express theme is Darby Bear. In recent years, one of the toys in the free gift bags for kids has been a small teddy bear in the colors of a KCS locomotive. This year’s bear is called “Darby”, a nickname given to Kilpatrick by his family. The bear is yellow, his favorite color.

The KCS Holiday Express was built on the tradition of the Santa Train, which ran on a segment of the network bought by KCS in 1997. In 2000, a group of warm-hearted KCS employees noticed that the Santa Train was the only Christmas some kids had, and that some kids did not even have essential items like coats, hats and gloves, so they committed to elevating the project.

 

The 2015 Holiday Express is in memory of a special member of the KCS Holiday Express family, Willis F. Kilpatrick, who passed away in June. Kilpatrick was among the founders of the KCS Holiday Express in 2001 and was its head elf through 2012, retiring in early 2013. It was his leadership, inspiration and tremendous heart that made the train and the charitable initiative the wonderful experience that communities enjoy today. It is with gratitude for his contributions that we honor his memory. The theme this year is Darby Bear. In recent years, one of the toys in the free gift bags for kids has been a small teddy bear in the colors of a KCS locomotive. This year’s bear is called “Darby”, a nickname given to Kilpatrick by his family. The bear is yellow, his favorite color.

 

 

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