Eastern Railroad Discussion > NS Port Road Crew gets a Visit from Santa Claus!

With sirens and red lights flashing the Mount Wolf, PA Eagle Fire Company, with every piece of fire apparatus they have, parades Santa Claus through our neighborhood on a special trailer every year about this time. After going through our development to all of the children's delight last night the parade proceeded down to Riverview Road, a road that runs right next to the tracks of the Norfolk Southern Port Road Branch for about a mile (see the photo below) to get to the next community of Saginaw where the parade would continue. I was on my back porch viewing the passage of a loaded Eastbound crude oil train when I noticed he was backing off on the throttle when typically a heavy train like this puts on a little extra steam to make the run-up to the Shock's Mill Bridge. I guess he saw the spectacle of all the red lights further down Riverview Road and thought there must be a fire emergency of some kind. After the train's engines were further down the road out of sight I heard a toot-toot on their air horn followed by a rendition of "shave-and-a hair-cut-two-bits" on their air horn. The crew must have been saluting Santa Claus on his trailer as he passed by the train! I am sure that made their night on a otherwise typical run down the Port Road Branch! Too bad they couldn't have stopped to greet Santa because if they did they would have gotten a candy cane! Merry Christmas everyone! Tom

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