Photo: Thomas S. England/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Nov 01, 1988

In 1943, a small group of businessmen wanted to do something special for their neighbors in Southwest Virginia to thank them for their patronage. Flem Dobyns of Dobyns-Taylor Hardware Store and Bill Waddell of the Kingsport Times-News originated the idea of the Santa Special. They talked with officials of the Clinchfield Railroad, CSXT predecessor, whose tracks extended from Spartanburg, S. C., to Elkhorn City, Ky. The railroad officials were glad to cooperate with the Kingsport group.

Kingsport, with all its industries, was an important point on the Clinchfield route. The 277-mile Clinchfield line was completed in 1915 to link up with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway at Elkhorn City, Ky. This line was taken over Jan. 1, 1983, by Seaboard System Railroad, which was a unit of CSX Corporation. Although Clinchfield lost its identity when it became a part of the Corbin and Florence Divisions of Seaboard in March 1984, the continuation of the Santa Claus Special served as an on-going tribute to the people who started it.

CSX Transportation donates personnel, equipment, and track time to support this tradition. Staffs are stationed at scheduled stops for safety control and CSXT also provides the buses that transport volunteers to and from the motel in Pikeville during the trip. Each year, the equipment is sent from Jacksonville, Fl., for the trek. For the 50th running of the Santa Train in 1992, CSXT arranged for the "Challenger”, the world's largest operating steam locomotive, to power the trek through the mountains. Hall of Fame sports broadcaster Joe Garagiola was a passenger on the train that year and broadcast the Santa Train on NBC television Christmas morning.

The Santa Claus Special was made possible through the hard work and commitment of many people, including Joe Higgins, John Dudney, who helped distribute Santa's Special posters in the communities along the tracks two weeks prior to the run; A. B. Coleman, the first president of the Merchants Bureau (the forerunner to the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce); Raymond Gaylon who worked at Oakwood Market (a local grocery store) and others gathered the items to be thrown from the train and helped John Dudney distribute the posters; and E. B. “Jitney” Blankenbecler of Franklin Press, who mixed hard candy in a box car during the train trip, often until his fingers were raw.

Logistics for successfully distributing the 15 tons of goodies, toys, and gifts allows some 36 volunteers from Kingsport to go each year along with railroad staff. On the Wednesday before the train departs, volunteers gather in front of Food City in Kingsport to mix all the donated items into bins for distribution from the train.

Though the Kingsport Chamber and industry people may change from year to year, there has always been the presence of Santa.  Joe Higgins (1943 - 1950), John Dudney (1950 - 1983), Frank Brogden (1984 - 2002) and Don Royston (2000 – present) have all been important to the Santa Train. They each have very special interest stories of their trips on the Santa Special.

For the late John Dudney, his biggest reward for 38 years was looking into the faces of children along the railroad and seeing the wonder in their eyes as he said over the sound system, "Merry Christmas girls and boys, ole Santa sees you.” He also had some touching stories to tell about the train as well as humorous tales of the many experiences as the star attraction on the train.

The train filled with excited volunteers, guests and media leaves Kingsport tracks on Friday, heading for Pikeville, Ky., to be in position for the southbound run the following day. Leaving Pikeville early Saturday morning, the Santa Train makes 13 scheduled stops and travels through 29 towns in Kentucky and Southwest Virginia distributing gifts and goodwill along the 110-mile route. The train arrives back home just in time for Kingsport's annual Christmas parade.

On the first trip, money from the Merchants Bureau Fund provided the hard wrapped candy that was thrown from the train. In subsequent years, gifts were solicited by Raymond Galyon. Ed Moore of Food City continues that tradition today. At different times, candy; notebook pads specially made by Mead (now Willamette Industries); hand-made dolls by "the doll lady”, Lois Mee; clothes; pretzels; stuffed animals; small toys; three-ringed binders and pencils from Eastman; and basketballs have made the trip. The Kingsport Chamber now receives toys, clothes, and gifts from individuals, businesses, and organizations across the country. The Kingsport Chamber only takes new toys and clothes on the train.

After the late Charles Kuralt's CBS "On the Road" coverage and a New York Times front-page article, the money and gifts started pouring in from all over the country. As a result, $10,000 in contributions was received and most contributors still give each year. Since that time, the train has received more than $100,000 in donations. After these stories were made public, gifts and candy never had to be purchased again with Chamber funds.

One gift that lasts a lifetime for students who live in the vicinity of the tracks is the Santa Train Scholarship Fund. Established in 1989, the Scholarship Fund grew out of cash contributions placed in the Chamber Foundation Funds. Based on financial need, citizenship, academic achievement and recommendations by teachers and guidance counselors, this four-year, $5,000 scholarship is awarded to at least one student each year.

The Santa Train is a time-honored tradition for many in the region. Former mayor E. B. “Jitney” Blankenbecler only missed the first one because he was serving in WWII, but he rode from 1944-1995. During his life he told about the first Santa Trains. He told us how the Santa Train was part of the regularly scheduled passenger trains trips until they were discontinued in 1955. Charlotte Nickels, a nonagenarian retired school teacher from Dungannon, Va., has not missed seeing the train since it began in 1943. For Nickels and many others, the train is a family tradition.

Many lives have been touched by the Santa Train through the years. Whether a member of the media writing a story about the train, a volunteer on the assembly line packaging the gifts and candy or an impatient child waiting along the tracks, there is one simple fact about the Santa Train, it began in 1943 has left a legacy for the citizens of Kingsport, Tenn.

Santa said it best: "It is the spirit of giving, loving and caring that comes from giving to others, especially to the children. After all, each of us wants to believe."

Media Coverage

This unique and popular event always receives global media attention. Major news agencies from across the world that have featured the train include the national networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) and their numerous affiliates across the country, CNN, CNN Headline News, TNN, CMT, the Hallmark Channel, and several national television news centers in Europe and Asia.

In addition, popular news magazines and entertainment periodicals such as People Magazine, Family Circle Magazine, Country Music Magazine, County Weekly, Country America, Good Housekeeping, Southern Living, among many others and worldwide newspapers such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Miami Herald, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Boston Sun, Dallas Morning News, Knoxville News-Sentinel, Little Rock Democrat, Louisville Courier, Nashville Banner, The Tennessean, Herald Tribune in London, International Herald Tribune in Zurich and Hong Kong, the Associated Press and thousands of its affiliates, and dailies in Europe and Asia have showcased the Santa Train. The NBC Today Show has also covered the train.

Videos that have been created to tell the story of the Santa Train are “The Family Special, ‘Aboard the Santa Train - The 110-Mile Trek,’” made in 1991, “‘On the Road’ with Charles Kuralt” from CBS in 1983 and “The Santa Train – If These Rails Could Talk,” produced by Charter Media in 2002.

Celebrities

Celebrities who have ridden the train include Allison Krauss, Naomi Judd, Patty Loveless, Travis Tritt, Kree Harrison, Kathy Mattea and Rebecca Lynn Howard, several governors, U. S senators and representatives, and other local, state and federal officials.