CPKC's 2024 Holiday Train Arriving in Ottumwa, IA 11/27/24

CPKC's annual Holiday Trains started touring North America in late November, 2024, logging thousands of miles across the majority of their network. The trains, decked out from front to rear in incredible animated Christmas lights, feature free entertainment at certain stops along the way, while the railroad gathers donations for local food banks to help families in need during the holidays. This was the 2nd year the train has operated since the CPKC merger, and continues the Holiday Train tradition started in 1999 by predecessor Canadian Pacific.

Per usual, two trains cover the majority of the CPKC network north of Mexico, with one train primarily serving Canada, and the other visiting US cities (CPKC also continues to operate its separate "Holiday Express" in the southern US, originally a Kansas City Southern train). The US train made its way through Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois before arriving in Iowa on November 27th. After making performance stops in Clinton, Davenport, and Muscatine, the train continued south towards Ottumwa for the night. Traffic on CPKC's Ottumwa Subdivision delayed the train significantly while making its Muscatine stop, departing almost 45 minutes behind its intended schedule. This would make its arrival into Ottumwa much later than anticipated. Regardless, its after-dark arrival guaranteed seeing this train at night all lit up, which is, of course, what I always want to see. A little after 10:30 PM, I ventured out to Ottumwa to wait for the train to pull into town.

Train traffic in Ottumwa was also significant during this time. I arrived at my viewpoint of choice, CPKC's Gateway Drive crossing on the west edge of Ottumwa, after the tracks drop down Rutledge Hill and cross over BNSF's Ottumwa Subdivision that runs east-west here. BNSF had two trains lined up to cross before any CPKC traffic could, starting with a westbound empty coal train, and then a full eastbound coal train immediately afterwards. By then a northbound CPKC freight left the yard, sand train 655, that would run up the hill and meet the Holiday Train at Rutledge. Once pulling into the siding there, the Holiday Train got the green light to come down the hill to the Ottumwa yard. Myself and a few other railfans were at various positions waiting for the train at Gateway Drive, and it finally arrived about a quarter to midnight. Although it was a pretty cold night, it was worth it! The video begins with the train just reaching the bottom of Rutledge Hill as it whistles at the West Second Street crossing. Then the train curves around, crosses the BNSF double-track main, and then passes me at Gateway Drive. Behind me, the train would cross the Des Moines River before reaching the CPKC Ottumwa yards. On November 28th (Thanksgiving Day this year), the Holiday Train would make its official Ottumwa performance stop, before continuing towards Kansas City, and ultimately Shreveport, Louisiana in the following days, before turning around to head north again.

This was my forth time catching the Holiday Train passing through southeast Iowa. In 2023, I filmed the train crossing West Second Street in Ottumwa (the crossing shown at the beginning of this video), as shown here:
   • CPKC Holiday Train Arrival in Ottumwa...  

In 2022, I caught the train a little farther up the line in Washington, Iowa:
   • Canadian Pacific Holiday Train Nightt...  

And my first time seeing the Holiday Train is featured in my full-length special "CP of the Midwest: The Holiday Train and Other Trains of Winter", with the train dropping down Rutledge Hill in Ottumwa, and departing the next day:
   • Canadian Pacific of the Midwest: The ...  

If you want to see more CPKC action from the beginning of the merger, check out another full-length video I've produced, "Arrival of CPKC: Celebrating the Major Railroad Merger in the Midwest" by clicking here:
   • Arrival of CPKC: Celebrating the Majo...  

Thanks for watching! Be sure to subscribe for more railroad-related videos uploaded regularly, including more CPKC and other trains from southeast Iowa and beyond! @BobbyHarveyVideoProductions

Also follow my Facebook page:
  / bobbyharveyvideo  

Copyright © 2024 Bobby Harvey. All Rights Reserved.