CPKC Holiday Train returns to Hamilton’s Gage Park

The Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Holiday Train returned to the rails at Hamilton’s Gage Park on Thursday night for holiday fun in support of a local food bank.

The festive classic — complete with bright lights and music — kicked off at the south side of the park, along Lawrence Road, at 8 p.m.

The 1,000-foot-long train has 14 decorated railcars this year. California’s Smash Mouth and Kitchener’s JJ Wilde were the musical entertainment for this leg of the journey.

Tim Hortons staff handed out complimentary coffee and hot chocolate and Hamilton Food Share collected food and donations. Non-perishable food items such as tuna, beans, rice, pasta, cereal and baby food were suggested. Monetary donations were accepted via TipTap card readers.

The free, family-friendly event ran until 8:40 p.m.

CPKC is the first and only single-line rail network connecting a continent — Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Since 1999, its Holiday Train has raised more than $26 million and collected approximately 5.4 million pounds of food for community food banks in Canada and the United States.

The train’s journey started in the U.S. on Nov. 19 and will run until Dec. 21.

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