North Pole Express — Boothbay Railway Village

The Boothbay Railway Village Museum in Boothbay, Maine, runs the North Pole Express on weekends leading up to Christmas. The operator describes starting the trip inside the museum's historic 1912 Freeport Station by writing a letter to Santa near the wood stove, then boarding the train to the "North Pole".

Passengers sit in the classic passenger car or in the open-air "Little Red Caboose" No. 551, built in 1904. The train carries riders through the Village to the North Pole at Thorndike Station, where Santa jumps aboard to greet them, and each child receives a special keepsake.

Back at the station, the operator lists a hot cocoa bar, arts and crafts and sweet treats in the Town Hall building, a s'mores kit and a fire pit, and a scavenger hunt around the village, with the museum's lower campus exhibits open for exploring weather permitting.

A train ride through the museum village to the "North Pole" where Santa boards, with a keepsake for each child, after writing a letter to Santa in the station. Afterwards there is a hot cocoa bar and crafts in the Town Hall, s'mores at the fire pit and a scavenger hunt, weather permitting. The grounds and activities are open from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm on event days.

The museum is at 586 Wiscasset Road (Route 27), Boothbay, Maine, and the trip starts in the 1912 Freeport Station. Trains run every 45 minutes. Tickets must be bought in advance and are sold online only. The operator says guests must show up on time, preferably at least 15 minutes before departure, that all trains sell out, and that a guest who misses a train forfeits the ticket, with a place on a later train offered only as standby if seats are free. Car seats and strollers are not permitted on the trains. The operator reserves the right to run either steam or diesel. Wheelchairs can be accommodated on the open car only, and the museum asks for advance notice by email. Refunds can only be considered 14 days or more before the event date.