By Railfan & Railroad Staff
For the sixteenth holiday season in a row, Operation Toy Train will roll along the rails to collect toy donations for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and other local civic organizations that benefit underprivileged children. This year’s schedule includes new trains in southern California and the New York capitol region, adding to existing operations in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
Between November 9 and December 15 , Operation Toy Train aims to collect over 35,000 donated toys in 48 cities and towns across five states. To achieve this, collection trains will operate over 250 miles on ten different railroads that generously donate their railcars, personnel, and time to operate the trains. The full 2024 train schedule is available at www.OperationToyTrain.org/schedule. Participating railroads and museums include the Danbury Railway Museum; Naugatuck Railroad; Saratoga, Corinth & Hudson Railway; Woodstown Central; Allentown & Auburn; Dover & Delaware River; Sierra Northern; Delaware & Raritan River; Dover & Rockaway River; New York, Susquehanna & Western; and Middletown & New Jersey.
Members of the public are encouraged to visit the train at any of its stops to donate new toys in their original packaging. Attendees at each stop can also participate in on-site activities sponsored by the towns and local businesses, meet Santa Claus, view a variety of historic railroad equipment, and meet members of the Operation Toy Train program.
For those who can’t make it to one of the train’s stops, local businesses and organizational partners near each stop have collection boxes where they can collect toy donations in advance and deliver them to the train. All of the donated toys are loaded aboard the train and delivered to the local Marine Toys for Tots Foundation campaign or another local civic organization, where the toys are redistributed as holiday gifts to underprivileged and less-fortunate children in the same communities where the collection campaign is conducted.