Metrolink is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Holiday Toy Express in 2006 with a bigger train, more decorations and a new show with this year's train lit by 50,000 lights. They were collecting toys for the California Firefighters' "Spark of Love" toy drive. This unique train travels to most of the Metrolink stations in Southern California, so join me as I saw it on the second night of its 2006 tour.
I met fellow Orange County Railway Historical Society member Cliff Prather at the Santa Ana station parking lot and we were soon waiting on the platform for Metrolink Train 658. After about ten minutes, we heard a horn and a minute later saw a headlight coming. Was this our train? No! It was the Metrolink Holiday Toy Train on its way to Tustin for the first show of the night.
About four minutes later, Metrolink Train 658 arrived to take us to Tustin and since it was a free Weekend Metrolink Service Day at Santa Ana, I had picked up free tickets for us this morning. We boarded for the six minute trip to Tustin but had to wait at CP Aliso for Metrolink Train 860 to pass before we crossed over to the north track to reach Tustin. Once our train depared Tustin, the Metrolink Holiday Toy Train was exposed.
This unique holiday train from the end of the platform.
The decorations on the nose of F59PH 865.
Lights on the side of 865.
The lights on the Metrolink coach.
The lights on the stage car; this year's show had a pirate theme.
The lights and displays on flat car Herzog 1502.
The lights on the Metrolink caboose.
The lit part of the train.
The end of the train with F40PH 800. Since I had taken the pictures from the rear of the train, I decided to walk through the tunnel to the parking lot side of the station to watch a little of the show.
A good sized crowd was on hand this evening.
Scenes from the show.
More of the crowd, after which I returned to the north platform.
Pacific Surfliner 785 blasted through Tustin at track speed.
The Metrolink Holiday Toy Train was now ready to depart and all the inflatable items had been deflated and the gear was ready for the next shows, which would be at San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Irvine. Cliff and I talked for a while before Metrolink 659 picked us up to return us to Santa Ana, ending a short but interesting evening trip.
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