The train approaching Brechin…
Is the POLAR EXPRESS!
And finishing touches are being put to what volunteers at one of Angus’s best tourist attractions say will be their most spectacular event ever.
In October, the Caledonian Railway revealed it had landed the official Warner Bros. family experience inspired by the hit animation starring Tom Hanks.
The Polar Express ride is already a global hit.
It carried more than 1.4 million passengers at 54 locations across the US, Canada and the UK in 2019.
But is has never pulled up to the platform in Scotland.
And it proved an almost instant sell-out for the volunteer-run Angus railway.
The first families will step aboard on Saturday.
And over the next three weekends, more than 3,500 people will have their golden ticket punched for the journey on the old branch line between Brechin and Bridge of Dun, near Montrose.
Passengers return after 15-month shutdown
The Caley Railway re-opened in August after a pandemic shutdown.
Chairman Jon Gill said the Polar Express has really caught the imagination.
He said: “I think we sold 80% of the tickets within two days.
“And the rest went very quickly after that.
“It’s bringing folk from as far as Orkney and Cambridge as well as the central belt, Inverness and Ayrshire.
“We hope that’ll be good for the town in terms of accommodation and footfall for other Brechin businesses.”
Jon added: “It’s a very different event to our normal Santa Specials.
“We’ve 15 or 20 actors and it has so much more going on around it.
“It really is theatre on wheels.”
He added: “It has been a really significant commitment and the timescales have been quite challenging.
“The situation around the pandemic hasn’t made it any easier.
“But at least the railway and the line escaped pretty much unscathed from Storm Arwen.”
Volunteers boost and community support
Jon added: “We’ll have around 60-70 people supporting the event.
“And that includes a number of new volunteers at the railway which is a good thing for us.
“Hydrus in Brechin have also given us a massive amount of help in the preparations.
“And we are lucky to have Brechin Rugby Club and Brechin Boxing Club helping us with the marshalling and parking.”
The railway has also been loaned Stonehaven Town Partnership’s road train to run around town, although it may not be in operation this weekend.
“We’ve had a lot of support from Warner Bros. and Rail Events Productions.
“I think it’s genuinely going to be a fantastic event,” Jon said.
And despite every seat being booked, he says the spectacle will still be worth seeing for fans of the festive film who haven’t got a train ticket.
“In the darkness especially, the Polar Express will look fantastic, with the carriages lit inside and out.
“We’ve also got a community market set up to try and give people something else, and hopefully encourage them to support some of the local businesses.
“There’s been a lot of excitement about the Polar Express coming to Brechin and we can’t wait for people to enjoy the experience.”