Stewartstown's Santa Train Runs on Track Volunteers Are Still Rebuilding

The Stewartstown Railroad owns 7.4 miles of track to New Freedom. Why does the Candy Cane Express use only part of it?

The big passenger train runs only where the track meets the standard the railroad calls Class 1, and the rest of the line is still being rebuilt. Volunteers do that work a few dozen crossties at a time, and the holiday trains help pay for it.

The Weekend Before Santa Is a Work Weekend

The first Candy Cane Express leaves 21 W. Pennsylvania Avenue on Saturday, November 28. Two weeks before that, on Friday through Sunday, November 13 to 15, the Friends of the Stewartstown Railroad hold a work weekend starting at 9 a.m. In its October 28 notice, the group calls it "our last major opportunity to get the railroad into the best possible shape for the busy Fall Foliage and Christmas train season."

The plan is two days of tie replacement and one day of spreading ballast, tamping and raising low spots on the Class 1 track. The notice says the track is "in very good condition overall." The crew is going after places where two or three ties in a row have failed, with extra attention at rail joints and on curves "where the big train operates."

The goal for the weekend is 64 ties, which is four bundles. Hitting it would push the year's total past 340 ties. If the crew can install another 64 in December, the Friends say 2026 would end with more than 400 ties replaced, "a record for this century." The December work depends on the weather. While trains are running, the crew works west of the red board, the signal that marks the end of the line the trains are using.

Why the Big Train Stops Short

Local farmers and industrialists built the railroad. It was chartered in September 1884 and opened a year later to connect with the Northern Central at New Freedom, so passengers could reach the main line and local produce could ship to Baltimore. In a 2024 Trains magazine profile, the line is described as never realigned or straightened. It has corkscrew curves, runs alongside roads, passes through front and back yards, goes under Interstate 83, and has grades as steep as 2.86%. Railroad president Dave Williamson told the magazine, "You have to watch your braking, going uphill or downhill."

Here is how the railroad ended up rebuilding its own line:

1. 1972. Flooding from Tropical Storm Agnes wrecked the former Northern Central, the railroad's only main-line connection, and that ended freight service.
2. 2004. The last Easter Bunny train ran. A derailment showed that the track needed major rehabilitation, and the railroad didn't have the labor or money to do it.
3. 2006 to 2008. The Friends formed as a nonprofit and began restoration work with the railroad's permission.
4. 2013. Stockholders and supporters paid off a $352,415 debt claim that had threatened to end the line through abandonment.
5. 2015 and 2016. Excursions came back, and Coach 1341 went into service the next year.

A full-size passenger train needs ties that can carry its weight on every curve and joint. A maintenance motorcar weighs much less. The railroad's November 8 motorcar excursion was listed as a three-hour round trip covering the full 7.4 miles to New Freedom and back, riding in open-air speeders like the ones track crews use. Every seat sold. The Friends' first-half 2026 newsletter treats the two kinds of track as separate jobs. It says the crew has spent a lot of time on the Class 1 section but still has to "keep the line in good shape for motorcar rides, work trains, and weed spraying."

How Far the Rebuild Has Come

In August 2024, Trains reported that passenger trains ran about a mile and a half, to an 1870 iron bridge. That bridge is the Valley Road bridge. It was built in 1870 for the Northern Central and moved to its current site in 1885. A National Park Service survey lists it among the earliest surviving U.S. bridges made almost entirely of wrought iron. The bridge had no trains on it from 2004 until June 2019. It reopened after a Friends fundraiser raised more than $10,000 for 25 replacement bridge timbers.

Late in 2024, the Friends newsletter reported that Class 1 track had "left the woods and reached Five Forks Rd." That let trains run past the picnic grove for the first time since 2005. The first-half 2026 newsletter says ties are now going in past Five Forks Road toward Bridge 5, "where we hope to reach this year."

Some trouble spots remain. The October work weekend focused on track between mileposts 2 and 3, just west of the I-83 bridge. The Friends' October 4 notice said "loose rails and sinking track need urgent attention" there. In September and October, the crew put in about 200 new track bolts.

Where the Fares Go

The railroad is still a for-profit company with about 80 shareholders, according to Trains. Some of those shareholders trace family ownership back to 1884. The nonprofit Friends provide the volunteers. In the October notice, the Friends describe how the arrangement pays for track work. New ties "should last about 40 years," and "strong railroad earnings and stock purchases have helped make these investments possible." The group was also waiting on a shipment of 224 Grade 1 relay ties, which it called "very hard to find all summer." The November notice says 2026 was the railroad's largest year of tie purchases in 20 years.

Holiday excursions are the railroad's main revenue season. So a Candy Cane Express fare helps pay for ties that will carry trains for decades, on track the big train hasn't reached yet.

The 2026 Holiday Schedule

Here are the holiday trains as listed in the Stewartstown Borough fourth-quarter newsletter and on the railroad's event pages:

On the Candy Cane Express, Santa visits every family on board. You can take your own photos at no extra charge, and every child gets a treat. The listed times are departure times, and the railroad asks riders to arrive 30 minutes early. The evening trains include a reading of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." The Friends present the Grinch Storybook Limited, which includes a reading of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Tickets went on sale October 1, and the borough newsletter says the holiday rides "sell out fast." When this went to press, the listings showed seats still available, but check the railroad's event page before you plan around a specific departure. You can also call (717) 746-4998. Hot chocolate and cookies are served in the Gift Shop during every holiday ride. The railroad is also collecting non-perishable food for a local food pantry in Stewartstown, so bring a can or two if you can.

The Coaches Under the Wreaths

The decorated coaches are part of the rebuild too. The first-half 2026 newsletter says most cold-weather rides use two former Reading coaches, 1341 and 1158, and that locomotives No. 9 and No. 10 are working well after winter maintenance. No. 9, nicknamed "Mighty Mo," is a 1943 Plymouth that the railroad bought secondhand in 1960.

Coach 1158 was built in January 1925 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company and carried commuters until July 1965. It is fully restored. In spring 2025 it rode at the back of the first official two-coach train on the line since 2004. Coach 1341 went into service in 2016 while its restoration was still underway, and it is still being worked on today. It needs welding and paint on the roof and sides, replacement windows, and new vestibule and platform doors built from scratch. The Friends are raising $15,000 for that work through GLY365, part of Give Local York. As of the first-half 2026 newsletter, they had raised about $2,000.

The next locomotive in line is former Ma & Pa No. 84, an EMD SW9 switcher. The Friends' projects page now lists its return to service for 2027.

Other Stewartstown Dates on the Same Calendar

The borough newsletter lists a few more holiday events close to the train schedule:

• December 5, 6 p.m.: Mason Dixon Library, 250 Bailey Drive, has tentatively scheduled its annual Christmas Tree Lighting for the same hour as the first evening Candy Cane Express.
• December 17, 7 to 9 a.m.: The Stewartstown Senior Center, 26 S. Main Street, holds a community breakfast, with a goodwill offering in place of a set price.
• December 19 and 20, 10 a.m.: Eureka Volunteer Fire & Ambulance brings Santa through the borough on Saturday and through the township on Sunday.

The Friends welcome volunteers for one day or the whole weekend of November 13 to 15, starting at 9 a.m.

The Stewartstown Railroad runs through front yards, back yards and farm fields in Hopewell Township. A rail line next to a property raises practical questions about access, easements and how the land can be used, and those questions usually come up when the property changes hands. Frank's background in construction and site work means he can walk a property along the line with you and help you sort out which questions to bring to a surveyor or attorney. If you own land near the tracks and want to talk it through, Messina Group is glad to help. Let's Connect.