Approximately 150 CSX employees in Jacksonville wrapped and packaged thousands of toys, winter accessories and other gifts for delivery to Appalachian families during the 82’s operationi.e annual Santa Train.
On Nov. 23, the Santa Train will deliver approximately 15 tons of free gifts during a 13-stop, 110-mile journey through Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.
“The CSX Santa Train is a cherished and long-standing tradition and an important part of CSX history,” said President and CEO Joe Hinrichs. A “central” part of the Jacksonville-based company’s One CSX initiative to build a culture of collaboration, he said, is “strengthening the communities we serve.”
About 150 Jacksonville CSX employees participated in a “wrapping party” for the company’s 82nd annual CSX Santa Train, which delivers gifts to Appalachian families in Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.
The Santa Train is a partnership with Appalachian Power, Food City, Kingsport Chamber of Commerce and Soles4Souls.
The company’s recently unveiled 20th historic locomotive, Clinchfield No. 1902, will lead the train. Clinchfield Railroad was originally chartered to serve coal mining communities in eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia and eastern Tennessee and was the original home of the “Santa Claus Special” in 1943, according to CSX.
The Santa Train is the “culmination of literally twelve months of effort by CSX employees and community members coming together to bring some joy and cheer to so many people in Appalachia,” said Bryan Tucker, vice president of corporate communications.
Joe Hinrichs, right, president and CEO of CSX, and Bryan Tucker, vice president of corporate communications, stack boxes during the recent wrapping party for the Jacksonville-based company’s 82nd annual CSX Santa Train, which delivers gifts to families across the Appalachian region.
In Jacksonville, the employee “packing party” took place on Nov. 8 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, with Hinrichs and other CSX executives participating. The gifts were packed in backpacks and distributed along the Santa Train route.
At a southwest Virginia stop of the 2023 Santa Train, resident Patsy Phillips said the community “certainly appreciated the effort and time … to make this happen.”
“I’m 69 and I’m still excited,” she said in a company video. “This is a popular event.”
At a wrapping party for the CSX Santa Train in Jacksonville, employee Mario Zeni helps prepare gift-filled backpacks for the CSX Santa Train. Along the train’s 110-mile route, another bearded gentleman, Santa Claus, will help deliver the backpacks to families in the Appalachian Mountains.
The CSX Transportation network has approximately 20,000 kilometers of track in 26 states, the District of Columbia and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. According to the company, nearly two-thirds of Americans live within CSX’s service area.
bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109
This article originally appeared in the Florida Times-Union: CSX workers in Jacksonville wrap 15 tons of gifts for Santa Train
