Valley Railroad Mikado No 3025 pulls a North Pole Express northbound through Chester, Connecticut on a cold December night.

Valley Railroad Mikado No 3025 pulls a Santa Special back to Essex, Connecticut as they pass over the Old Deep River Road crossing in the Centerbrook section of Essex.

Valley Railroad veteran Mikado No 40 works the south end of Essex yard at the end of the second to last day of the 2013 season. 40 and her distant cousin No 3025 spent the evening hauling four so... (more)

New Haven J-1A Mikado. The Valley Railroad's J-1A Mikado #3025 takes a holiday Santa Special across the little trestle spanning the Falls River in Centerbrook, Connecticut, just a few hundr... (more)

Checkin' the oil. Valley Railroad locomotive crew members perform a quick check of the lubrication system on the trailing truck of New Haven 3025 during a brief break between their daylight... (more)

Deep River Landing. The Valley Railroad's logo refers to the operation as "The Connecticut Valley Line", and the right-of-way does indeed follow the shoreline of the Connecticut River. Des... (more)

Leaving for the pole in 6 minutes!. A few last-minute arrivals hustle down the platform to their assigned cars, but most of the passengers are already in their seats for the 5:35 PM departu... (more)

Embraced by the Dark - A Valley Railroad North Pole Express pulls into the "North Pole" to pick up Santa and his elves after a fresh snowfall blanketed the area.

Crossing chilly Deep River Creek. Valley Railroad Engineer Ken Blandina takes New Haven 3025 and 8 heavyweight coaches north across the Deep River Creek bridge on a late afternoon Santa Spe... (more)

The trains don't stop here anymore. One of the Valley Railroad's sold-out Santa Specials high-balls past the tiny Chester Station en route to the North Pole, with veteran Engineer Bruce Edg... (more)

Valley Railroad locomotive 40 leads the second North Pole Express train of the night through the north end of Essex, bound for the "North Pole" with a train load of happy families.

The last North Pole Express for the night heads north through Chester, CT with a trainload of families visiting with Santa and his elves.

The first night of North Pole Express trains out of Essex, Connecticut on the Valley Railroad began with four runs to the "North Pole". Here the second run passes through the Centerbrook section ... (more)

While the Valley RR is famous for their steam power, the popular dinner trains are typically hauled by one of two slightly less glamorous GE switchers, which actually predate the Chinese-built ste... (more)

The Valley Railroads recreated New Haven 2-8-2 departs Essex with the final train of the day.