NewsRegionWayne County

Actions

Metro Detroiters prepare for arrival of Canadian Pacific Holiday Train

Posted at 10:18 PM, Nov 28, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-28 23:24:30-05

If you want to catch the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train, the General Manager at Thunder Bowl Lanes in Allen Park tells 7 Action News, their parking lot is one of the best vantage points to see it.

It’s expected to come through around 9:00 on Thursday, Nov. 30.  The train must go through customs at the Canadian border, which means the exact time is always different.

"There's really no way of knowing exactly when it will come through because it needs to come through customs,” said Vicki Ingham, the GM of Thunder Bowl Lanes. 

She said they’ve watched the holiday train phenomenon take off over the last couple of years. This year is expected to be the biggest yet.

"A couple of years a go, just people stopping by if there was time to see it, they would be here when it was coming by, then last year there were thousands of people that came, this Thursday they're planning on probably 10,000 to 15,000 people will be in this area to take a look at the train,” said Ingham.

Thunder Bowl Lanes is already preparing. They will be closed for regular business, plus, they will be collecting non-perishable food items in the parking lot.

"It's going to be pay to park in our parking lot on Thursday night, it is $10 but we are donating a portion of that to the food drive,” said Ingham.

She expects people to start lining up as early as 3:00 in the afternoon. 

People who live near the tracks, like Gianni Moccia, tell 7 Action News they’ve also watched the event grow each year. 

Moccia said he believes social media is helping spread the buzz, plus the train is a lot of fun.

"My son loves it, he can't wait to go down and see it, we will stand out there in the freezing cold if we have to as long as it takes, he loves it, all the kids love it,” said Moccia.

And of course, there is a lot of speculation about who might be on the train, making a list and checking it twice.

"It could be Santa on there, we don't know, they're usually moving at a pretty good speed, Santa could be on that train, checking on everybody,” said Moccia.

The train is expected to arrive in the Allen Park area around 9:00 p.m. on Nov. 30. It could be delayed, sometimes even for hours.

If you want to monitor the train's progress,  you can head to the Facebook page or the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train website.