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CP Holiday Train visit to Brookfield, Wis. on December 9, 2005
by Joe Russ
It was cold. The train was late. But that didn't seem to dampen the spirits of a couple hundred people who came to Fox Brook Park in Brookfield to
greet the CP's Holiday Train on December 9, 2005. When I pulled into the parking lot at 9:40 p.m. and handed over my food pantry donation, I was told the train
was an hour late - it was scheduled for a 9:45 p.m. arrival.
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The 13-car train did a little better than an hour late, arriving a bit after 10:30 p.m. |
| Aside from the 12 degree temperatures, it was also very windy as is evident from the Canadian flag atop the cab. Also notice the Christmas tree on the cab is now yellow. It changed colors, as you can see from the other photos. |  |
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Willy Porter of Milwaukee, an acoustic guitarist and singer/songwriter who appears at both blues and folk festivals, performed during the stop. |
| Aside from Willy Porter, the show also featured Celtic-pop recording artists, the Ennis Sisters (their third Holiday Train): Maureen, Karen and Teresa, from St. John, Newfoundland and Canadian Country singer Tracey Brown (part of the tour since 1999). The musicans and singers tried to get the crowd to sing "Silent Night" but everyone seemed too cold to sing. |  |
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Four passenger cars brought up the rear of the train. |
| After the performance, and after a westbound stack train that had been waiting behind the train across Barker Rd. on the east bound main had passed, the Holiday Train backed up towards Milwaukee to prepare for its stop on Watertown on December 10. Thus it would be passing through Brookfield again the following day. |  |
| Part of enjoying the event in cold weather is dressing for it. Being a former snowmobiler, I pulled out the gear, including the helmet (wind doesn't go through it). Who cares about fashion when it's cold and windy. |  |
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All text and photos by Joe Russ. Copyright © 2005 by Joe Russ