'Vintage' Ashley Country Christmas offers closeup views of historic train

Mike Ellis, Lansing State Journal
·4 min read

The population of Ashley, around 500 people, more than doubles every time the North Pole Express makes one of its more than a dozen stops in the village for the annual Country Christmas weekends.

2019 tickets to the North Pole Express are on sale now. The event is expected to sell out quickly.
2019 tickets to the North Pole Express are on sale now. The event is expected to sell out quickly.

The train, carrying about 700 passengers from the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso to the the small Gratiot County village, is one of the nation’s more desirable Christmas train rides, propelled by the Pere Marquette 1225 steam engine, which is the sound and visual model for the 2004 animated movie The Christmas Express, said June Unterbrink.

Unterbrink has worked with the Steam Railroading Institute and is a co-chair of the Ashley Village Country Christmas.

The Pere Marquette 1225 is sidelined this year for repairs to the wheels of the 1941 engine and a temporary diesel engine will be used.

Riders get off the train, with its own classic Christmas vibes, into what Unterbrink calls “vintage Christmas” with a classic village experience set in the 1940s and 1950s in downtown Ashley.

Two-year-old Oliver Crofoot is facinated by the steam produced by the Pere Marquette 1225 steam engine as it idles in the Village of Ashley Sunday, December 6, 2015.
Two-year-old Oliver Crofoot is facinated by the steam produced by the Pere Marquette 1225 steam engine as it idles in the Village of Ashley Sunday, December 6, 2015.

There are crafts and snacks and jugglers, and live music and barrels with fires in the middle of the streets for warming up.

It’s all about that traditional Christmas feel, Unterbrink said.

The village is hoping to get more walk-in and drive-in traffic to help support the village and the Christmas village, Unterbrink said.

Train tickets sold out in in about five hours this year, she said. Catering to drivers expands the market and allows more people to get the vintage Christmas experience, Unterbrink said.

The village held its first events Nov. 19-20, and future events are at 6 p.m. Nov. 25, and then 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 18. The trains arrive at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. and depart at 1:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Most gift shops are open from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. On Dec. 3, 10 and 17 musical entertainment will start at 4 p.m.

Adults who drive to Ashley and children over age 3 need $5 stickers to enter some activities/attractions that the train passengers can access, such as photos with Santa photos and games for kids. Stickers can be purchased at the information center in the Village Office.

The Pere Marquette is expected to be back on the rails this summer, in plenty of time for the 10th anniversary of the Country Christmas, Unterbrink said. The steam engine ran for about five years prior to moving to Ashley.

Here are five other Christmas train rides in Michigan to check out:

Canadian Pacific Holiday Train

The front of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train featured both an American and Canadian flag. The train travels throughout Canada and the U.S. from late November to mid-December.
The front of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train featured both an American and Canadian flag. The train travels throughout Canada and the U.S. from late November to mid-December.

The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train is returning after a pandemic break. It is not a passenger train but a decorated train that is on an eight state tour. The closest viewing to Lansing is in Detroit on Dec. 1.

Although there will not be an official program in Michigan, the holiday train will pass through several metro Detroit cities on the evening of Dec. 1: Melvindale, Allen Park, Taylor and Romulus — after a 6 p.m. event in Windsor, Ontario.

Canadian Pacific Holiday Train to pass through metro Detroit for first time in 3 years

The Windsor show is scheduled to finish at 6:30 p.m. and sometime after the show, the train will depart from Windsor and travel through Michigan for its next show in the Chicago suburbs, Cummings said.

Little River Railroad Holiday Express steam powered train

Hallie Ray and her dad Matthew came to look at Engine 110 before their trip on the Little River Railroad Holiday Express last year.
Hallie Ray and her dad Matthew came to look at Engine 110 before their trip on the Little River Railroad Holiday Express last year.

Southern Michigan Railroad Santa Express Train

Christmas at Crossroads Village

Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad, a facility of the Genesee County Parks & Recreation Commission, recalls Michigan life circa 1900.
Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad, a facility of the Genesee County Parks & Recreation Commission, recalls Michigan life circa 1900.

Coopersville Santa Train

Detroit Free Press reporter Noul Rahal contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: 'Vintage' Ashley Country Christmas offers closeup views of historic train