NARRATOR: Up in the Blue Mountains
a few miles west of Baker City
is one of Oregon's most famous mining towns.
MIKE: Sumpter was actually quite large
when gold was discovered.
And then once the gold gave out,
everything kind of the dwindled down to what we have now.
NARRATOR: The once busy streets
and massive mining dredge are now quiet.
But when winter sets in,
[train horn blaring]
this sleepy mountain town
transforms into something right out of a storybook.
Our Christmas train
and the city of Sumpter's Christmas celebration
is the second weekend in December every year.
You think about how many people
have had a train going around their Christmas tree at home.
This brings that toy train to life.
[steam hissing]
We have two steam locomotives
that we we like to use for it,
and that just drives that picture
everybody has in their head home.
NARRATOR: And it all comes courtesy
of a dedicated group of volunteers.
MIKE: So the Sumpter Valley Railroad
is a all volunteer organization.
We have about 360 members
and there's probably two dozen of us
that actually come up and work on the trains.
[bell ringing]
NARRATOR: These venerable machines
are an impressive sight,
but they can also be a bit cranky.
This is the number 19.
It was built in 1920
for the original Sumpter Valley Railroad.
And we had hoped to use it
for the Christmas trains this weekend,
and unfortunately, we fired it up yesterday
and discovered a couple leaky flus.
So, we're gonna have to do a full inspection of them
and then replace those.
NARRATOR: Fortunately, there's a backup.
This is our 50-ton General Electric locomotive.
These are quite rare.
There's only a few in the United States.
There's probably three or four.
This is actually more rare than a steam locomotive.
NARRATOR: So even though there's no steam this year,
there's no stopping the Christmas train.
[train horn blaring]
We decorate our locomotive with Christmas lights
and wreaths to make it really a Christmas train.
Good morning, how are you guys?
My name is Mike.
I am one of your two conductors today.
And if you have any questions, let me know.
Have fun!
Woo, hello. [laughing]
We have the crackling of the wood stoves
to keep everybody warm that want to be warm.
We have an open car for everybody
that want to be outside in the weather.
Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.
MIKE: We also have Santa Claus
making appearances throughout the weekend.
[laughing]
Yes, Merry Christmas.
MIKE: We want everybody to feel the Christmas spirit
and just relax.
But the snow keeps coming off the top,
so it messes up our deck.
Among the volunteers definitely not relaxing
is Depot Manager Kim Svaty.
Hi, guys.
We're really getting Christmassy up here.
There's cookies and hot chocolate in there.
Go ahead and make yourself at home, guys.
The depots are my main things
and I think they call me the den mother.
So the 800 cookie,
800 and what, 50 cookies that I got here.
Then the hot chocolate
and making sure that everybody's happy.
Another thing I do is all of our merchandising,
ticketing and calling,
cleaning decks, cleaning toilets.
It's nonstop, but it's rewarding.
GUEST: There you go, there you go.
Oh, that was a cute one I got for you
of him looking at Santa.
That's your card and just give me a second here
and I'll get you a copy.
Did you guys do good on the train?
Yeah. All right.
You know, it's so refreshing
when they come up to the counter,
and the kids are excited,
and their little faces out the smudge in the window.
And I don't know if I've ever heard anybody complain
about the Christmas train.
It's just a happy spot.
[child vocalizing] Last call,
leaving track number one!
All aboard!
[train horn blaring] [train chugging]
You didn't see a reindeer?
Aw, maybe later.
'Cause you never know, watch out the windows.
Give me five.
There you go!
I do this for the fun of it and I've always loved trains.
I still have a train set at home.
All right, so we are gonna come into the Sumpter Depot here
in just a couple minutes.
Ah.
Oh, look, who's that?
Who's that?
Merry Christmas! Ho ho ho ho!
So this car was restored two years ago.
It's a childhood dream to run a steam locomotive
and I get to do that now as an adult.
[train horn blaring]
NARRATOR: Up in the cab, Engineer Dan Roberts
will give you a slightly different perspective.
There's locomotives you swear by and you swear at,
and this one, I presently swear at.
[steam hissing]
You always have to keep an eye on it
and figure out how to make things work.
[steam hissing]
I just happen to be one of the few people
who knows how to argue with it and will usually win.
[train horn blaring]
NARRATOR: It's Justin Shopland's first year on the train
and he's already a qualified brakeman.
DAN: Brakeman's on.
The job of a brakeman ensures
that all the brakes on the train are functioning properly,
giving hand signals, throwing switches,
tying up air hoses,
just making sure that everything on the train
is in safe working order.
We try to keep things as historical as possible.
Hand signals were the first forms of communication
on the railroad,
so any time we're in the engineer's view,
it's always hand signals.
[train horn blaring]
It's gonna be a few years down the road,
but I would like to become an engineer
and just come out here on the weekends and play with steam.
Okay.
[people chattering] [people singing]
♪ Laughing all the way, ha ha ha ♪
♪ Bells on bobtails ring ♪
♪ Making spirits bright ♪
♪ What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight ♪
♪ Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells ♪
♪ Jingle all the way ♪
♪ Oh, what fun it is to ride ♪
♪ In a one horse open sleigh, hey ♪
[bell ringing]
Wait 'til the train stops! Santa's coming.
He's coming with candy canes!
He's giving out candy canes!
There you go, a Christmas bell.
All right.
Merry Christmas!
We want to make an experience for young and old.
We want everybody to feel welcome
and just bring that picture
everybody has in their head to life.
Thank you, sir. Yep.
Who did you guys get to see?
Santa!
KIM: There's something about a train
that just kind of does something,
especially this time of year.
It gets you in the spirit and everybody's happy,
and the world is a little crazy right now,
and it's nice.
[bell ringing]