Polar Express

Tickets are selling fast but there are still some left on Nevada Northern Railway's award-winning Polar Express in Ely. This magical ride, licensed by Warner Bros., follows both the book and movie; and features a vintage diesel locomotive pulling heated passenger train cars to the North Pole.

Including Friday, there are there are 13 remaining Polar Express rides through Dec. 28; except Dec. 24 and 25 when the railroad is closed. Polar Express holiday trains in Carson City have been sold out for several weeks.

Thanks to big hearts and the spirit of giving, the fourth annual Cookies with Santa, a benefit for Ron Wood Family Resource Center’s holiday fund, takes place Dec. 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Café at Adele’s.

Children of all ages are invited to enjoy hot cider, hot chocolate and cookies, visit with and have their picture taken with Santa, while helping provide Christmas for children in need.

It’s a proven hot ticket to catch a ride from Carson City to the North Pole. For the third year, The Polar Express train aboard the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad has sold out. More than 16,000 passengers secured tickets on the Christmas season-flavored, children's story-inspired holiday passenger train.

Even with the addition of 18 more trains representing 6,500 seats over last year’s 10,000-plus capacity, a 66 percent increase, the train’s popularity continues to grow, V&T officials note.

With the holiday season just weeks away, THE POLAR EXPRESS train is cannonballing down the fast track, with nearly all tickets aboard the historic Virginia and Truckee Railroad sold out.

V&T Railway's Candy Duncan is this week's guest on It's Your City. Candy discusses the train from Carson City to Virginia City that has hosted more than 10,000 rides this season. She also discusses the popular Polar Express trains set to fire up during the holiday season. Candy is joined by a special guest from the North Pole. For tickets go to www.vtrailway.com.

Enjoy a wondrous evening under the stars with our friends from Great Basin National Park as they host the Star Train at Nevada Northern Railway, Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.

There will be a trivia contest on board with prizes for those with their thinking caps on. Passengers will be let off the train in order to gaze through telescopes at the night sky, guided by the Dark Rangers of Great Basin National Park. This is a great train ride that the whole family can enjoy.

Returning with more rides and seat options for its third season after two consecutive years of sold-out tours, tickets to the Carson City Polar Express aboard the historic Virginia and Truckee Railroad are on sale now for the 2013 holiday season.

With just 30 trains in the U.S. that travel to the North Pole, the Polar Express aboard the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad has captured the hearts, minds and imaginations of children, their parents and grandparents making the train tour into a holiday tradition for Carson City area families.

Nevada residents receive 25 percent off a round trip train fare on the historic V&T Railroad in August. The discount is good for adult, child and senior/veteran fares for the Sunday 10 a.m. steam engine departures. (Twenty-five percent discount with online ticket purchases by using the code: NEVADA).

On track with summer vacation, the historic V&T Railroad now offers adventure-seeking children 12 and under the chance to climb aboard and ride a diesel train for free every Friday through summer.

History fills every rivet, trestle, whistle blow and clatter of the tracks. On Memorial Day Weekend passengers can take a journey more than 150 years old and join the ghosts of miners, gamblers, persons of ill-repute and politicians on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad.

The Pony Express Territory is pleased to announce that Victor Galbraith of Auburn, Calif. has won and accepted a free overnight stay in Ely and four tickets to experience the magic of Nevada’s original Polar Express train. When notified that he was the contest winner, Galbraith said, “My wife and I are excited to be bringing our Grandkids with us. They are going to have a blast!"

Get into the Spirit of Christmas by attending the third annual Cookies with Santa benefit event for the Ron Wood Family Resource Center Saturday, Dec. 15 at Café at Adele’s in Carson City. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., families are invited to dine on cookies, cocoa and cider and meet with Santa, while providing for children in need in the community.

The 2012 Polar Express train aboard the historic V&T Railway in Carson City has sold all of its tickets, officials said. The all-ages train ride is set for 15 different dates, Nov. 23 through Dec. 23. The V&T officially sold all 10,794 of its tickets as of Thursday, said Candy Duncan, executive director of the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“All Aboard!” for your chance to win four tickets for your family (or friends) on the Polar Express Tuesday, Nov. 20. Enter by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16.

Weeks away, the 2012 Polar Express train is on the fast track Carson City countdown, with 80 percent of the coach class and nearly 99 percent of the VIP Parlor Car tickets sold. This time last year, 39 percent of tickets had been purchased.

After 21 years serving as executive director of the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, Executive Director Candy Duncan has announced her retirement.
She will officially retire on Jan. 1, she told the board in a letter. During her tenure, Duncan oversaw the transformation of Carson City as a travel destination, changing the tourism paradigm by highlighting the area's rich history and modern amenities as attractive attributes to luring visitors to the capital city.

Pre-sale tickets for the popular 2012 Polar Express™ train aboard the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad are now available. Be sure to purchase your tickets now to this officially licensed event, as last year's 7,500 Polar Express sold out before the inaugural ride.

Aspiring young actors have two audition opportunities in Carson City and one in South Lake Tahoe beginning this weekend.

Back by popular demand, the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad will pour out and dish up its popular Toast of the Canyon wine and appetizer round-trip train rides from Carson City to the canyon on Saturdays through September 1.

Carson City is getting a big present this upcoming holiday season with the return of The Polar Express™ train that will roll through the frosty Northern Nevada landscape on 15 different dates throughout November and December.

For the second year, the Virginia & Truckee Railroad is one of the officially licensed Polar Express Train Ride events nationwide this holiday season. This historic 100-year train, complete with decorated passenger cars and Christmas music, leaves the Carson City Eastgate Depot and travels nearly two miles before staging at Santa's mythical North Pole retreat.

WILD HORSE CHILDREN’S THEATER ANNOUNCES AUDITIONS FOR

Disney’s “THE LITTLE MERMAID JR.”

Prior to the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau board voting last Monday to continue running the V&T Railway for an additional three years, Project Coordinator Kevin Ray said this:

The good news is that the V&T Railway is expected to make a profit of $164,132 on their popular Polar Express event for the coming year.

The bad news is the railway's main runs between Eastgate Siding and Virginia City is projected to lose $108,192, even with an expected $67,250 in donations.

The resulting $56,000 in projected profit is almost enough to pay for the $60,000 shortfall in the previous season's sales tax revenue that pays for the bonds that helped rebuild the historic railway. That is a shortfall that is expected to continue and grow larger.

For the lucky 7,500 people who scored tickets on the V&T Railway's Polar Express this year, you are in for a fantastic treat. My wife Tracy and I took our daughter Mira last night, and everyone had a great time.

Six weeks after tickets went on sale, The Polar Express™ has officially sold out, according to the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau.
More than 7,500 riders will board the magical holiday train on the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, the only officially licensed Polar Express event in the region this holiday season.

The folks over at Virginia and Truckee Railroad (the V&T) and the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau are giving away a pair of tickets for the Polar Express train that will run on Saturday, Nov 26, at 8:30 p.m. If you're on Facebook, hit the "like" button and write what you would name Santa's 10th reindeer. A winner will be picked on Thursday, Nov. 17 at noon.

Local schools are celebrating Veterans Day this week. Yesterday, students at Seeliger Elementary talked to Sgt. Brent Peden via Skype from Afghanistan. Peden's daughter Makayla is a second-grader at the school. Today, Carson High School will have a Veterans Day ceremony in Senator Square at 10:30 a.m.

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The Mallory Foundation has given $200,000 this month to Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center to construct a triage lobby and remodel treatment areas in the hospital's emergency department. According to CTRMC, the money is “appreciated now more than ever” due to treatment provided to uninsured patients.

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Tickets for the V&T Polar Express are nearly sold out, so get yours now.

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A local foster mother is organizing a boot and shoe drive for American Indian youths and foster children. Donations can be dropped off at Rupert's Auto Body, 2800 S. Curry St., or at Stewart Head Start, 429 De Lah E Deh.

More than 4,168 seats have already been sold for rides on the Polar Express.The V&T Railroad will begin the program the day after Thanksgiving and continue through Dec. 18 with three rides each Fri...

The enchanting appeal of The Polar Express™ has spread to Carson City and has families planning ahead for the holiday season. After merely three weeks, 3,000, or 40 percent of Virginia & Truckee Railroad’s Polar Express™ tickets have been sold, with 4,500 tickets remaining.

The Virginia & Truckee Railroad is one of a handful of officially licensed Polar Express Train Ride events nationwide this holiday season, Nov. 25 - Dec. 18.

Pajama-clad passengers will board trains bound for the North Pole at more than 30 railroads nationwide this holiday season, and Northern Nevada families will be part of the fun."'The Polar Expre...