Photos Courtesy Troy Rogers

Girls have their Barbie dolls.  Boys have their trains and fire trucks.

As boys become men, many retain their fascination of trains, whether that’s in going to view historic engines when they travel nearby or in collecting model trains, or both.  The attraction is not so much an “addiction” as it is an “affliction,” explains Troy Rogers of Winnfield who has a self-professed interest in both real and model trains.

“There are thousands of us across the U.S.” said Rogers.  “Most are men but there are some women as well.  This is especially big in the northeast, particularly in the Pennsylvania area.  This is something you learn as a kid then get into as an adult.”

In late November, he drove up to Arcadia to watch as the CPKC “Holiday Express” passed through on its way to Jackson, MS, for its first stop on its annual Christmas tour.  For those not conversant with trains, the familiar Kansas City Southern (KCS) merged with Canadian Pacific (CP) about a year ago to become CPKC Railroad.

“Each year, the KCS Holiday Express toured the country for a very successful food and fund drive to support food banks,” explained Rogers.  “After the merger, they created two separate routes.  Along the way, they have scheduled stops which they publicize.  At those stops, the public can tour the trains, see setups of model trains and more.  There’s Santa Claus and elves.  People bring their donations of food and money for food banks.  This brings a lots of each.”

He explained that the Arcadia experience was just a pass-through as the Holiday Express powered its way to Jackson.  Some Louisiana stops on the Christmas schedule included Monroe, LaPlace, Leesville and DeQuincy.

While waiting at the Arcadia Depot, Rogers visited with a group of mini rail fan and learned that they had traveled from as far as New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts to see the train.  “We’re here to watch this historical train pass through,” they told him.