Railroads are hard to kill… It took overbuilding and competition by Interstate Highway subsidized trucking to bring down the legends like the Milwaukee and Rock Island, and much of those railroads are still turning a profit under other names. The weakest railroads having been sliced and diced by the bankruptcy courts, the 21st century has seen no big railroad bankruptcies. But CPR was the third of four railroads the late Hunter Harrison trying to downsize to even higher profits and it shows… Here’s the 2014 edition with much more detailed decorations, including the rooftop Christmas tree that has disappeared. The Holiday train had even better power in previous years, with a new 6000 horsepower GE instead of the current 2000 horsepower rebuilt GP20.
Over these last few years there have been regular rumors that this years Holiday Train was the last… I was told the 10th anniversary train would be the last, and here’s the 20th, and the performances and CP workers dedication to the train are as good as ever. 
Bungling CEOs couldn’t kill Canadian Pacific, the only railroad I know of with an archivist on staff, Maintenance Of Way workers that still tend the track side grave of a co-worker that died building the railroad a century and a half ago, and will send a locomotive to do a whistle blowing slow roll by at the internment of a deceased child railfan.
But you can’t kill a great railroad… CP Holiday Train, highball!
GearheadGrrrl 