The annual West Coast Express Santa Trains were back this year.
This marked the 21st year in a row for the popular fundraising event.
West Coast Express (WCE) riders were asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy donation (worth about the same as a WCE return pass). In exchange, riders received a return ticket for the day.
The toys are collected on behalf of the Christmas bureaus throughout the communities that the WCE serves.
This includes the Mission Christmas Bureau, the SHARE society in Tri-Cities, and the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Christmas Hamper Society.
Here are the totals collected – on Dec. 10 and 17 – from the two Santa Train events.
Mission:
• Dec. 10 – 505 toys and $35 collected
• Dec. 17 – 1,119 toys and $130 collected
Maple Ridge:
• Dec. 10 – 150 toys and $170 collected
• Dec. 17 – 315 toys and $359 collected
Tri-Cities:
• Dec. 10 – 139 toys and $80 collected
• Dec. 17 – 296 toys and $249 collected
In all, 2,524 toys and $1,023 were collected for the three worthy causes. The total ridership during the two days was 5,069 – 1,509 on Dec. 10 and 3,560 on Dec. 17.