FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad offered two special train rides to families of Fort Riley Dec. 8 featuring restored Amtrak passenger cars. Nearly 700 Soldiers with their families took part in the free event. It began and ended at Riley's Conference Center with a bus ride to the train station in Topeka, Kansas.
Once there, the families lined up and waited for the conductor to call out "All aboard." Then they found the perfect seat for the ride.
Christmas music filed the cars as passengers nestled in for the 90-minute ride from Topeka to Scranton, Kansas, where it stopped so the crew could change to the second engine on the back end of the train.
"It's a real good chance (to be together)," said Sgt. Dexter Jennings, 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. (We've) been working late hours getting ready to leave, so it's a good time to get in some family time before we take off."
Santa and Mrs. Claus, accompanied by one of his elves, moved from family to family pausing to talk to every child and posing for a photo. Prior to each photo, Santa presented everyone at the table with a token of appreciation, a BNSF Holiday Express ornament.
"It's really nice," said Brittney Majeroni, wife of Sgt. Brent Majeroni, 101st Brigade Support Battalion, 1st ABCT, 1st Inf. Div. "It's unexpected, but it's nice to be able to get out and do things as a family."
The two were with their children Marley, 8, and Riley, 5.
After the final ride of the day, BNSF president and chief executive officer, Carl Ice, spoke to the crowd which included state dignitaries, the deputy Kansas Adjunctive General -- Brig. Gen. Anthony Mohatt, Col. Stephen Shrader, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Riley commander, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and representatives of Kansas State University.
"On behalf of more than 40,000 BNSF employees 3,000 in Kansas -- welcome to the Holiday Express," Ice said. "We've been doing this for over 11 years and we've had more than 20,000 military families ride with us. We had two rides today and will have one tomorrow morning for the Reserves. We are thrilled that you were able to join us. This is our way of saying thank you for what you do for all of us. We greatly, greatly appreciate it. We believe that our military people deserve our respect and appreciation -- we hope you feel that through the rides like today."
Ice, presented two checks to military affiliated organizations -- $5,000 to the Kansas National Guard Foundation and $10,000 to K-State's Military and Veteran's Affairs office.
Retired Lt. Col Art DeGroat, founder and executive director of the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Military and Veterans Affairs Innovation Center at Kansas State University, received the check on behalf of K-State.
"Thank you very much," he said. "As Gen. (Richard) Myers (president of Kansas State University and a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), said our office is privileged to do a lot of work helping Fort Riley families. This gift is going to be used with the USO Fort Riley Pathfinder program. (It) helps about 3,000 Soldiers and their families' transition to civilian life in the workplace every year. We are pleased to offer some supplementary workshops. We are going to use this money to help the workshops."
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