CP Rail's Holiday Train brought Christmas music and some support for the Salvation Army's Food Bank, when it rolled into Estevan on December 17.

Hundreds of people turned out to greet the brightly-decorated Holiday Train at CP Rail's grounds south of Seventh Street. They were greeted by entertainment from Tracey Brown and the Claytones. The musicians sang several songs, including such popular Christmas tunes as “Joy to the World,” “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

Their performance came on a stage that emerged from a rail car.

CP Rail made a $2,000 donation to the food bank during the Holiday Train's visit.

“This money will go a long ways to serving the nutritional needs of the nearly 250 people who use the Estevan Salvation Army Food Bank on a regular basis,” said Salvation Army Lieutenant Brian Bobolo.

Many of the spectators brought donations for the food bank as well.

The Holiday Train featured a well-decorated engine and a number of rail cars. The engine had lights and a wreath at the front. The first four rail cars had “Canadian Pacific Holiday Train” spelled out in Christmas lights. The next few had lights that were used to form decorations.

There were also a few passenger cars, which allowed people to enjoy the experience of riding the Holiday Train.

The train that visited Estevan spent most of its time in the mid-west U.S. It crossed the Canada/U.S. border at North Portal earlier in the day on the 17th. Then it made the short trek to Estevan.

Estevan was the 69th stop for the Holiday Train, according to the entertainers.

Once the visit to Estevan was finished, the train continued on to Weyburn, which was its final show for the year. It wrapped up its extensive journey at CP's rail yard in Moose Jaw.

The Holiday Train's visit came just days after it was recognized with the Prime Minister's Volunteer Award for its effort to raise funds and awareness for food banks.