LIRR Christmas

 
All Aboard Christmas - Pullman Ad - Archive: Ed Frye

LIRR 10 trip ticket Christmas poster   c.1970

Christmas Recollections of the LIRR

Gary Doster - December 1968  16 years old:  "I was born in Brooklyn and at the age of 2 my parents moved to Freeport.  I commuted on the LIRR during my high school years, I became friends with one of the Penn Station Station Masters.  I'm guessing it was around Christmas 68 while the M1s were being delivered the station master told told me that on the "F" end of the M1s there was a TDI style placard wishing the riders a joyous holiday season.  Well.... I saw one..... and asked of the crew if I could take it.....he said yes!   I held on tight to the placard along with my school books as I walked home from my station at Freeport. As I look back....the choice was simple between my books and the placard!   I don't think my parents would have approved of my decision!!"      

Bob Anderson - c. early 1960's  7 years old:  ".Brings back lots of memories. I went to sacred heart school in Bayside, and we helped decorate bayside station in the early sixties.  I remember another tradition was Christmas carolers at Bayside station every year.  It was like a scene out of "It's a Wonderful Life"; man I miss those days."

Pat Scopelliti  - c.1958  10 years old:  "I remember the Christmas nativity scene setup at Hall Tower, especially on a snowy evening with the flames from the turnout points softly glowing.  Can't see that anymore... and that's good?  I also remember the Christmas decoration contests between all the stations. Can't do that stuff anymore either, I imagine"

The Man Who Made the Trains Run: Harry Glueck

"...Dad hated the snow.  I can’t remember how many Christmas and post-Christmas storms he worked 72 hours straight, with little or no sleep, either in Jamaica or in Hicksville.  Some trackmen wouldn’t pick up the phone when they were needed, others were true “railroad men” who like my father, came out and slugged away in the cold, thawing switches, digging out drainage conduits, and doing what needed to be done.  Until the seventeenth year of his retirement, when he succumbed to lung cancer, he still hated snow, although in the end, he rode his own Kubota tractor to clear his one driveway, and there was some satisfaction in that..."  Author: Richard Glueck excerpted
 

Crossing Watchman George Basch protects the Greenpoint Avenue crossing in Blissville, LI City, NY on Christmas Day 1970, shortly before his retirement the following year. Shown here is one of the “newer” sheet metal crossing shanties that replaced a number of the older, wooden ones. Photo: Dave Keller

LIRR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

LIRailroader 12/26/1968 cover HALL Tower Archive: Dave Morrison

Special Services Director, Steve Anglin as Santa Claus Christmas Party
eastbound to Babylon  12/12/1965

Islip Station Christmas - View NW
12/1971 Photo/Archive: Dave Keller

Hicksville Station Christmas 1961

NASSAU Tower Santa c.12/1993+
Photo/Archive: James Donohue

Malverne Station Christmas 2003
View W, View N below

Inwood Station sign Christmas 2004

#521 Holiday Express in action 2017
Archive: J. Stroop

MTA Kicks Off Holiday Season with Festive Lights Trains
MTA Press Release, Nov 25, 2025

MTA Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad today announced that Holiday Lights Trains will welcome the season starting Friday, Nov. 28, and operating through New Year’s. The Holiday Lights Trains will be festooned with colorful exterior lights and special holiday-themed safety messages will play at selected stations.

“The holidays are a wonderful time of the year and the Long Island Rail Road is the most reliable, greenest and festive way to see family and friends during the holidays,” said LIRR President Rob Free. “It’s a fun thrill for kids, train enthusiasts, and adults alike to be able to board a train covered in colorful lights and spread holiday cheer throughout our territory.”

“The Holiday Lights Trains are a wonderful early gift to Metro-North riders and the best way for everyone to get to all the amazing holiday destinations in New York City, the Hudson Valley and Connecticut,” said Metro-North Railroad President Justin Vonashek. “Metro-North is creating lifetime memories for everyone who rides these festive trains or sees it roll through their town.

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