Allison Tibaldi, USA Today
"If taking a Christmas train ride isn't one of your family's holiday traditions, it should be. The best holiday train experiences across the U.S. brim with nostalgia and yuletide cheer, and because most rides last only a couple of hours, they’re ideally suited to young merrymakers with short attention spans.
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3. East Broad Top Railroad
Constructed in 1872, East Broad Top Railroad is America’s oldest-operating narrow gauge railroad, situated in what was once the heart of Pennsylvania's coal country. Each holiday season the Christmas in Coal Country experience evokes the region’s mining history on a one-hour Christmas train ride (in cozy cars heated by authentic coal stoves) that meanders through the hills, farms, and forests where miners and their families once lived. Snacks and a gift from Santa are icing on the cake."