Santa left his elves in charge at the North Pole this week and hopped the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Holiday Express train for a nine-day tour of the Pacific Northwest. On Friday, the tour came through Bend and picked up 350 members of local military families for an hourlong ride.

“We want to recognize military personnel and everything they do for our country,” said BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas. “After the ride, we host a dinner for military dignitaries and will be presenting them with a check for $10,000 for the Military Relief Fund.”

The Holiday Express train consists of 1950s-era passenger cars decked out for Christmas. The fully-staffed train serves snacks and beverages to the families while they ride, free of charge, north toward the Crooked River Gorge and back to Bend.

This is the sixth year BNSF has put on the event.

“This train attracts kids big and small,” Melonas said. “But what’s most important are the little kids. They’re the biggest thing for us.”

Military personnel and their families boarded the train about 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Kids raced down the aisles and through the cars, looking for the perfect place for their families.

Each car was different; there were double-decker cars, others with dining tables and booth seats and cars with seats facing the window.

Hayden Atkins, 8, was one of the first people to find the double-decker car. He raced up the stairs and claimed a seat near the window, looking out at the snow.

“This is so cool,” he said. “It’s my first time on the top.”

Hayden rode the Holiday Express with his mom, Lacy, his little brother, 17-month-old Korbin, and his dad, Bruce. The Atkins are from Prineville, and Bruce Atkins is part of the local National Guard unit.

“I missed it the last time because I was in Iraq,” he said.

The Holiday Express came through Bend in 2010, and Bruce wasn’t the only active-duty enlisted National Guard member to miss it.

“This is my second time on a train, but it’s the first time for dad,” said 5-year-old Lacie Weaver.

“Daddy was in Iraq the last time we were on the train,” said her mom, Misti-Autumn Weaver.

Many of the kids riding the Holiday Express didn’t know Santa was on board, but since this was her second time, Lacie knew what to expect and planned to ask Santa for ballet slippers and a tutu.

“Santa almost didn’t come to my house,” she said. “I got a letter from him saying he wouldn’t bring me presents because I was being naughty.”

The Holiday Express tour started Tuesday in North Pole, Idaho, Melonas said. From there it traveled to Washington, stopping in Spokane on Wednesday and Pasco on Thursday. Saturday it will stop in Klamath Falls before heading south for two stops in California.

While the snow in Bend may have made Santa feel at home, at least one passenger on the Holiday Express worried about what all the snow might mean for the train.

“There’s a possibility we might slip a little and maybe tip over,” said 13-year-old Vincent Lutzi. “But we’ll be OK.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0376, sking@bendbulletin.com