Heading due north once again, the Polar Express pulled out of White River Junction Station on Saturday for the first time since 2019.

The fundraiser for the White River Rotary Club sends families on an hourlong train ride to the usually defunct Norwich Station, which comes alive as the “North Pole.” From there, Santa climbs aboard and hitches a ride back south.

The pandemic put a pause on the Upper Valley Christmas staple, so Kirsten Ward’s daughter Althea, 4, met Santa for the first time ever aboard the train yesterday.

“When he hopped on, all the kids just froze,” Ward said. “The staff has a really good ‘child energy,’ ” she added.

This is no accident. Volunteer “conductor” Scott Farnsworth thinks about the flair he’ll bring to his role for months leading up to the event. With two years this time to plan, he sprung through the railcar like a well-oiled gag machine.

Farnsworth punched tickets from the ground with his feet straight up in the air and dressed Isabelle Mulligan, 6, of Walden, Vt., in his blue blazer and glasses.

“Every car is different, because every conductor brings their own personality to this role,” Farnsworth said. “I stay up nights thinking about this stuff.”

This marks six years as a conductor for Farnsworth, who is the assistant director at Hartford Career and Technology Center.

“There’s really a lot to this,” said P.J. Skehan, co-chair of the event. “It’s like an art.”

He gestured to Bob Robertson as he passed between cars.

“Like, this guy right here is a genius,” Skehan said.

Robertson, in a green and red suit and tie, walked through the train egging on cheering children through his microphone.

“The No. 1 rule is you can’t sit quietly,” Robertson said. “You gotta do stuff that these guys don’t even let you do at home.”

Farnsworth took his cue, handing Eleanor Sharff, 6, a broomstick. She waved it like a baton, breaking free of her father and grandmother and leading other kids in a parade up and down the aisle.

Rail Events, a company out of Durango, Colo., technically owns the Polar Express show. It licenses the music and theme from Warner Bros., and the White River Rotary Club pays them a cut of their ticket sales.

But even so, the event generates a good chunk of money for Rotary.

“It was brutal,” Skehan said about how the Polar Express couldn’t leave the station the past two years. “This is Rotary’s biggest fundraiser by far.”

Rides go for $27 a head for kids, and begin at $32 for adults.

The club is getting older, said Skehan, 67. But they have hope in their youngest member. “Chocolatier” Carson Wenz, 28 — in charge of handing out sugar cookies and hot chocolate — was president of the branch last year.

“She’s been a breath of fresh air for us,” Skehan said.

Wenz, a Bethel-based pharmacist who grew up in Wyoming, has been involved in the organization since high school.

“Rotary changed my life,” she said.

This year, the fundraiser sold out in a matter of hours.

“I like your hat, nice touch,” Santa said to Elena Ciobanu, of Lebanon, who was wearing a red stocking of her own sitting next to her son, Stefan, 4. Ciobanu got lucky and scored last-minute tickets from a friend who had to call in sick.

A twist of fate landed Stefan at the center of the action. He found himself with the “first gift of Christmas” when Santa handed him a silver bell, and he was deputized by Farnsworth to pass out mints from his conductor’s cap.

“Thank you for being a part of our inaugural trip back,” Farnsworth said to his car as the locomotive drew back into the White River station.

The morning rush hour to the North Pole had begun in quiet anticipation. But by the time the Rotary volunteers had finished working their magic, someone had drawn Christmas trees on the train’s fogged up windows and most everyone, parents included, had broken into a raucous Jingle Bells.

Frances Mize is a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at fmize@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.

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