Last updated on December 4th, 2024 at 01:23 pm
The Santa Express is a fun holiday ride aboard a vintage passenger train behind steam-puffing ‘No. 148’, a historic locomotive built in 1920 that once carried the sugar cane harvest to the refineries of U.S. Sugar in Clewiston.
Decorated holiday trains with Santa on board depart from Sebring, Clewiston and Lake Placid for two-hour excursions through the mid-Florida countryside. Sugar cane fields, citrus groves, backcountry farms and ranches, and along the shores of scenic lakes.
The Santa Express is a seasonal nod for the company’s “Sugar Express” outreach program that runs excursions from October until Spring to multiple destinations. (You can read about my experience on the train last fall lower in this story.)
The Santa Express is popular, as you might expect. You need to book your passage soon. Seats are limited.
Santa Express: Nov. 30-Dec. 22, 2024
Base fare is $50 for adults and $40 for children ages 4-14. First-class tables (4-tops) are available for $250. Seats in the first-class lounge cars are $85.
Tickets can be purchased by clicking on the links below.
- Saturday, November 30 – Sebring Santa Express (Diesel Only)
- Sunday, December 1 – Sebring Santa Express (Diesel Only)
- Saturday, December 7 – Sebring Santa Express
- Sunday, December 8 – Sebring Santa Express
- Saturday, December 14 – Clewiston Santa Express
- Sunday, December 15 – Clewiston Santa Express
- Friday, December 20 – Lake Placid Santa Express
- Saturday, December 21 – Lake Placid Santa Express
- Sunday, December 22 – Lake Placid Santa Express
‘Toys 4 Tots’ Train — December 12, 2024
On December 12, the Santa Express delivers gifts for Toys for Tots at four cities in its mid-Florida service area.
There is no passage available for this special trip, but there will be plenty of excitement for kids who line the tracks along the way. Santa and his elves will be aboard the train, waving to children along the route.
The elves will distribute gifts to children at stops in Belle Glade, Clewiston, Moore Haven and Lake Placid. Details.
The Sugar Express keeps chugging until Spring, sans Santa
The full season for the Sugar Express runs from October until Spring to multiple destination with the seasonal nod to the holidays aboard the Santa Express.
Last November, I rode the Lake Placid Limited, an all-day adventure departing U.S. Sugar’s railroad yards in Clewiston to the historic train station in Lake Placid (FL) with a two-hour layover for lunch.
To be honest, I was hesitant to spend $99, the cost of coach. There are no Florida mountains in full fall glory to see, no cliff-hanging canyons or scenic valleys.
The trip was fun, though. I’m glad I went once. I like riding trains, and I can’t recall the last time I was behind the chug-chug-chug of a whistling steam locomotive.
There was, as expected, fields of sugar cane, an occasional cattle ranch or backcountry farm, an orange grove or two, two river crossings, rural back yards and a glancing view of Lake Placid. We did not see Lake Placid’s famous caladium farms. Perhaps another trip.
The train was clean and the seats comfortable, and the ride through cane country was smooth. Rest rooms were comfortable and clean, though not spacious enough to allow persons with disabilities. The passenger cars are vintage, as the organizers explained in advance, dating to a time when little thought was given to such accessibility.
The train’s crew was polite and accommodating, answering questions about the train and the cane fields when asked. Complimentary muffins were served on the way out; chips and cookies on the way back; bottled water was available throughout the trip.
Passengers were free to roam through the cars, and the “open-air” baggage car with its open doors was popular, especially for photographers who lean out to capture No. 148 as it steamed around curves.
The steam locomotive was only used in one direction, a diesel in the other. As explained in the promotional materials, there were no turnarounds at our destination.
As for destinations, Lake Placid (population 2,400) is a great choice.
The historic train depot is in the center of town, and the 2.5-hour layover allowed enough time to walk around and view the community’s famous wall murals, visit the tiny American Clown Museum across the tracks and enjoy lunch at one of 10 nearby eateries.
We enjoyed lunch at Morty and Edna’s Craft Kitchen, home of “The Notorious B.L.T.” We often visit the area while camping at Highland Hammocks State Park.
2025 SCHEDULE – ALL TRIPS ARE ROUNDTRIPS
Clewiston Comet
The Clewiston Comet originates in Lake Placid and carries passengers to Clewiston and back with a two-hour layover at the Market on Bond Street in Clewiston, featuring local farmers, fresh food, entertainment in downtown Clewiston. Total time on the train is about six hours. Fare: $99-$148. For reservations, go to sugarexpress.ticketspice.com
Highlands County Crescent
Enjoy a two-hour passenger train ride from Sebring through the orange groves and along the shores of Lake Placid for a roundtrip to and from the sugar-cane loading station site at Childs, Florida. Fare: $48. For details and reservations, go to sugarexpress.ticketspice.com
Ticket sales begin December 11th, 2024 at 6:00 PM
Fri, Jan 10 – Lake Placid Local (Lake Placid – Lake Placid)
Sat, Jan 11 – Clewiston Comet (Lake Placid – Clewiston)
Sun, Jan 12 – Highland County Crescent (Sebring – Sebring)
Sat, Jan 25 – Lake Placid Limited (Clewiston – Lake Placid)
Sun, Jan 26 – Palmdale Pioneer Ice Cream Train (Clewiston – Palmdale)
Fri, Feb 7 – Lake Placid Local (Lake Placid – Lake Placid)
Sat, Feb 8 – Clewiston Comet (Lake Placid – Clewiston)
Sun, Feb 9 – Sebring Fair Train – DIESEL ONLY (Sebring – Lake Placid)
Sat, Feb 22 – Lake Placid Limited (Clewiston – Lake Placid)
Sun, Feb 23 – Palmdale Pioneer Ice Cream Train (Clewiston – Palmdale)
Sat, Mar 15 – Sugarfest Special (Clewiston – Clewiston)
Sat, Mar 29 – Lake Placid Limited (Clewiston – Lake Placid)
Sun, Mar 30 – Palmdale Pioneer Ice Cream Train (Clewiston – Palmdale)
Ticket sales begin January 8th, 2025
Fri, Apr 11 – Lake Placid Local (Lake Placid – Lake Placid)
Sat, Apr 12 – Clewiston Comet (Lake Placid – Clewiston)
Sun, Apr 13 – Highland County Crescent (Sebring – Sebring)
Sat, Apr 26 – Lake Placid Limited (Clewiston – Lake Placid)
Sun, Apr 27 – Palmdale Pioneer Ice Cream Train (Clewiston – Palmdale)
Sat, May 17 – Lake Placid Limited (Clewiston – Lake Placid)
Sun, May 18 – Palmdale Pioneer Ice Cream Train (Clewiston – Palmdale)
About U.S. Sugar Company
Old ‘No. 148’ is owned and operated by U.S. Sugar Company, the largest producer of sugar cane in the nation.
The Clewiston-based firm owns 230,000 acres in the Glades Agricultural Area of Palm Beach, Hendry and Glades counties, where more than 700,000 tons of sugar cane are harvested each year, according to Wikipedia.
In order to transport the sugar cane to processing within eight hours of harvest, U.S. Sugar operates a truck fleet and rail network to haul the cane from far-flung fields to the company’s refinery in Clewiston.
Old 148 was first put to work hauling sugar cane in 1952 after faithfully serving the Florida East Coast Railroad on freight and passenger routes for almost thirty years.
Replaced by diesel locomotives in the 1960s, Old 148 was retired, worn out and left to die in storage. Seven years ago, U.S. Sugar’s CEO ordered it out of mothballs for restoration and its new life in public relations.
Aside from sugar cane, U.S. Sugar also produces sweet corn and oranges.
