Thanks, Jim, for the reminder to Altamont Press readers. As seen today on the availability calendar at [www.orhf.org], two of the trips are already sold out and a third is nearly so.

We're looking forward to once again providing a fun Christmastime outing to many thousands of people in this area on the scheduled 73 trips. Perhaps we'll get some snow on some of the days to add to the festive feeling. As usual the train will be decorated with thousands of lights which make it a great sight after dark as it travels along the Willamette River on Dick Samuels' Oregon Pacific Railroad where on some trips we meet or pass the nearly 60-year-old Portland Christmas Ships Parade ( [christmasships.org] ) only a few hundred feet away in the river.

Please come out to support the primary annual fundraiser for support of the Oregon Rail Heritage Museum (http://www.orhf.org/home-2/) which is open to the public from 1 PM to 5 PM Thursday through Sunday at no charge. Of course, donations are always appreciated to help preserve and present Portland's three steam locomotives to the public.