Steamtown Train Ride: Moscow Holiday Express

The city of Scranton is located on the ancestral homelands of the Lenape people.

a large black diesel locomotive painted with yellow stripes and the words "Nickle Plate Road" in yellow letters on the side

Every year, we take a holiday train ride as a family. Last year, we rode the Allentown & Auburn Railroad in Kutztown. We’ve also done Santa trains on the West Chester Railroad and the Reading and Northern.

This year, we headed north to Steamtown National Historic Site for a ride on the Moscow Holiday Express.

roof over a boarding platform for a train with a sign that reads "Steamtown Ntl Historic Site"

Steamtown is a National Park Service site dedicated to telling the history of railroading in the United States, and excursions are offered throughout the operating season. The Moscow Holiday Express – a three-hour round-trip ride to the borough of Moscow and back – was offered over the last weekend in November.

hand holding a train ticket made to look vinage with the town name Scranton

We arrived at Steamtown at 10:30, a half an hour before the train was scheduled to leave. After checking in at the information booth, I had our tickets in-hand as we walked across the yard to the loading platform.

At the head end of the train was a large black diesel locomotive with yellow trim and the words “Nickel Plate Road” scrawled across the side.

On the track opposite us, a trolley from the neighboring Electric City Trolley Museum sat waiting for its first riders of the day.

Christmas lights are strung from the ceiling of a passenger coach on an excursion from Steamtown National Historic Site.

We sat in the last of four passenger coaches. Strings of Christmas lights dangled over us, stretching from one side of the car to the other and back again. The windows and doors at either end were stickered with reindeer and snowmen.

Right on queue at 11 a.m., the horn blew and the train lurched out of the station. We crawled along at a snail’s pace through the city limits, passing the former Lackawanna Station, now a Radisson Hotel, and the University of Scranton.

small creek runs beneath a highway overpass near Scranton, PA

We continued on, and as we passed through Nay Aug Park, we entered the line’s only tunnel. Surrounded by darkness, our car was illuminated only by Christmas lights until we re-emerged on the other side.

still water in a reservoir beside a dam near Scranton, PA

The tracks parallel the Roaring Brook for the remainder of the 50-minute ride. The ironically named waterway was a mostly rocky bed with water that appeared to be flowing at a trickle as it entered one of two reservoirs along the route.

Arriving at the station, we saw Santa and many helpers waving to greet us. With a strict timetable, we had around 45 minutes for the off-the-train activities waiting for us in Moscow.

a passenger coach on the tracks next to a historic green-colored freigh station in Moscow, PA

The station complex was actually made up of two buildings – the freight depot and the passenger station. Both are maintained by the Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad Historical Society. Inside the passenger station was a small gift shop, a couple folding tables where visitors could sit, and a simple O-scale train display. Kids also received a kit to make their own ornaments, either at the provided tables or at home after the ride.

people gather beneath a pavilion with a passenger coach sitting on train tracks next to it in Moscow, PA

Outside, the Historical Society was serving hot dogs, hot drinks, and snacks under the station’s awning. We had packed sandwiches to enjoy on the ride, but we still bought some hot chocolate to support them.

a mother holds a child as she stands with another young boy between two wooden cutouts painted to look like snowmen.

The freight depot was next to the passenger station. In between, the small grassy lawn was filled with wooden cut-outs where kids and parents could pose as a railroad engineer, a snowman, or a Christmas tree ornament.

HO scale model train display with two tracks of trains and a large warehouse looking building inside the Moscow, PA freight depot

Inside the freight depot was a more detailed model train layout. It was the smaller HO scale, but the layout was larger, creating a circle with three trains running at any given time. At the other end of the room, Santa welcomed visitors to tell them their wishlist and pose for pictures.

After visits with Santa, families received a gift bag which included a train calendar, assorted swag, and cookies for the kids.

mural on the wall of the Moscow, PA passenger train station depicting an old-time ticket taker for the railroad.

With a few minutes to spare before boarding, we let the boys run around in the grass to burn off some steam before the return trip.

Soon, we were back on the rails. Another 50 minutes and we were back at the station. Amazingly, Santa had used his magic to beat us back to Steamtown because there he was on the trolley (in a different suit with a slightly longer beard), waving to us as the trolley waited for its next run.

It was a fun three hours. Our $68 was well-spent for an afternoon of holiday magic.

Steamtown National Historic Site
350 Cliff Street
Scranton, PA 18503

When You Go

The Holiday Express is only offered for one weekend, but there are additional holiday train ride options. The North Pole Limited operates Saturdays and Sundays in December, but the Santa-related activities occur at Steamtown and the train ride is a one-hour round trip.
Other excursions are held during the regular operating season with destinations that include East Stroudsburg, Tobyhanna, and the Delaware Water Gap. Check the Steamtown website for pricing and details.
The on-train bathrooms are…rustic with no hand-wash sinks (there is a hand sanitizer station). The Moscow station has two ladies rooms with porta-potties set up on the lawn for additional bathroom needs.
With the lines for the bathrooms combined with the people shopping, the passenger station was crowded and we never did get to look at the gift shop. (We did our shopping back at Steamtown).