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Operation North Pole

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Palatine Firefighters Greet Polar Express at Train Station

A Metra train decorated for the holidays travelled through Palatine this afternoon filled with children battling life-threatening diseases. Palatine firefighters wearing Santa hats and holding signs showed their support as the train rolled by.

Children riding on the Polar Express, part of Operation North Pole were greeted by members of the Palatine Fire Department Saturday afternoon at the Palatine Metra Station. The train, heading inbound towards downtown from Crystal Lake, slowed down in time for the firefighters, complete with Santa hats and directional North Pole signs, to wave and show their support. More than 60 families who have children battling life-threatening diseases were onboard and headed to their destionation in Des Plaines.  There the families boarded charter buses and joined a parade with Santa, riding atop a Fire Department ladder truck, to a Winter Wonderland at the Donald E. Stephens Rosemont Convention and Banquet Center for a holiday celebration.  Each …

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Melanie Santostefano

7:58 pm on Saturday, November 17, 2012

Hi Jim, Jingle Bells the engineer played on the train horn, which I agree was great, is in the video I attached to the article. Melanie   more ›

Magical North Pole Train Rolls Through Palatine

A special group of about 60 families will embark on at trip to see Santa on a Metra train for Operation North Pole.

Operation North Pole is sharing the magic of Christmas with 60 families who have children suffering from life-threatening or terminal illnesses. Later today, these special kids will take a ride on the Polar Express, which will roll through Palatine at 12:37 p.m.  At the Palatine Metra Station, 137 W. Wood Street, members of the Palatine Fire Department will be on the platform wearing Santa hats and holding signs, to show support for the children as the train slowly travels by.  Now in its fourth year, Operation North Pole is wrapping the exteriors of two Metra train cars, as well as a partial interior, with bright holiday colors and images of Santa’s workshop. The purpose is to provide families who have children battling a life threatening…

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