Is there anything better than taking a train ride at Christmas through a historic farm that ends with seeing Santa Claus in real life? 

For many adults and kids alike, it’s the highlight of the holiday season. And it takes place at Cross Orchards Historic Site, 3073 F Road in Grand Junction. 

As part of the Museums of Western Colorado, Cross Orchards features a large 1890s-built barn/packing shed and bunkhouse that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

But at Christmas time, the site’s senior volunteers work hard to create a magical experience unlike any other.

“The first time I saw Santa, I thought it was the real deal,” said Lance Lehrkind, retired salesman and train-ride conductor for Cross Orchards. “When you’ve got parents and little kids, and you come around that corner and there he is with his little elf helper and the cookies and all—it’s pretty magical.”

TAKE A RIDE ON THE TRAIN

Cross Orchards has been a long-time host for the Grand Valley Model Railroad Club’s holiday train show. But it was the purchase of the ride-on train that took the event to a whole new level.

Businessman Stephen D. McCallum from Grand Junction built the train for his grandchildren—each car features one of their names. As he got older, he could no longer take care of it, but he wanted to find a place where children might still enjoy it. 

Sandi Pittenger, retired purchasing agent for the City of Grand Junction, is one of the senior volunteers at the museum. She was there when McCallum’s family donated the train.

“Trains are a big deal for young people,” she said. 

Cross built a building to protect it, but it wasn’t easy to keep the engine running, so it sat out back unused for a while. 

Lehrkind had recently signed up as a volunteer and was cleaning out a ditch when he noticed the train. 

“It was a tractor dressed up to look like a train engine with five little cars behind it,” he said. 

He expressed interest in it, and soon museum curator Matt Darling and his dad, Wayne, were working on it. Once they had the engine purring, all they needed was an engineer and a conductor. 

“They taught me how to drive a tractor!” Lehrkind said, referring to his first job as engineer. 

But it was when he moved back to the conductor’s spot that he found his true calling.

FROM TOUR TO SCAVENGER HUNT

The conductor’s job is to punch the tickets and serve as tour guide as the train travels around the historic site. There are a lot of fascinating items to see—all representative of Western Colorado’s agricultural heritage. But after about the 20th time around, Lehrkind started looking for ways to make the tour all the more exciting. 

A forgotten ceramic angel planter gave him an idea. He cleaned it up and put it by a fence at the edge of the property. 

During the next train tour, he alerted the riders to look for the little white angel. As they passed it by, he yelled from the back of the train and everyone jumped up and craned their necks to see. 

He was on to something. 

Next, he hid a couple of stuffed bears on the route. 

“Everybody got excited and the kids were jumping up and down,” he said. 

Then came the ogre in the orchard, a Siberian tiger family, a big halibut fish, Curious George, and even Big Bird. 

“Everyone has a blast looking for them,” he said. 

Today, the museum boasts over 50 stuffed animals visitors have donated to be featured around the site. The most popular, strangely enough, may be the skunk. 

“Our top speed is two miles per hour,” he said with a grin, “and they’re always running over these little critters.” 

SEEING SANTA

Seeing Santa Claus is the highlight of the Christmas train ride. 

“Little kids like Santa Claus,” said Gerald Duroux, a lifelong trucker who has served as Santa for Cross Orchards for the past five years. “Santa Claus has got to be a good guy.” 

Duroux first donned the long white beard for the Lions Club in Basalt back in the 1970s. 

He ordered his suit from the Montgomery Ward catalog, then stepped out to brave the winter weather. Little kids would gather in the parking lot in City Market, then the Lions Club would bring Duroux around in a snowmobile!

Duroux hadn’t thought much about Santa until Mary Story, his wife and fellow volunteer, brought up the idea that he might slip into character once more for Cross Orchards. 

“I knew he had the suit because I had cleaned it,” said Story. “Then Matt said he wished he had a Santa Claus, and I said I knew one who used to be Santa Claus.” 

Story asked Duroux if he’d like to don his Santa suit once again. 

“Ho, ho, ho!” Duroux said. 

Seriously! 

“That’s what he really said!” Story confirmed. 

Visitors can also enjoy hot chocolate and cookies inside the bridal suite, or walk around the site to get a feel for what farming was like long ago. 

“It’s so gratifying to watch the kids,” Pettinger said, “and it’s a very important thing that they know history.” 

And what better way to get a taste for it than from inside a train?