Holiday People Mover?

**wolverine** · December-18-10, 01:34 PM

Do you think Detroit could ever do this? The holiday train is always pretty cool. When it comes blasting into the subway station, it's quite the surprise. I wonder if a similar concept in Detroit could boost ridership from visitors

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCmGU...ayer_embedded#!

**gazhekwe** · December-18-10, 01:51 PM

How fun is that? In Detroit, with the limited distance, it wouldn't be as complicated, but how to handle the crowds waiting to pick up goodies might be a problem. I guess the Cobo stop has a big enough area.

**Ltdave** · December-18-10, 01:53 PM

no.

'coleman's train' doesnt go anywhere except in a circle around an area that has no residents [[for the most part)...

oh, youd get a few suburbanites to come down to see it but only those that already like to come to town for other things...

my wife and i might come to see it [[although we are beyond the 'suburbanite radius') but it would have to be in conjunction with something else going on. hard to drive 130 miles just to see santa clause on the people mover. maybe a trip to the conservatory or to the Fox for a show with it but not the PM only...

sorry to all you who think im a hater, i just cant justify the time for something as limited in scope as that....

**marcwigle** · December-18-10, 05:37 PM

lol... I wonder what "holiday" Santa represents... could it be... no, it couldn't be... wait, he comes on Christmas. Sad that there's not one mention of Christmas in the video although they mention "holiday train" constantly. Sad.

**detmsp** · December-18-10, 07:37 PM

Originally Posted by marcwigle

lol... I wonder what "holiday" Santa represents... could it be... no, it couldn't be... wait, he comes on Christmas. Sad that there's not one mention of Christmas in the video although they mention "holiday train" constantly. Sad.

sigh... please don't turn this into another thread about how sad it is that the most dominant holiday in our country is forced down the throats of all citizens at a level ever so slightly below the maximum possible.

**Gistok** · December-18-10, 09:00 PM

Originally Posted by Ltdave

no.

'coleman's train' doesnt go anywhere except in a circle around an area that has no residents [[for the most part)...

oh, youd get a few suburbanites to come down to see it but only those that already like to come to town for other things...

my wife and i might come to see it [[although we are beyond the 'suburbanite radius') but it would have to be in conjunction with something else going on. hard to drive 130 miles just to see santa clause on the people mover. maybe a trip to the conservatory or to the Fox for a show with it but not the PM only...

sorry to all you who think im a hater, i just cant justify the time for something as limited in scope as that....

The combination of "coleman's train" and living "beyond the suburbanite radius"... seem to go hand in hand...

**wolverine** · December-18-10, 10:44 PM

Originally Posted by detmsp

sigh... please don't turn this into another thread about how sad it is that the most dominant holiday in our country is forced down the throats of all citizens at a level ever so slightly below the maximum possible.

I get that vibe regularly here. There's people who can't accept anything nice or enjoy things for what they are.

**marcwigle** · December-19-10, 12:11 AM

Originally Posted by detmsp

sigh... please don't turn this into another thread about how sad it is that the most dominant holiday in our country is forced down the throats of all citizens at a level ever so slightly below the maximum possible.

No one is forcing Christianity down the throats of anyone... how can it be when there is no mention of it?? LOL

**marcwigle** · December-19-10, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by wolverine

I get that vibe regularly here. There's people who can't accept anything nice or enjoy things for what they are.

Actually, I think it's a great idea... I just don't understand how a "holiday" can be celebrated without even mentioning the name of it. I would welcome the People Mover being lit up like a... er, Christmas tree as long as it's not called a holiday train. Seeing the train from the Windsor side of the river would be an awesome sight as well.

**EastsideAl** · December-19-10, 12:35 AM

Edit: sorry, shouldn't be responding to yet another "war on Christmas" Christian-centric troll.

Do love the holiday train. Looks like a lot of fun Although Santa must get kind of cold up there on the el in the cold Chicago nights.

**laphoque** · December-19-10, 12:51 AM

It's a good thing the members of America's majority religion are so quick to take offense at anyone's attempt to include the rest of America's belief systems in the festivities. I'd hate to see them oppressed while being in a position of privilege.

Christians, if you haven't given everything you own to the poor and abandoned your family to preach the gospel you are not following the teachings of Christ and so it'd follow that you are going to hell. You shouldn't even be on the internet, that's how busy you are living as a nomadic communist.

Now turn the other cheek.

Nah I'm not going to slap that one but please just stop acting like you lose anything when an organization doesn't assume that it should only be addressing Christians during this time of year. Go volunteer in a soup kitchen. Times are hard.

**laphoque** · December-19-10, 12:55 AM

Back to the topic at hand: yes Detroit People Mover can and should do such things.. I don't think they'd have money to hire santa on the other hand. Oh well someone put a Santa hat on the Detroit News dude.

thatguy123 · December-19-10, 03:09 AM

Originally Posted by laphoque

Christians, if you haven't given everything you own to the poor and abandoned your family to preach the gospel you are not following the teachings of Christ and so it'd follow that you are going to hell. You shouldn't even be on the internet, that's how busy you are living as a nomadic communist.

Wow, such an uneducated and ignorant post. Not a shock though on this board, it seems to be the norm around here for a lot of people.

**Lowell** · December-19-10, 09:02 AM

The holiday train is great idea.

Arguing over what is being celebrated is now part of a great American tradition. Laphoque' s post is neither ignorant nor uneducated. Quite the contrary it is a hard truth that many Christians have forgotten -- along with the fact that Christ was born in March not December. Christmas is an expropriation of pagan solstice festivals. Complaints should be directed to church leaders to move the festival to it's correct day that will be all their own.

Nuff said ... Happy [[Fill in the blank) to all of you!

**iheartthed** · December-19-10, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

Although Santa must get kind of cold up there on the el in the cold Chicago nights.

That was my thought. They must have a dozen space heaters up there surrounding him.

**Matt** · December-19-10, 12:32 PM

CTA's Holiday Train is a fantastic sight to behold. The first time [[and everytime thereafter) I saw it pull into the station, a big grin came across my face and was put into a great mood.

**Gistok** · December-19-10, 02:53 PM

Didn't we just go thru this entire Holiday vs. Christmas spiel on the lighting of the Detroit HOLIDAY tree at Campus Martius??

To bring those people who haven't been paying attention up to snuff.... legal challenges to "public" displays are often filed... generally by non-Christians... and the end result is that religion has to stay out of holiday displays. So therefore no Creche's and no mention of CHRISTMAS.

Holiday displays and Holiday trees and Holiday trains seem to be the workaround to these legal challenges... and those who just can't accept that.... well then the term "legally challenged" comes to mind...

If you want a "MERRY CHRISTMAS" banner and a nativity display... put one up in front of your own "private" house.

**Ltdave** · December-19-10, 04:24 PM

Although Santa must get kind of cold up there on the el in the cold Chicago nights.

yeah i noticed that myself...

i made the "coleman's train" reference because thats what i think of everytime i ride it. it just goes round and round like a train under the holiday tree that is put up to celebrate the Holiday's birthday. oh, wait CHRISTs birthday. there was a song that used that line in it way back in the 80s, and my friends dad worked in building it. everyone at THAT time made much more derisive comments about it than what i did...

seriously though, since there arent any 'neighborhood stops' for the PM, i dont see a lot of Detroit residents bothering to come out to see it. there seems to mostly be suburbanites that come down that way...

whatever...

**Jimaz** · December-19-10, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by Lowell

Arguing over what is being celebrated is now part of a great American tradition. Laphoque' s post is neither ignorant nor uneducated. Quite the contrary it is a hard truth that many Christians have forgotten -- along with the fact that Christ was born in March not December. Christmas is an expropriation of pagan solstice festivals. Complaints should be directed to church leaders to move the festival to it's correct day that will be all their own.

You must have read McBrayer's "Jesus really isn't reason for season" in yesterday's Detroit News.

His wise advice: relax.

**claireianthelibrarian** · December-20-10, 03:58 AM

A holiday People Mover would soooo be feasible. I had been working on organizing that or another theme party aboard the People Mover, but then I had to move four times in the past year and had a car quit on me, so I had to shelve the idea. But I'm serious--it is totally doable.

All you need is people and costumes for Santa and elves, some decorations, some candy to give out, maybe some fliers about Downtown shopping, a bar to head to afterwards, and a whooooooooole lotta promo. Either you seek the blessing of the People Mover organization, or you become encyclopedically versed in their rules. You and your attendees have a good time, people enjoy the city for an evening and maybe meet some new folks, and the transit agency gets a little extra fare and free publicity.

Metro, the transit agency of St. Louis, is having their first ever santa train this year. Like the CTA in Chicago, the agency itself is putting on the train. They got sponsors to cover the cost of decorations and whatnot, so it does not come out of their operating budget. Very exciting for them.

Together with a friend, I threw two formal proms aboard MetroLink, the lightrail system of St. Louis. The first year about 75 people showed up, but the latest one [[thrown by our successor) had a couple hundred attendees. People dressed up and danced. They gave speeches, and crowned a king and queen of MetroLink. In past years, we gave out Metro color corsages and did prom couple photos with a big Metro themed backdrop. This year, a DJ made a mix of songs about trains. The first year, we had an acapella band.

We also threw a jazz/Victorian funeral for the bus system when budget cuts eliminated 55% of the system in one fell swoop. Someone made a prop coffin and we carried it past hooded bus stops in Downtown St. Louis, where all service was suspended. At each stop, a mourner delivered a eulogy to their favorite bus. We distributed handkerchiefs and prayer cards, and sprinkled ashes of now-useless bus schedules. A friend brought a guitar, and some guy was crying into a kazoo all night.

So yeah: TRANSIT PARTIES! They are a lot of work, but they are doable.

I'd really like to throw a party on the People Mover in the next year or so, and maybe it could be a Santa train. If you miss the party, hold tight, it'll be back in less than 15 minutes!

Augustiner · December-20-10, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by claireianthelibrarian

We also threw a jazz/Victorian funeral for the bus system when budget cuts eliminated 55% of the system in one fell swoop. Someone made a prop coffin and we carried it past hooded bus stops in Downtown St. Louis, where all service was suspended. At each stop, a mourner delivered a eulogy to their favorite bus. We distributed handkerchiefs and prayer cards, and sprinkled ashes of now-useless bus schedules. A friend brought a guitar, and some guy was crying into a kazoo all night.

That is kind of brilliant.

**maxx** · December-20-10, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by marcwigle

Actually, I think it's a great idea... I just don't understand how a "holiday" can be celebrated without even mentioning the name of it. I would welcome the People Mover being lit up like a... er, Christmas tree as long as it's not called a holiday train. Seeing the train from the Windsor side of the river would be an awesome sight as well.

There is more than one "holiday" being celebrated in December and one natural event that precipitated it all, namely the winter solstice. The U.S. is a nation with people of diverse cultures and persuasions.

**Johnlodge** · December-20-10, 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by marcwigle

Actually, I think it's a great idea... I just don't understand how a "holiday" can be celebrated without even mentioning the name of it. I would welcome the People Mover being lit up like a... er, Christmas tree as long as it's not called a holiday train. Seeing the train from the Windsor side of the river would be an awesome sight as well.

I know, can you believe how Christmas has been removed from everything? Just the other day I was downtown and noticed the giant menorah at Campus Martius, and the dradels decorating all the lamp posts, and at the mall the kids were taking pictures on Channukah Harry's lap. And don't get me started on the 24 hours a day of Hava Nagila playing on WNIC. You really feel alienated being a Christian this time of year.

**bailey** · December-20-10, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by Johnlodge

I know, can you believe how Christmas has been removed from everything? Just the other day I was downtown and noticed the giant menorah at Campus Martius, and the dradels decorating all the lamp posts, and at the mall the kids were taking pictures on Channukah Harry's lap. And don't get me started on the 24 hours a day of Hava Nagila playing on WNIC. You really feel alienated being a Christian this time of year.

**Magnatomicflux** · December-21-10, 06:14 AM

Originally Posted by Lowell

Nuff said ... Happy [[Fill in the blank) to all of you!

I call it "christmahaunikwanza" at least it gets most people in there lol. And there's no capital letters on purpose.

Did any of you catch Canadian Pacific's "Holiday Train" this year? She was beautiful!