Santa on Board

a fun-filled train ride in a century-old passenger coach with Old Saint Nick on board to greet children and pose for pictures. Embarking from the train station at the museum at Allaire State Park in Farmingdale, the 20-minute rides are offered from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 26 through 28 and December 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19; there are also nighttime rides from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on December 11 and 18.

A ticket on the Polar Express may be a bit out of reach, but you can give your  little ones the next best thing this holiday season with the New Jersey Museum of Transportation’s Christmas with Santa Claus (732-938-5524, www.njmt.org)—a fun-filled train ride in a century-old passenger coach pulled by a nearly 70-year-old diesel engine. The best part: Old Saint Nick will be on board to greet children and pose for pictures.

Embarking from the train station at the museum at Allaire State Park in Farmingdale, the 20-minute rides are offered from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 26 through 28 and December 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19; there are also nighttime rides from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on December 11 and 18. Rides run through the park on the Pine Creek Railroad, providing vistas of deer and other wildlife; each child is also given a keychain trinket from Santa’s elves.

Tickets, $5 per person, must be purchased for a specific date and time by check or with cash at the museum station. Proceeds benefit the museum, an all-volunteer organization.

“We’ve been doing this for 30 years,” says chairman Victor Crisanto. “We see a lot of locals who rode the train as kids come back with their own children.”