Operation Toy Train will soon be pulling into a station near you

For the 13th holiday season, Operation Toy Train will collect more than 20,000 toys for the U.S. Marine Corps to benefit underprivileged children in northern New Jersey and southern New York.

While the organization’s special train was canceled in 2020 due to Covid-19 concerns, the group returned to the rails again this year. It will be pulling into the Sparta and Vernon stations this Saturday, Dec. 11, when it chugs through Bergen, Passaic, and Sussex counties in New Jersey, and Montgomery in New York. On Sunday, Dec. 12, the train will pull into a new station this year, at Port Jervis, N.Y., as its final stop.

Members of the public are encouraged to donate new toys in their original packaging (no gift wrapping, please!). The public can visit the train itself to donate toys when it arrives at any of its 25 stops, meet Santa Claus, view a variety of working railroad equipment, and meet members of the Marine Corps and the Operation Toy Train program.

At the Vernon station, Vernon’s first responders, high school brass choir, and Veterans of Foreign Wars members will join the community at 4 p.m. to await the train’s arrival at 4:45 p.m. The Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a Gingerbread House Contest under the pavilion to add in some fun. The police department has also deployed Operation Blue Elf to collect toys for Vernon families. Gifts will be accepted at the Vernon Police Department, Glenwood Ambulance Building, and the Highland Lakes Clubhouse between 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily until Dec. 20.

For those that can’t make it to one of the train’s stops, local businesses and organizational partners near each stop have received large Toys for Tots collection boxes to collect toys in advance and deliver them to the train.

Picatinny Arsenal program

Operation Toy Train is a non-profit organization that operates a special train to collect donated toys for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation. The Marines then redistribute these toys as holiday gifts to underprivileged and less-fortunate children in the communities where the campaign is conducted.

The collections benefit the Toys for Tots efforts at Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, N.J., and Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, N.Y. Six railroads (and their personnel) donate time, equipment, and the use of their tracks to Operation Toy Train each year. Additional railroad equipment, funds, and volunteer staff come from a number of additional non-profit and for-profit organizations.

Along with holiday cheer and toys, the train will deliver many of the railcars destined for the upcoming Port Jervis Transportation History Center, a partnership between Operation Toy Train and three other local nonprofit organizations. The history center aims to redevelop the City-owned property surrounding the original Erie Railroad turntable into a multi-use historic railroad display, event venue, and public space.

A full 2021 train schedule listing all 25 collection points and times is available on the Operation Toy Train website at OperationToyTrain.org/schedule. Businesses, organizations, and individuals looking to sponsor, donate to, or participate in Operation Toy Train are also encouraged to visit the website to learn how to get involved.