Baldwin City’s Snowglobe Express taking rides after minor engine fire Tuesday night
After a non-injury fire on the Snowglobe Express train Tuesday night, the beloved Christmas train from Baldwin City, Kansas, is continuing to take rides as scheduled.
Snowglobe Express treks across 12 miles of tracks and carries passengers from its Baldwin City depot to a Christmas-themed village, which the company advertises as home to Santa’s reindeer.
Ryan Robinson, CEO of Snowglobe Express, said the blaze was contained to the train’s engine and never spread to the passenger cars, leaving everyone aboard unharmed. Because the company has three engines, he said rides have been able to continue as scheduled.
Just after 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the train’s location near the 1400 block of N1 Road in Franklin County, Kansas.
George Diepenbrock, a spokesperson with with Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, said the fire was extinguished before deputies arrived.
From the site of the incident, the 500 passengers were transported back to the depot by using other locomotives. Buses were also on standby to pick up some passengers, according to Diepenbrock.
Robinson said the fire extinguished itself shortly after the train stopped and assured ticket holders that the Christmas cheer will continue safely and as planned.
The sheriff’s office said the small fire was the result of a mechanical failure.