It’s not every day, a steam engine comes chugging down the tracks with children waving gleefully out the windows, greeting a jolly Santa Claus as they rumble by.

Standing by the track, Santa is dressed in all fur, from his head to his feet, a wink of his eye – how they twinkled – and he certainly shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

His dimples – how merry – and his cheeks were like roses, and his nose red like a cherry. The beard on his chin was as white as the newly-fallen snow, and he exclaimed as the train drove out of sight, “Merry Christmas to all!”

Christmas trees, Santa Claus and trains converged about 150 years ago in the heart of coal country at the East Broad Top Railroad in Rockhill Furnace, Huntingdon County.

And maybe the most authentic Santa train ride in the country, on what The Smithsonian Institution calls a “national treasure,” is East Broad Top.

“Rural farms and ancient mountains are the backdrop for this 150-year-old railroad and its 108-year-old steam engine-that team chugs along the small narrow gauge line to pull the annual holiday train,” said Jonathan Smith, director or sales and marketing at East Broad Top.

Throughout December, East Broad Top runs a special Christmas train driven by nostalgia, festive lights, cookies and hot chocolate. Families can also write letters to Santa inside the railroad’s historic 1906 train station.

Officially called “Christmas in Coal Country,” the holiday train ride is one-hour long. Trains feature retro-heated passenger cars that depart the historic Orbisonia Station and travel north, of course, where guests encounter Santa along the way with a gift for every child.

Onboard the train, passengers also enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, a delicious cookie and Christmas carol sing-along.

Trains leave at 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7:30p.m. Tickets cost $28 for adults and $22 for children. Caboose rides cost $32 for adults and $26 for children. For information visit The East Broad Top Railroad at www.eastbroadtop.com.