THE ROYAL GORGE • Excited kids in pajamas were trailed by parents toting cameras as they all embarked for a journey to the North Pole.

The energy was palpable as the train began to roll down the tracks.

Innocent wonder fuels the Santa Express, run by the Royal Gorge Route Railroad.

And really, if you combine Santa Claus, a train, hot cocoa, cookies and a few hundred kids, it’s hard to go wrong.

More than 6,000 people rode the Santa Express in 2008, said railroad owner Mark Greksa, and some dates are already sold out this year.

The train pulled out of the station at 6:30 p.m., festooned with holiday lights inside and out as it rolled into the dark gorge.

Over the speakers they announced that the next stop would be the North Pole, where the train would pick up Santa Claus.

That was enough to send the children into a frenzy.

“You look for the river, and I’ll look for Santa,” my 7-year-old son Jack ordered his little sister, as they pressed their noses against windows facing opposite sides.

“If I see Santa, I’ll go ‘ho ho ho.’”

During the journey, the train’s elves handed out a cup of hot cocoa and a cookie to each child.

And soon enough, the lights of the North Pole came into view — a sturdy little village built by railroad employees and splashed with more than 17,000 lights.

Waving to all the children from a red house in the center was the jolly old elf himself.

“They just built beautiful North Pole buildings, beyond anything I ever dreamed of,” Greksa said. “Our crew loves it, to be able to see kids’ faces and help create that magic.”

As the train rolled slowly back to the station, Santa made his way through each train car, hugging the kids and handing out reindeer-bell ornaments (a la “The Polar Express”).

The kids looked as if they might spontaneously combust as Santa worked his way toward them down the train aisle.

“Were you good this year?” Santa asked most of the children in our car, who invariably answered in the affirmative. “All the time?” Most of them waffled on that one.

And then the ride was over.

My only complaint was that there seemed to be a lot of waiting (at the station, on the train, at the North Pole) without well-planned activities.

Next time, I’d take a few holiday books to read to my kids to help pass the time.

But the kids didn’t seem to notice any flaws.

They saw Santa, ate cookies and rode a train.

Not a bad night for the under-8 set.

Santa Express, on the Royal Gorge Route Railroad

When: 6:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through Dec. 19; 6:30 p.m. Dec. 20-24; dates may be added as trains sell out

Where: Santa Fe Depot, 401 Water Street, in Canon City

Canon City

Tickets: adults $29; children 3-12, $19; free for 2 and under

Contact: 1-888-724-5748, 1-719-276-4000, royalgorgeroute.com

Photo by Bill Reed/The Gazette