Train Rides Making Holiday Memories

Mike Gipple (left) helps to make sure everyone is securely aboard before taking off on the Penn Central Express.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – There is something nostalgic about trains and Christmas time, and inside Penn Central Mall this Christmas, kids and parents got to share in that nostalgia.

Mike Gipple is the Penn Central Mall Manager, and the engineer of the Penn Central Mall Express.

The train has been once again making its way through the mall since Musco purchased the mall. The train came with the sale of the mall, and the train was then rehabilitated for the mall’s 30th anniversary. “Since then, we’ve been using it every Christmas season,” said Gipple.

And making it special at Christmas time is something Gipple, and Penn Central Mall, want. As for right now, it’s the only time the train makes an appearance.

Riding the train has already become a tradition with some families, as described to Gipple by some riders. They knew they were in their third year of the tradition, because the youngest rider was just a baby the first time. “It is starting to get to be that special thing that people do during the Christmas season.”

The history of the train itself is vague, and Gipple will tell you what he knows about it.

The train is built onto a 1968 tricycle Harley-Davidson golf cart chassis, and is “electric, so we don’t have any fumes to worry about,” explained Gipple. “It has had some modifications to the steering box.”

It’s unknown who built the train itself upon the golf cart chassis, or the passenger car that came with the train.

The passenger car was rebuilt in 2015 as part of the process of bringing the train back to life, while the train itself only needed some new tires and new batteries to complete the restoration.

Look for the train to make its return for Christmas 2018.