ON BOARD THE SANTA TRAIN (AP) — Since 1943, the people of Appalachian Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee have looked forward to Santa’s arrival. Not in a sleigh on their rooftops, but on a train.

The Santa Train marks its 82nd running this year, bringing presents and joy to small towns along a 110-mile portion of the CSX rail line tucked into remote coal-country river valleys. Many of the children who line the tracks and wait for Santa on the Saturday before Thanksgiving are the third, fourth or fifth generation to do so.

“I look for it every year. I count the days down,” said Sandra Owens, of Haysi, Virginia, who held a pink pillowcase with a message in black ink, “Thank you CSX and volunteers for the Santa Train. 82.”

Owens moved to Kentucky from Delaware 55 years ago when she got married and experienced her first Santa Train a few years later, when her son turned 3. He is 46 now, and these days she brings her grandchildren. In a few more years, she hopes to bring great-grandchildren.

“The faces of the kids, that’s what makes me happy,” she said. “You can’t see anything better.”

The train starts out in Shelbiana, Kentucky, where families wait in the pre-dawn. At each stop there are dozens to hundreds of people. Many crowd around the back of the train, where Santa and his helpers toss stuffed animals. Meanwhile, groups of volunteer “elves” carrying bags full of gifts fan out, making sure every child goes home with something. Each year they hand out more than 15 tons of gifts that include hats, mittens and fuzzy blankets along with board games, skate boards and teddy bears.

Donna Doughetry from Snowflake, Virginia, remembers coming to see the Santa Train as a child in nearby Fort Blackmore.

“Years back, we didn’t get a lot,” she said. “So back then this was kind of what we got, and we were proud of it. It meant a lot to us.”

Over the years, her kids have at times received handmade gifts from the Santa Train, like crocheted hats, which they still have and cherish.