For 13 years, a pajama-clad family of 12, headed by great-grandparents Teresa and Lawrence Weyer, has made the trek from Green River, Wyoming, to Heber City to ride the Heber Creeper’s North Pole Express.  It began when their granddaughter, Katie Fryer, insisted on an authentic “Polar Expre ss” experience with her 2-year-old son.  Her son is now 15, joined this year by his 2-month-old sister, who slept peacefully as the 11-car locomotive chugged south into the Provo Canyon.  “She wasn’t supposed to come until December, but she came early,” Fryer explained as she held the baby bundled in a blanket. She must have wanted to join in on the tradition. As train host Brooke Thatcher outlined a journey to the North Pole full of hot cocoa and caroling, she approached Lawrence.  “Sir, I can tell that you’re going to give us the most beautiful Mariah Carey solo,” she said into the microphone. “You’ve got that sparkle in your eye.” Lawrence declined in his soft-spoken manner, though the grin on his face was undeniable. The Heber Valley Railroad’s North Pole Express passes through Midway and Soldier Hollow underneath Mount Timpanogos. Credit: Park Record file photo by David Jackson The great-grandfather fondly remembered taking field trips on trains when he was growing up in Carlyle, Montana, in the late 1950s. As the family’s biggest train enthusiast, Lawrence expresses his undying love for the lost art of the locomotive by completing a handful of train-themed jigsaw puzzles every winter. He owns about 50 of them. Teresa said riding the Creeper during the holidays never gets old because every year offers minor changes to the script. Last year, there was a surprise appearance by an Elvis Presley impersonator, who “gyrated up and down the aisles,” belting out “Blue Christmas.” Parker Wilson, the assistant director of the Heber Valley Railroad, confirmed reports of the King of Rock and Roll. Wilson took over his role last month, but he rode the North Pole Express the previous year. Wilson said he was caught off guard, as were a few other passengers — though some, such as his wife, “fan girled.” Despite being a “mind-blowingly popular” addition to the experience, equal parts hammy, hilarious and absurd, Presley didn’t return this year because the railroad couldn’t find enough impersonators to fill the North Pole Express’ 86 round trips.  Each trip serves around 600 passengers, beginning a week before Thanksgiving and wrapping up on Dec. 30. After that, the staff will take a two-week break to rest and regain their voices before continuing operations with a variety of other train rides, which range in theme from dinosaurs to “Star Wars.” While the “Pirates and Princesses” train remains constantly in demand, the North Pole Express is the railroad’s most popular offering. Wilson said tickets go on sale in July and are mostly sold within a couple of weeks. By September, it’s slim pickings. The newest addition to the North Pole Express this year is a silver dome car built in 1948. Restoration took “up until the final minute of the 11th hour,” Wilson said, so the car hasn’t yet been painted in the signature gold, black and silver of a 1950s Heber Valley Railroad car.  Passengers seated near the transparent ceiling are given a 360-degree view of the 16-mile route south along the Deer Creek Reservoir and into the Provo Canyon. The most magical moment, Wilson said, is turning out the lights as the train passes by the North Pole, a picturesque candy cane village where Santa Claus waves a greeting as kids lose their minds.  Credit: Park Record file photo by David Jackson Credit: Park Record file photo by David Jackson The North Pole Express features visits from Santa Claus, both on and off of the train. Ask Wilson about any aspect of the 126-year-old railroad, and chances are he’ll answer without missing a beat. Since 2014, he’s worked as everything from a gift shop employee to a conductor to a member of the railroad’s advisory board.  “Every kid at one point wants to be an astronaut. For me, I always wanted to be a train engineer,” he said. Now he’s living the dream. His work is mostly administrative, though he also rides the North Pole Express to serve as one of the few adult presences onboard. He estimated the railroad employs about 190 kids ages 12 and up who serve as centuries-old elves on the North Pole Express.  One elf, Frosty, was truly committed to the bit. He’s been working the North Pole Express as a stable hand and chef for the past 200 years. He’s now 532 years old. He said the hardest part of the job was none of it. “It’s not that bad. It’s super awesome to talk with kids, ask what they want for Christmas,” he said, singing the final word in a vocal flourish. Wilson wasn’t surprised that Frosty refused to give his human name and age. The North Pole Express tends to attract the theatrical type.  That was certainly true for Thatcher, who was able to weave safety information into a script full of terrible reindeer puns without missing a beat.  Credit: Park Record file photo by David Jackson Credit: Park Record file photo by David Jackson Credit: Park Record file photo by David Jackson The North Pole Express’ elves number around 190 and are played by children local to the Heber Valley. A native of Midway, Thatcher started working at the railroad when she was 13. The next year, she was hosting a car. “I saw what the hosts were doing, and I was like, ‘I want to do that instead, pretending that my name is Twinkle and that I am an elf,’” she said. It was a tricky character to pull off, in part because she was “super tall for a middle schooler.” Now 22, Thatcher has seen it all — rude guests, vomit and even Elvis — but embodying her character is second nature.  “My 13-year-old self had a ton of excitement with nowhere to go,” she said, which wasn’t helped by the fact that hosts weren’t given rigid scripts like they are now. Thatcher said the key to keeping up her energy as a host is engaging with every passenger. “For me, it’s, like, my sixth Christmas,” she said. “But for them, this is something that they do every single year with their family. It’s their family tradition. I know how much my family traditions mean to me.”  As Thatcher led a high-energy, pop-punk version of “The 12 Days of Christmas” and chased the elves around the car with mistletoe — which is considered “highly toxic” in the North Pole for the amount of holiday cheer it spreads — it was hard not to feel infected by a bit of that yuletide spirit, too. 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