Each year, Old Town Manassas hosts the Railway Festival the first Saturday in June. This year, on the twentieth anniversary of the event, the festival featured not just any old train ride to and from Clifton on the V.R.E., but a ride with Frozen’s Princess Elsa.
Girls of all ages were decked out in blue dresses, ready for a photo opportunity with the world’s most popular princess. People piled onto the trains that departed from Manassas beginning at 11 a.m. through 1 p.m. Almost as soon as the train pulled out of the station, the children’s excitement mounted as they waited to get a glimpse of Elsa.
“There she is! There she is!” young voices chorused.
When asked what her favorite thing was about the train ride, 9-year old Miracle, a student at Round Elementary, didn’t miss a beat. “Seeing the princess.” It was also Miracle’s first time on a train.
Although Elsa was a main attraction for many, for a local family from Gainesville, the favorite thing was the scenery. “I really liked seeing the swamps,” 8-year old Alexa said. She was accompanied by her father, Mario, her younger brother, Gian Carlo, and their grandmother who had gotten the tickets three weeks before.
Alexa was in good company paying attention to the sights offered by the annual train ride itself. Perhaps the thousands of commuters still enjoy what they see on their way into the city, or perhaps they turn inward instead, reading or typing on their tablets, but 14-year old Tiajha from Metz Middle said her favorite thing about it was, “Seeing everything there is to see.” She also commented on how much she enjoyed the model trains at Harris Pavilion.
Once the train reaches the Historic District of Clifton, it returns to Manassas, a trip that took just under an hour. The train has double decker cars which were popular among the children but prevented them from shaking hands and taking pictures with Elsa when she made her way through the cars. With manners befitting a princess, however, Elsa paused at the car’s doors and waved to those children who looked down at her.
“Goodbye everyone!" she called.
When asked what her favorite thing was about Princess Elsa, a 7-year old dressed up like her, said, “She was nice.” For this little girl, and the other members of the Vutiprichar family, the most important thing about this day was being together.
Back at the Harris Pavilion, the train ride was not over. While children could not literally board the model trains running through the pavilion, they could imagine riding through the elaborate scenic villages that had been constructed along the model train tracks.
The National Capital Trackers, out of Fairfax, which has 140 members, constructed one of the featured displays that included multiple tracks, realistic cityscapes and towns, and even one train that has a real smoking engine.
"I like the train with the smoke coming out of it," said 8-year-old Molly Burch of Manassas.
Another popular exhibit was the LEGO train set constructed by another local train group, the DC Metro LEGO Train Club. It included a church, fire department, race track, Empire-state building style skyscraper and Coca-Cola factory.
Lastly, the the third exhibit showed off smaller N-Scale trains. These delicate, realistic models chugged past farms, homes and factories, trees and farm animals.
Amongst all the train exhibits were local vendors; good food; local performers such as bluegrass band, Bull Run Grass; interactive rides such as a climbing wall and bounce house. All in all, the event, organized by Historic Manassas, was a fun way to honor the past, while celebrating the moment with friends and family.
Support Bristow Beat - Donate Today!