Christmas came early to parts of Southern Appalachia as Santa Claus himself once again rode the rails of the Clinchfield aboard the CSX Santa Train. Every year, the train departs CSX's Shelbiana, Kentucky yard before sunrise on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Aboard are 15 tons of gifts which will be distributed to the good children of each small mountain town the train passes through as it travels across the Southwest corner of Virginia to Kingsport, Tennessee. This tradition was begun by the Clinchfield Railroad in 1943 and is continued today by their successor CSX Transportation.