Hogger Boggs (Companions of Christmas)

One of the SchweizerCraft "Companions of Christmas" series (#XmasF 21)

During World War II, Santa generally had to fly much lower than he does during peacetime, for fear of attracting the attention of aircraft spotters and putting local towns into panic. But this made delivering presents in some areas difficult, and in the mountains of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, with their dense trees and steep peaks, it proved all but impossible, and Santa was at a loss for how to get gifts to the children in the coal towns.

Santa reached out to his department store ambassadors in the area to ask if they had any ideas, and his proxy in Kingsport, Tennessee brought the question to the town’s merchant association, who suggested that Santa use the local rail line. But there was a problem: the Clinchfield line, which hit every mining town between Marrowbone & Kermit, was an extremely busy one, with its cars constantly loading the coal needed for both civilian life and the war. With its frequent stops, Santa would never have time to get all over the world.

At a loss, they went to see Hogger Boggs, the retired train engineer reputed to know the mountain grades and switches better than anyone else on the railroad. And Boggs set to work, charting a schedule that would allow them to barrel through at full speed without stopping.

Boggs’ timetable had to be precise to the very second in order to miss the other trains by mere inches, and the railroad, knowing how hard a time the miners and their families had been having with so many of their number off at war, agreed to give Boggs use of an engine.

When Christmas came, Hogger Boggs was ready, and, with Santa aboard, navigated his train through winding mountains, artfully managing its pace as it climbed and dived, with Santa throwing toys and candies along the way to the children who otherwise wouldn’t have received them.

After the end of WWII, Santa returned to delivering presents to Appalachia by sleigh, but the people along the Clinchfield line had so embraced the “Santa Claus Special” that it’s become a yearly tradition.

These days, Hogger Boggs lives at the North Pole, where he serves as head engineer of all Christmas trains, and Santa’s chief consultant on planning and scheduling delivery routes for St Nicolas Day, Christmas, and Epiphany. But late each November, Santa and Hogger Boggs take a trip from their northern home down to eastern Kentucky to ride the southbound line through a hundred miles of coal country and distribute toys, school supplies, and necessities to its children.

1/4” Baltic Birch, roughly 2.8” tall

This figure can be purchased individually here, or with the 25-figure Advent Collection.

Figure comes with a 2.75 x 8.5” card telling his story. The card fits in the story shelf on the Santa’s Workshop DisPlayset.