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Ricky Skaggs to Serve as Special Guest on 75th Santa TrainBluegrass music legend Ricky Skaggs will be the special guest on the 75th running of the CSX Santa Train on Saturday, Nov. 18. Skaggs, whose impressive resume includes 15 Grammy awards, 12 No.1 hits and eight CMA awards, has been performing bluegrass for more than 30 years. He's been especially busy lately, continuing to tour the country and forging ahead with cross-cultural, genre-bending musical inspirations. "We are so excited to have an icon like Ricky Skaggs join us on this year's Santa Train," said Tori Kaplan, Vice President of Communications and Field Support for CSX. "This year's train marks 75 years of giving back to the families of Appalachia, and we couldn't have picked a better partner and representative of Appalachia than Ricky." Each year since 1942, CSX's Santa Train embarks on a journey from Shelby, Ky., to Kingsport, Tenn., to spread holiday cheer, passing out gifts to families in cities along the rail line. The Santa Train makes 14 stops in Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee, delivering toys, food and winter clothing to hundreds of residents along the way. Skaggs will accompany Santa Claus and event sponsors CSX, Food City, Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, Appalachian Power and Soles 4 Souls on the 110-mile trek. Fans can use the hashtag #santatrainis75 to follow the train online and engage in the Santa Train conversation on social media. Photos and video from this year's Santa Train will be available Monday, Nov. 20. Email Morey Hill at [email protected] if you are interested in using the images. About the Santa Train: Now in its 75th year, the Santa Train operates along a 110-mile route through Appalachia, making 14 stops in Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee to distribute more than 15 tons of toys to Appalachian families. The Santa Train is sponsored by CSX, Food City, Appalachian Power, Soles 4 Souls and the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce. Please visit http://www.beyondourrails.org/index.cfm/events/santa-train/ for more information or follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. About Ricky Skaggs: Earning 12 #1 hit singles, 15 GRAMMY® Awards, 12 IBMA Awards, nine ACM Awards, eight CMA Awards (including Entertainer of the Year), two Dove Awards, the ASCAP Founders Award, three honorary Doctorate degrees, inductions into the Musicians Hall of Fame and GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the 2013 Artist-In-Residence at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, an Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award in the Instrumentalist category along with countless other awards, Ricky Skaggs is truly a pioneer of Bluegrass and Country music. Since he began playing music more than 50 years ago, Skaggs has released more than 30 albums and has performed thousands of live shows. He started his own record label, Skaggs Family Records, in 1997 and has since released 12 consecutive GRAMMY®-nominated albums. His latest release, Hearts Like Ours, with his wife, celebrated artist Sharon White of The Whites features the couple dueting on handpicked country love songs. And the Grand Ole Opry member has released his first-ever autobiography, "Kentucky Traveler." The book details the life and times of Skaggs and provides a descriptive history of Country and Bluegrass music, as told by the master himself. In addition to his regular touring schedule with his band, Kentucky Thunder, he recently performed a string of dates with his better half Sharon White along with guitar legend Ry Cooder on the critically-acclaimed "Cooder-White-Skaggs" tour and from time to time hits the road with versatile singer/songwriter and pianist Bruce Hornsby on another critically-acclaimed tour, "Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby with Kentucky Thunder." About CSX: CSX, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is a premier transportation company. It provides rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services and solutions to customers across a broad array of markets, including energy, industrial, construction, agricultural and consumer products. For nearly 190 years, CSX has played a critical role in the nation's economic expansion and industrial development. Its network connects every major metropolitan area in the eastern United States, where nearly two-thirds of the nation's population resides. It also links more than 240 short-line railroads and more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports with major population centers and farming towns alike. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at www.csx.com. Like us on Facebook (News - Alert) (http://facebook.com/OfficialCSX), and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) (http://twitter.com/CSX).
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