Santa Riding a Train Rochard Limoges Box with Brass Track

All aboard for the North Pole: Santa has traded the sleigh for a train this year and rides along on his own brass track. Rochard made the porcelain in Limoges, France, and painted the engine and its jolly passenger by hand.

Next Stop, the North Pole

For generations, a toy train circling the Christmas tree has been part of the holiday picture, and this Rochard piece brings Santa right into that tradition. The brass track gives the little engine somewhere to sit and adds a bright metal line beneath the porcelain. It reads as a scene rather than a single figure, which is part of the charm.

Holiday Rails and Whistles

• A Rochard design, hand-painted in Limoges, France
• Rests on its own brass track
• Joins a Santa, Christmas village or model railroad display

Running Along the Mantel

Line it up with a holiday village on the mantel, or tuck it under the tree beside the wrapped boxes where a real train might run. Model railroad fans will want it near their layout, and anyone who grew up with a train set at Christmas tends to smile when they see it. As a present it suits a grandfather who still runs his old trains each December, or a new homeowner building holiday traditions.

Many Limoges boxes are painted by hand after the white porcelain is fired, and their metal mounts are fitted by hand as well, which is how pieces like this come together.