Scooter’s Train Giveaway is coming back for an unexpected 16th year after the event’s founder said he was convinced to continue the tradition.
Ralph Hicks, the event founder, drawing coordinator, and train restoration expert of Scooter’s Train Giveaway, said last year the 15th event would be most likely be his last due to the amount of work it takes to restore each of the trains in the raffle.
The event was trimmed down to a small offering in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hicks was ready to make last year’s drawing the final one.
But this year, after hearing how much the community has enjoyed the giveaway in past years, he decided the show must go on.
“People were telling me this was good for the community, that kids need to have tactile things to play with and interact with, with electricity, and basic carpentry skills that father and son, mother and daughter, they can do with their kids instead of just the cell phone,” Hicks said.
The third-place prize this year is a modern Diesel Southern mint in the box, second place is a 2026 1946 steam engine with a whistle, and the first place prize is a 2025 near mint condition engine with whistle, smoke, and Pullman cars.
Hicks will host a Christmas party at his house on Monday to give away three trains to children under the age of 15 who enter by putting their names in buckets at local places such as Zoller Hardware, Evan’s Hair Graphics, the Cashiers Recreation Center, the Transylvania County Country Store, and NAPA Auto Parts in Cashiers. The trains will then be delivered to the winners on Dec. 20.
The trains that are included in the raffle are refurbished vintage Lionel trains, and Hicks makes sure each one is authentic and 100 percent American.
Scooter, the namesake of Scooter’s Train Giveaway, was Hicks’ best friend, a dog who was injured after being hit by a car before he became a part of the Hicks family. The lingering effects of the injuries became too much for Scooter, and he eventually passed away from complications stemming from the injuries in 2016.
All three prize trains are fully functional and come with tracks, a transformer, and a custom storage box. Hicks works meticulously restoring each train and can be up as early as 4:30 a.m. testing the trains on the track before they are given to the children.
“I think there’s a real need for kids to learn that we need jobs for Americans in America,” Hicks said. “The more infrastructure we have, the better fair trade is for everybody, but they need to learn that quality begins at home. That’s always been, for 15 years, we’ve been saying that.”