The Polar Express is the titular 2-8-4 wheel configured American Berkshire type steam locomotive that transports children to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. The locomotive pulls five passenger cars, including an abandoned toy car at the front and an observation car at the back.
Role in the film[]
The train makes two stops in Grand Rapids, Michigan to pick up Hero Boy and Billy the Lonely Boy respectively. Later in the film, Smokey and Steamer, the locomotive's fireman and engineer, have to fix the light, so Hero Girl is put in charge of driving. Suddenly, Smokey and Steamer see something ahead on the track and call out to Hero Girl to stop the train, but she and Hero Boy have trouble figuring out which lever applies the brakes. Eventually, Hero Boy applies the brakes and the train stops just before it crashes into a herd of caribou.
After the caribou get out of the way, Smokey and Steamer get back to the cab of the locomotive and get the train on its way again. However, Steamer finds the throttle is jammed due to a lose pin, causing the train to accelerate uncontrollably. Because of this, the Conductor ties Hero Boy and Hero Girl to the safety bar at the front of the locomotive to prevent them from falling off as they go down Glacier Gulch. The pin falls out and into an air vent, but comes out when the train goes down the gulch. Steamer manages to grab it with his mouth, only to swallow it by accident. When the train ends up on the Ice Lake, Smokey manages to get the pin out of Steamer's stomach by hitting his back with a shovel, but it works too well as the pin flies out of the locomotive and lands on the ice, causing it to crack. Smokey eventually decides to use the pin from his hair to fix the throttle and Steamer is able to control the speed again. Everyone soon notices the cracking ice, so Smokey and Steamer try to get the train back on the tracks with the Conductor navigating and succeed.
The Conductor, Hero Boy and Hero Girl later climb along the locomotive to get back to the passenger cars.
Passenger Cars[]
The train pulls a line of various passenger cars.
Abandoned Toy Car[]
The first passenger car the Polar Express pulls during its journey to and from the North Pole. No passengers sit in it, but it is instead filled with a bunch of abandoned and forsaken toys that have been left to rust and decay in the back alleys and vacant lots around the world. Instead of getting thrown away, the train collects these toys and takes them to the North Pole where they are restored to their former glory. According to the Conductor, Santa Claus calls it something along the lines of "rebicycling."
After the train gets off the Ice Lake, Hero Boy, Hero Girl, and the Conductor makes their way back to the passenger cars. On the way, they pass through the abandoned toy car. The Conductor explains the story behind all the broken toys. Hero Girl finds it especially sad that these toys were treated so horribly. The Conductor and Hero Girl make it to the other passenger car, but Hero Boy gets distracted and runs into an Ebenezer Scrooge puppet, being puppeteered by the Hobo from the roof of the car. A scared Hero Boy runs away and back to the other passenger car.
Passenger Cars[]
All of the passenger cars share the same livery. They are blue with a red stripe going along the side windows and a black roof. In the film, the next to last car has the words "Polar Express" in yellow on the sides under the windows, though this is not present in the book.
In most merchandise lines, the wording appears on all the cars and is above the windows instead of below.
Observation Car[]
The passenger car coupled to the back of the Polar Express. Unlike the other passenger cars, the seats are sideways, facing away from the walls. It has lamps between the seats. The interior design is also different. In the back, there is a patio without a door where passengers can watch the view from the back of the train.
When Billy first gets on the train, he decides to sit in the observation car, away from all the other children. After the all children are served hot chocolate, Hero Girl and the Conductor go to the observation car to give some to Billy, then go back to the car in front of it.
The Conductor takes Hero Girl to the observation car again after finding out she lost her ticket. Hero Boy follows them after finding the ticket in the air vent. He asks Billy where they went, but Billy says nothing, instead looks up at the window where a shadow from the train's roof is seen. Hero Boy goes there himself and meets the Hobo. The Hobo helps Hero Boy get to the locomotive where he finds Hero Girl driving the train.
Later, Hero Boy and Hero Girl see Billy looking out from the back of the observation car, singing "When Christmas Comes to Town", which Hero Girl joins in after the first verse. When the song is over, the Northern Lights form. The Conductor comes to inform the children that they have crossed the Arctic Circle and shows them the lights in the distance, which are from the North Pole.
When the Conductor and the children get off the train, they notice that Billy is staying behind in the observation car, so Hero Boy and Hero Girl (unknowingly followed by Know-It-All) go to try to convince him to come. However, Hero Boy accidentally steps on a lever which uncouples the car, causing it to speedily roll away from the Square and down a hill. Hero Boy tries to find the emergency brake, but to no avail. The Hobo suddenly appears again and taps on the brake wheel before disappearing again when he crashes into a wall. Hero Boy turns the wheel and the car stops on a turntable, which starts to spin. When it stops, the children get off and try to find their way back to the Square.
Before the children get back on the train for the return journey, four of the elves use a Handcar to retrieve the observation car and re-couple it. However, Billy decides to sit with all the other children this time.
Basis[]
Locomotive[]
The Polar Express is based off of Pere Marquette 1225, a 1941 locomotive of the Berkshire N-1 class built at the Lima Locomotive Works. The locomotive's design were used in the film, as well as its sounds, with the exception of its whistle, which came from Sierra Railway No. 3. Drawings of the locomotive were used to create the 3D model. Chris Van Allsburg chose this design because he used to play on the locomotive while attending games at the Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan, where it was placed on static display at the time.
Today, the 1225 is housed in Owosso, Michigan and is operated and maintained by the Steam Railroading Institute. The 1225 frequently hauls passenger excursions in Michigan throughout the year, including the world-famous North Pole Express trips throughout the months of November and December.
Passenger Cars[]
The passenger cars are all based on a Strasburg Railroad coach.
Livery[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The locomotive shares the same whistle sound as Locomotive 131 from Back To The Future Part III, which Robert Zemeckis also directed.
External links[]
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