January 2005 Editorial - Model Railroad Newsage

Stop for a moment and think of all the children who will see this movie and, in the process, have their first real experience with trains. Did I say “real”? I dearly love Thomas the Tank Engine and other fantasy trains, but they are not about any sort of reality. Real steam engines are big, noisy machines which don’t talk in human languages or have smiling faces, and that comes across very clearly in the movie version of The Polar Express. Yes, the train at times becomes a musical stage and at others a carnival ride. How often do you see the engineer and fireman on the pilot of their moving loco, changing the headlamp bulb while leaving a child to hog the engine? You guys in the back — stop with the UP jokes, please.

The Polar Express: Could it help children believe in trains again?
Every year the holidays feature several new movie releases about Christmas, usually replaying themes from Dickens or Disney. This year we are treated to The Polar Express, an animated 110 minute feature-length movie whose principle star is a train! Oh sure, you can point out that Tom Hanks was the performance source for five different characters in the movie and that Bob Zemeckis assembled all of this. You can note that the picture is based on a children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg, already a fixture of the season after just twenty years in print.
We’re train guys and our practiced eyes tell us that someone actually bothered to study a train. It’s a Van Sweringen Berkshire 2-8-4, Pere Marquette No. 1225. Just for the record, the locomotive in the book is actually a 4-8-2 Mountain, but the movie has made it into a Berkshire; not that I mind. Also in the movie, the know-it-all character says the loco was made by Baldwin; it wasn’t, it’s a proud product of Lima. The real 1225 leads an active life, pulling excursion trains, often for charity benefits. In a real life bit of Scroogery, CSX recently denied trackage rights to move the 1225 and its train to a Polar Express fundraiser for a children’s hospice. Apparently, some folks at CSX don’t believe. Meanwhile, the movie has drawn mixed reviews, with one reviewer liking what another reviewer hates; there’s no hall of fame for critics. My advice for train folks is to go for the train. It’s really that easy. Opinions vary on the message of the movie or the animation method; I frankly enjoyed the whole thing. The movie captures the mighty steam giant in all its glory, using the theater sound system to portray hundreds of tons shaking the rails as it thunders up in front of the Hero Boy’s house. Hey, what’s not to like?	Van Alsburg's book image clearly reveals the four-wheel pilot truck, two-wheel trailing truck, and probably four driving axles.
Stop for a moment and think of all the children who will see this movie and, in the process, have their first real experience with trains. Did I say “real”? I dearly love Thomas the Tank Engine and other fantasy trains, but they are not about any sort of reality. Real steam engines are big, noisy machines which don’t talk in human languages or have smiling faces, and that comes across very clearly in the movie version of The Polar Express. Yes, the train at times becomes a musical stage and at others a carnival ride. How often do you see the engineer and fireman on the pilot of their moving loco, changing the headlamp bulb while leaving a child to hog the engine? You guys in the back — stop with the UP jokes, please.	This image from the movie shows off the two wheel pilot truck, eight drivers, and other scenes clearly show the four-wheel trailing truck.
Still, I expect this movie to energize children in the direction of trains. Excursion trains may notice a bump in ridership, if their insurance companies don’t throw a wet blanket over it all. Modern freight and Amtrak are still there to be watched, if not ridden. Perhaps the main recipient of all this train interest may be model railroading. Lionel has out an O-gauge set based on the movie, as does Brio with a wooden train set. Bachmann is offering a version of its Big Hauler G-scale set with its venerable 4-6-0 standing in for the mighty Berkshire. Life-Like produces an HO Van Sweringen Berkshire, though not with “The Polar Express” emblazoned on its flanks. The Life-Like models are probably too expensive and delicate for gifts to children. Heavyweight passenger cars are on the market, again not decorated specifically. But you can expect all that to change very soon as the industry ramps up. Adults need actual scale models; kids have imaginations which are triggered much more easily. If models are about imagination, the movie is about belief: Hero Boy isn’t sure he still believes in Santa Claus. By the end of the movie, his faith in Santa is revived; nothing like a wild train ride to straighten you out. Me, I still believe in trains, but not everyone else does. As with the red-suited guy, trains face a serious belief gap in Congress and other adult bastions. Once every child in America has come to believe in both Santa Claus and Trains, perhaps they can march on Washington and get Amtrak fully funded. Even if they don’t march any farther than their local hobby shop, a new interest in models of steam locomotives may be in the offing. Meanwhile, I’ve got some grandkids to take to the movie. If I don’t get them all in one trip, I’ll just have to go again, won’t I?
— John Sipple
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