Lionel G Scale The Polar Express Battery Powered Model Train Set

I am thrilled to have this train. It is modeled after the train in the Christmas movie "The Polar Express". It is a full sized train, G scale. It comes with the engine, coal car, and two passenger cars. It has no caboose, but I have added that on my own. This train has a plastic track, and is battery operated, 6 C cells or 1 9 volt to run the train and 2 AA for the remote. When my children were young, I had an electric train that was put around the Christmas tree, but I was always afraid of something catching fire or one of the children getting shocked. Not a problem with this train, and I really like that. My five year old grandson love this train. He has learned to put the train on the tracks and run it. I never let that happen with my old electric train, so the young children always had to have someone run the train for them. The train is now back in its box. It stores very well in the box it came in. Once opened you can't trust the handle for carrying it though, the box seems to heavy for that, once it is all opened up, Could be the way I opened it, don't really know. I can't wait to see the expression on my grandsons face when he sees this train running round the Christmas tree, with the little village that will be put on the inside of the oval track. Nothing small about this train, including the fun and smiles it will bring

This Polar Express train set is very easy to setup & runs on batteries. So make sure you have 6 C batteries & 2 AA batteries (for the remote controller) because, they are not included. The train set includes 12 curved and 4 straight track pieces that fit together to make a 55 by 72 inch oval track. The tracks are easy to put together, there is no screwing or hardware needed. Just a simple click and snap, and the tracks are put together. This set also includes, steam locomotive, tender, passenger coach, observation coach, remote control, bell (that fell off Santa's sleigh) & three figures. We (me & my kids) really liked that this train set is highly detailed and the observation car has a disappearing hobo on top of it, which was an extra surprise. The disappearing hobo generated a lot of giggles & the little ones told me it was magic. You can also sound the whistle, ring the bell, and play "All Aboard The Polar Express!" while the train goes around the track. The engine has built-in sound that makes a steam chuff noise. It also makes a steam brake release noise when it stops (very realistic sounding). The kids kept yelling "ChooChoo!", when the train was going around the tracks & were just mesmerized by how realistic the sounds were. They kept telling me it's like a real train. There are also 2 lights on the train (one on front of the engine) and also one on the back that is red and flickers & looks like burning coal. The figures that are included (the conductor and boy figure) can also sit on top of the train as well. They didn't fall off or move, even when the train was going around the tracks at full speed. Was happy that there were figures included as well. A lot of train sets don't include anything besides the train & train tracks, so figures are always a great bonus. The train set was setup on a hard even surface in the front room & the train went out around the tracks very smoothly, even at the different speeds with out any issues. The remote control has clearly marked buttons, so kids can easily operate it without any problems. With the remote control you can also make the train go backwards (which they very much enjoyed). This is really a fantastic model and very true likeness to the Polar Express in the film. The set is larger than I expected, which we were pleasantly surprised about. It has great authentic train sounds (sounds like a real train is near you), including bell and whistle. The working headlights also made the train more realistic looking. Overall it's nice and durable & easy to assemble and disassemble. Also fit nicely back in the box for easy storage. Although, it didn't end up staying in the box very long before, I had to reassemble & keep it out for the little ones. It's a very nice train set & is a must have for any little Polar Express or train fan. It definitely exceeded mine & my kids expectations! A+ train set in our book!

I received this train through Walmart's Spark Review Program. I requested this for review because my husband loves Lionel trains and is particular to this brand. He only owns O-Guage which is smaller than the G-Guage. What I like about it is you really can appreciate the detail of the train because of its size.When I seen the box it made me smile because it reminds you of Christmas. Being a Polar Express train of course it looks like the train from the movie. I love the vintage look. It has such style and detail to it. You get the steam locomotive has a head lamp and sounds,. A tender (coal car);this is the car where all the C batteries go. There is an observation car with a disappearing hobo who lives on top of the car and disappears when he doesn't want to be seen. You use your finger to make him disappear. There is also a passenger car. There are twelve curved tracks and four straight tracks. You can make a circle,extended circle or an oval design track. There is also a conductor Tom Hanks figure and Billy on a snow stand. There is a large "Santa Sleigh Bell' that is from the movie that would make a great Christmas tree ornament. There is a wireless remote control. This takes 2 AA batteries. The remote has forward,stop,reverse. There is a bell and whistle buttons. There is an announcement button that says. "All Aboard". "This Is The Polar Express" The voice sounds like Tom Hanks. In order for the train to run you have to turn on the remote switch on the controller to on. The coal tender which is behind the engine has a power plug that must be inserted in the back of the engine. Then the power activation button must be pressed. This is on top of the engine. Then turn the dial on the remote to move the train. The train makes realistic sounds like chugging and brake squealing. The set comes with batteries. Unfortunately the C batteries were dead. I purchased C batteries and ran the train for over 2 1/2 hours non stop to check the battery life. You can purchase a 9.6Volt rechargeable battery if you desire. You will also have to buy a charger to charge that battery. The only issue my husband had with the train is that the coupler to connect the cars together is difficult to connect whereas the O-Guage trains just snap together. This is the first train set that I was able to run on the floor because my cats couldn't knock them over like the O-Guage trains. All in all I think this train is a wonderful edition to place around the holiday tree.

I received Lionel's The Polar Express G-Guage Train Set and was excited to begin using it. It was a great disappointment. I worked for over a half and hour to try and set it up and still didn't get it to work right. The next day I began with new enthusiasm but soon grew very frustrated. The tracks are not that easy to put together. You have to push them quite hard at the ties to get them together. A child would have a hard time putting these tracks together. This train is rated for 4 and older but you really need to be an adult or much older child to use this train. Next was trying to get the cars on the track AND hook them up to one another. They need a better set up for attaching the trains to one another. Just when you think you have the train on the track, the train car unhooks from the other car. It was very frustrating and finally with two adults working together, we were able to get the train moving. To unhook the tracks you just lift one end of the track which was easy to do. It does come with the batteries needed which was nice. I also thought the conductor and child were very cute but I thought they could be a little larger. The train is fun to run once you get it together but I was surprised that Lionel, the leader in trains, would put out a train of this quality. It does say on the front of the instructions "Adult assembly required" and they weren't kidding. They should just say this is an adult train. I look forward to having this train around my Christmas tree but don't look forward to putting it together.

Our kids were very excited. They loved watching it go around the tree good quality and runs well. This will be a train that our family can use every Christmas and I think we will be able to pass it along to our Grandkids one day. Great addition to our Christmas traditions. Our train came with the train, hobo, conductor, and child as noted and also a polar express Christmas bell. It did not come with batteries, but I made sure to have these on hand since several reviews stated this fact