Lionel Battery-Operated The Polar Express Toy Train Set with Bluetooth, Locomotive, Train Cars, & Track with Authentic Train Sounds, Lights, & Water Vapor Smoke Effects for Kids 4+

I am editing my review because of how quickly the batteries run out. This is a good train at an unbeatable price. Although the price is low, the quality is impressive. I have owned two of these trains and I love them both. It's only been a few years, so I can't attest to how it will hold up in 10 years +, but I have to say I'm pretty confident it will last a long time. You can just tell it's a good quality set when you pick up the cars and feel their weight. The controls are very simple and they're perfect for either a kid or an adult. I know it's mostly for kids, but I'm an adult and I just love it. I couldn't really afford to invest $400+ for my first train, and this one looks wonderful around the tree. It's awesome to have the remote which lets you control the speed, direction and play sound effects. If you're looking for a nice gift which can be used every Christmas for years to come I highly recommend this train. Also just so you know before purchasing: this is the cheaper model, so you won't be able to add additional cars like in the more expensive models of the Polar Express, but you can extend the track as long as you want, just make sure you buy the Ready to Play track. I rated volume control 1 stars, because there is no volume control, but it's a train and I wasn't really expecting that anyway. Ideally there would be a volume control, but it's ok as trains are supposed to make noise. Unfortunately the batteries don't seem to last that long, so just be prepared that you'll need to have a massive amount of batteries if you want to run it during the whole holiday season. Update: I think I've figured out that what happens: I think the batteries inside the controller weaken because I can't use the sound FX right now, but it still controls the train. When I turn the train on it doesn't have the train sounds either, but it still runs. I'm certain this will be fixed replacing the batteries, but I'm mentioning this because it is kind of a cool unintentional feature, because now I have the train still running and it isn't as noisy. So I think the batteries on the train last a while, but you just may need to replace the controller ones. I definitely recommend the train!

Great gift for the money. Noise is tolerable. Great for all ages at Christmas time. Good quality track. Great compatibility. Fits perfect under the tree

Update 12/2/2021: five stars for longevity This is our fourth Christmas with this train. When we first purchased the train we had two kids. Now we have four. It has been through years of use (dare I say abuse) from three of those children and it still runs like new!!! It’s incredible and I’ve now officially raised it to five stars for being one of the few toys around here that has served this house for this long without a single issue, dent, crack, or scratch. Still no real connection issues as other reviewers have noted. Repetitive and thoughtless unrealistic “chuff” noise is still annoying. Also to note I’ve seen reviewers complaining of the train coming off the tracks, and I agree!! But not for the reason you might think. I am constantly replacing the train on the tracks because my kids keep taking it off to scoot it around on the floor. It has fallen off the tracks before when the track is not on flat to a flat surface. If I get the tracks down right I have no issues at all, it never pops off the tracks on its own. I highly recommend this train and for only $50 it has been an amazing experience and remains one of the kids favorite Christmas decorations. When they see the tree come out they immediately start asking about the train. Scroll down for instructions to add lights to the coaches. Update 12/14/2020: extreme durability It’s been a couple years now since we got this and it’s still going strong, and still no serious remote disconnecting issues as mentioned in previous reviews. As I noted In the original review we got this as a more durable place holder for its 6 times more expensive cousin we used to put under the tree. It has served the purpose well. It has been picked up and dropped and thrown about, had its tracks torn apart and thrown around the house, used on and off the tracks, had its piston parts torn out of place multiple times (they can be popped back into place), the remote has been slobbed and also covered with (unknown Sticky food substance), and the engine has been pushed all over the house on many different surfaces like a toy and through all of this it still works exactly as it did when we bought it. Nothing has even broken on it. Chuff sound is still annoying and unrealistic, still burns through batteries like no tomorrow under high use, but it still chugs around the tree like brand new. As far as remote disconnecting, maybe every once in a rare while? But it doesn’t last long. Maybe a second? Possibly they mostly solved this issue, or perhaps some people got duds? I still recommend this, especially if you can get it at a discounted rate. We paid about $50 after amazon price matched it self for us. Instructions to add lights to the coaches to make them glow: What you’ll need: - aluminum foil - 2 to 4 led wire string light sets with battery boxes that hold three double a batteries. Id go for ones with a remote or Bluetooth control. More on that down below - a small or maybe even precision size Phillips screw driver Steps: 1. Buy battery powered wire string lights. I would go for ones that take three double a batteries as the ones we have with a 6 double a battery box won’t fit. I was able to fit two sets of string lights with two separate three double a battery boxes in the coach without issue. I put one on one side of the poles and one on the other side of the poles. I do recommend two sets, I had one in originally and it was pretty dim. I am currently testing out a set I just got off amazon currently called “MINGER 16.4Ft Fairy Light Battery Operated 2 Pack“. (The amazon listing keeps changing names for some reason so you may have to search with less words to find it if it doesn’t come up at first). They are Bluetooth controlled so I use an app to turn them on or off when I’m ready to use them so I can screw the coach back together and not go through batteries too fast. You don’t have to get those. Any will do, probably should find some with a timer at least. You can always leave the top of the coach unscrewed after you’re done, it will stay on top as it kind of fits into place. But if you have young kiddos like I do then your coach may end up opened and the lights taken out regularly :). 2. Take your first coach and unscrew three screws from the bottom with a precision screw driver. The top will come off without issue. Make sure to keep track of the screws. Some of them stay in and some fall out. 3. Take out red plastic window piece with window stickers on it. Be careful as the stickers can peel off if you aren’t. 4. Lay aluminum foil inside the coach to prevent the light from shining through any where besides the windows as the coach is plastic. Line foil on top of all areas of the coach you wouldn’t want light to shine through. 5. Take your battery powered wire led string lights and set the battery boxes in the coach on top of the foil. 6. Take the wire lights and wrap them tightly around the inner poles of the coach from one end to the other until all the wire is used up. 7. Make sure there isn’t wire in the way and place plastic window piece back in place. Make sure to line the holes up over the poles. 8. Cut a piece of aluminum foil to put over the openings in the plastic window piece. Make sure to poke holes where needed to make room for where the poles meet up top to bottom. 9. Turn on lights and/or put top back on. 10. Repeat for second coach. That’s it you’re done. Yay. They glow like the o gauge set for a fraction of the cost. If you want to you can secure the screws back on at this point. It’s not necessary unless you have children or pets that may try to get into the coaches and makes it harder to turn on/off the lights if you need to /replace batteries but you gotta do what you gotta do. The top stays on unscrewed on mine at any speed so far. Keep in mind that if you do this to your train the windows will shine through red not yellow because the yellow windows are just a sticker sitting on a red piece of plastic and since the plastic is red the color that shines through is red. Also to note, the shadows of the people on the stickers are hardly noticeable while the coach is glowing since that’s just a sticker. Keep the string lights as close as possible to the center of the coach to prevent them from shining through the windows too concentrated in certain areas. Review: This train is somewhat annoying. We own the better version of this train. The o gauge that goes on the electric tracks. I feel like Lionel quality has gone downhill over the years. We decided to get this so we had something more durable to go around the tree this year. The chuff sound it makes is fairly annoying and repetitive, almost like a broken record. There’s no variation in the chuff like a real steam engine has. My sons $20 wooden train toy sounds more realistic than this does. What’s worse is you cannot change the sound, lower the volume, or turn the chuff off. On our more expensive set you can turn the chuff off (which that one’s chuff is just about as annoying). But I guess they decided to leave that out on the cheapo. Also this thing chews up c batteries. Probably should buy a 50 pack to get you through Christmas if you have kids who like to watch the train go round and round. It used 6 in two days. I added lights to the coaches because that was one thing I miss from our more expensive set was the glowing coaches. It was fairly simple, as you may have already seen the instructions to do so are listed at the top of the review. Aside from that I think it’s probably worth the price. I actually raised my rating one star because I paid $68 originally and I thought that was too much. Then the price dropped to $50 and so I called amazon and they price matched it for me and refunded the difference because amazon customer service is wonderful. I feel like $50 is a more justified price for the train and so my rating went up. I wouldn’t pay much more than that and if it’s over that at the time you’re reading this review I might wait if you can to see if the price will head down again. Just put it in your cart and save it for later. Amazon will tell you if the price ever changes at the top of your cart in a little note. All in all I really wish Lionel would cut the annoying chuf and get something a little more realistic. Or at least always give you the option to turn it off. We are fairly satisfied with it and my kids love it so it serves its purpose.

Good priced and decent quality train for the Christmas tree. Nice large size, stays on track well, as long as you put some time into making sure the track is correctly assembled and flat on the ground. It was relatively easy for me to buy additional LED lights to light up the coach cars and to buy Lionel figures to place onto the train. Has run well for about 2 weeks now and also stood up well to cats knocking it over. Would highly recommend, esp. if you are an experienced hobby or DIY person.

This was Santa's present for my little one who's completely obsessed with trains... He loves it! The quality is great, it's super fun and suitable for 6yo kids. Kiddo's been happier than ever

All parts included, USB charge cable and all tracks. No broken parts. Charged up properly and runs 100%

Our children love to watch the train go around, but it's the adults who suffer the pain of getting this thing to work on a remotely reliable basis. First, the plastic tracks, especially when put into a circle around the tree, don't fit snugly. This creates noise and easy spots for the trains to derail. The hooks that couple the cars are the absolute worst part about this. you find yourself constantly adjusting the cars back on the track, but that decouples the car. You recouple the cars, and of course, the trains are lifted off the track. to get both right at the same time is like performing surgery. this thing takes 6 C batteries - just for the locomotive - and it drains them fast. 6 c batteries cost $12. That will give you 3 hours of run time. maybe a little more. we have rechargeable batteries, and they exhaust faster, but at least you don't spend $12 every 1-2 days. The cars easily derail going backwards. and when they derail and you lift the car in place on the track, it decouples. As I say above, you try to recouple and the train comes off the track again. The locomotive is pretty good. It makes some sounds that my kids like. The cars on the other hand are made of cheap light painted tin. which is another reason why they derail so easily. Let me also add that the rubber band that fits over 4 of the 8 wheels of the locomotive come off easily. those bands produce some friction so that the wheels can grab the track. problem is, they come off whenever the train isn't perfectly on the tracks. and of course to put them back on, you end disconnecting all the cars, and you have yet another project ahead of you: putting all the cars on the track while coupling them together. With better tracks and a decent coupling system, train set would have been fine. We so want to send it back but the kids love it. The sounds are cool and it's a good size with pretty good detail. Little do they know what a giant pain this is for the adults to keep it running.

We got this as a reward for my son. He earned it and loves to play with it. One day, as we were playing with it (just running it around the track, nothing out of the ordinary), it made a pop sound. It acted a little weird. I replaced the batteries and no change. In the end the train worked, but I could get a random sound out of it every so often. I looked up the Lionel warranty and it should have covered the repair, but it would take getting approval for the repair. Then taking it to a shop that will ship it to Lionel. Then who knows how long it would take to repair. Once it is back, it might happen again, because I found out in a video this is common for the "Ready To Play" models. I happened to find a video that shows the problem and a solution for fixing it. On a popular video site it was named "How to fix the sound on a Lionel Ready to Play Polar Express locomotive" This showed how to take apart the locomotive to get to the sound without messing with the motor area. No wire cutting and splicing, so I was willing to try it. It also showed that something on the speaker pops off and putting a little pressure on it lets it start working again. Only 10 screws to undo, adding some filler (he recommends tape balls) to put pressure on the speaker. A little bit of muted sound and I had a working train again that wasn't as loud as before. My son noticed and I just said it has to be quieter because of how it was fixed. Why did I do this, my son is on the spectrum. In his mind the train was broken even though it was just the sound. Even though it could run on the tracks just fine, it wasn't right to him. Shipping it away was going to be sad. Finding a quick easy fix was great. Now that we have two of the Ready To Play trains, I may end up needing to do the same fix for our other train. Until then, my son will be able to play with both trains. Actual review The tracks snap together and aren't the easiest for a little kid to assemble. But they are sturdy and have handled a younger sibling start getting mad and tearing up the track. The curve is small so it takes about 6 track to make a 90 degree angle. You get few straight track. So plan for a big area for this to run. The train is assembled and rather easy to put on the track. A young kid will need help. The train stays on a good track, splitting tracks causes derailing. The remote is easy to link. Just turn on the remote, and turn on the train and they will connect (order doesn't matter). My son was able to do it without much thought (though he may have picked it up from watching other videos about the train). The bell and whistle work great. The sound clips play something different based on if the train is moving. The batteries have lasted, the only reason I changed the first set is because of the sound problem, they may not have even been dead when I changed them. Great simple train for younger folk and not really for the serious model train enthusiast. If the sound wouldn't stop working, I would recommend it for kids with supervision.