By Black Widow

The purchase I made from you was a good choice. It is of course, a great starter set. It arrived in new condition and everything checked out OK. Great price! I will purchase again from you. Thanks again. Just in time for my grand-daughter to play with.

By J. Hertzler

As the set is fairly expensive for our use (seasonal – under the Christmas tree), we would not have purchased this item without other reviewers giving it such high ratings. Now that we have the set, we agree with the high ratings. It is easy to set up, it looks great under the tree, and it runs flawlessly. The ability to just connect the track together and lay it on the carpet was one of its most appealing features to us. I was certain when my boys ran it at full throttle that it would derail but it did not. I think they have even run it backwards at full or near-full throttle without it derailing. It is very well built. As for cons, we think the smoke feature is only so-so as the white smoke only comes out very intermittently for us, is sort of hard to see, and replacement fluid isn’t cheap. Another reviewer mentioned the railing on the observation car (the last car) coming off. We have experienced that too, and we’ll probably glue that piece on. The starter set track layout is small and we are already wanting to buy more track. These are minor issues to us in an otherwise great set that we are very happy to have purchased.

By Emily M. Vose

My husband and I had been on the hunt for an heirloom quality Christmas train for our son that would stand the test of time since before he was born. Prior to delivery of this train set, we were planning to replace the individual pieces gradually with higher quality Lionel parts as our son grew. But, after feeling the heft of the locomotive and inspecting the cars and tracks up close, we’re confident that with proper care and storage this train will last forever.

Our son is 18mos and is certainly outside of the approved 8+ age group but he loves to drive the train, make it whistle and wave as it goes around the tree. The forward/reverse is as you would expect on any Lionel transformer and, if it is confusing for your kid, there is a switch on the back of the locomotive that disables the forward/reverse function and allows directional control only through the “direction” button on the transformer.

The track supplied with the train is just enough to go around the tree and the train cars cover about 1/3-1/2 of the track. I would recommend against purchasing additional cars unless additional track is also purchased. The set up was very simple to assemble and we had it up in running in about 10 mins.

I would recommend purchasing the cleaning kit and additional liquid smoke. The kit ships with a small bit of liquid smoke and once you get it smoking, you’ll be disappointed when you run out. The cleaning kit is a good investment if you expect your train to be stored outside of the holiday season and comes with cleaning tools and solutions endorsed by Lionel as safe for your set.

The only detractor I have, is the caboose. There is a little observation balcony on the the back of the car that can be easily removed for safe storage. Because it can be so easily removed, when the train is at full throttle and screaming around the track, it comes loose and sometimes falls off.

Overall, I’d would recommend, and have already recommended, this train set to anyone looking for a Christmas train or a starter 0/0-27 gauge train set – it is a wonderfully well rounded set and the price is very fare.

By J. K. Moore

We have a three year old boy that just absolutely loves trains, so we needed a train to go around the base of the Christmas tree. After much research this was the one we decided on. The train is incredible, well made, solid, and isn’t so Christmassy Sweet that it looks cheesy. We have a tree stand built for large trees (we’ve gone over 20 feet in the past) so ordered the 30 inch track to extend the oval, good thing, it wouldn’t have fit without it. Opened the box and within 10 minutes the engine and coal car were running down the track, blowing the whistle. We still haven’t been able to get the engine to make smoke, but that is a very low priority for us. My boy has no problems “driving” the train by himself, but he’s a kid who likes things slow and not fast.

A great family heirloom to be, built so it can be passed down from generation to generation.

By J. Bishop “sixadamone”

I’m pleased with this purchase. The locomotive is outstanding. It’s heavy, solid, and detailed. At this price point, I wasn’t expecting such high quality. The tender and coaches are well-built with no production defects found. If you’re a stickler for scale, the action figures are a bit large, but anything smaller would be too small to make this a child’s toy. Promptly shipped by Trainz.

By G. Knapp

Well, what can I say…..this is amazing!!! My son is 4 and totally train crazy!!
He has everything Thomas and it was time to move to the next level. This train is definately it!!! Well made and incredibly sturdy!! I couldn’t believe how much the engine wieghed when I took it out of the box….the quality is astounding!! The passenger cars are plastic but really well made and high quality!!

About the smoke….I, too had troubles and emailed Lionel directly. They were helpful, but in the end I just reread the instructions and realized that when they say it has to be going fast….they mean the controller needs to be at 90 or 100 the first time you are trying for smoke!! Once you get the smoke going a couple of times it will start and maintain at 80. It starts faster if you put the controller to 90, wait for the smoke and then turn it down…..but any lower than 80 and the smoke distribution slows down. It is a nice stream of smoke that puffs out…..but it is small. My son loves it anyway and is thrilled!!

I recommend this train for anyone getting started with electric trains or if you are a polar express enthusiast….this is super fun!!!

Be Blessed and Merry Christmas!!!

By nick mosko

items arrived in perfect order–set was beautiful and no parts missing- Lionel is still the leader in collectible trains–amazon is my preference in purchases…no problems in the past.

By Jaime M. Sharp

Absolutely love the train set. It’s easy enough that my 1 and 4-year old kids now how to work the controls. My only complaint is that the last car does not stay on the track very well. We either have to leave that car off or constantly replace it back on the track. The set is very durable and I love the fact we can always add to the set later on.

By Car Guy “Paul”

This train is as good as any Lionel train in this price range. The cars are the same as they have been for thirty plus years. The engine has the good can motor in it. The biggest problem with it is, this train will fly (it runs to fast). In the hands of a kid that turns it up to max voltage, it will not make it around the next curve. With that the bell will be gone from the front of the engine. The two switchs are next to impossible to see in the back of the cab. Over all an okay train, but it will not stand harsh treatment. I do not think it is a collector item anyway so have fun with it.

By William Henderson

This is an awesome train set. The fast-track layout is nice. The attention to detail, by Lionel, is unmatched. Be sure to check out my reviews for all the extra cars you can buy for this set. They make great additions to the train and the extra figurines, also available separately, look good placed at random areas around the track. This item will last for years and my grandson Ashton will get years of pleasure from it. Very pleased with the Polar Express Train Set.