E9:
They're longer, for one thing. You'll probably need curves much broader than your Lionel is now using.
They're also quite delicate, and you should keep this in mind - setting up an HO system is a great idea, and lots of fun, but for a small child it's going to be a Hands-Off system, particularly if you're using detailed and therefore easily broken equipment. It's not going to be as good a toy for a child as the Lionel. He won't be able to pick it up and play with it, like he can with Lionel.
(Granted, my 2 year old son is allowed to pick up the HO equipment, but he's ridiculously careful, and it's mostly secondhand Lifelike trainset stuff without much to break. I don't give him the more detailed stuff, because it's too easy to knock pieces off.)
I notice you're using the standard Lionel track. They make a more realistic kind, with molded ties and ballasted roadbed, called Fastrack, that you might want to consider.
Examples:
http://www.thetrainshoppe.com/shop/index.php?cPath=23_21_69_104&osCsid=f0d12b8c6429af975bfac2
I would definitely hang on to the Lionel, if he's enjoying it, at least until you've been trying out HO for a while.
Alright ... I have determined that the passenger cars are based on a Pullman Heavyweight. I understand the movie took some liberties. However, I would like to be as accurate as possible. I was able to find many different cars that fit the description but none of them have the window setup I am looking for.
The observation car pictured above is very close to the one from the movie but has far too many windows.
Apparently in restoring PM 1225 they had done some very detailed 3D computer schematics to help them which made it much easier for the animators to recreate the engine in virtual reality. They used sounds from the real engine too. Interestingly, the restorers had to send the animators some coal - the animation / computer folks were very young and had never seen coal, so didn't know what it should look like !!
Anyway, while the engine is very accurately portrayed, I suspect the cars were based partly on real cars and partly on toy train cars - and of course, partly on the cars in the original book. It could be Lionel worked with the animators from the start, and the cars are at least loosely based on Lionel cars?? It would make sense, since Lionel has made a 2-8-4 Berkshire since the 1950's. There are a couple of good 4 models out there - some with DCC and sound I believe - so that part is easy to model.
For modelling the train cars, there aren't any observations cars (real or model) that have the rounded observation platform. I maybe wouldn't try to model the cars too accurately - unless you want to do a lot of kitbashing - and just concentrate on finding fairly close cars and decorating them to match the Lionel cars. If you can find undecorated Athearn heavyweight cars they might work pretty well. The Lionel cars are shorter than real passenger cars, if you wanted to go for that look you could try tracking down Rivarossi / Walthers 60' heavyweight cars.
The odd thing about Lionel O is that a layout isn't that big. The equipment can take sharp curves. The Polar Express set I'm familiar with comes with Fastrack. Here are some sample Fastrack layouts:
http://www.thortrains.net/marx/47fastrack1.html
You couldn't do much more with HO in the same space.
The loco in the movie is accurately modeled, but the coaches are odd. They look like narrow gauge coaches, with undersized trucks and wheels.
You can get lots of nice Lionel track and accessories. You can get inexpensive stuff, too, at train shows. I picked up some freight cars for my son's Polar Express for $5 each. It's still out from Christmas.
I would say that HO and DCC would not necessarily be an upgrade for your son...it's smaller and less impressive, and less robust. I'd let him keep his, and buy yourself HO. None of us will think any less of you for it. I'm sure all of us have used the kids for an excuse, one time or another. :D
My mistake, I must have mistyped. The Polar Express is a 2-8-4 which I have already found as an HO Bachmann with DCC. I am looking for something similar to the passenger car, baggage car, observation car, etc pictured above. Thanks for any help you can be! :)
Engine No. 9 My son Matthew is a huge fan of railroading. He owns almost all of the Thomas trains and recieved the Lionel O Polar Express for Christmas. I quickly became addicted to model railroading and am excited to start building some modules. I would prefer to run HO as it is smaller and there is far more available in this size. However, no company makes the polar express in HO scale. I have discovered that the locomotive is based on a Pere Marquette 2-8-2 which I have found undecorated and DCC for a very good price. I have been unable to determine what model the passenger cars are. If someone is able to point me in the right direction I would be most appreciative. I am willing to decorate the car with the correct coloring, markings, etc. Without finding the polar express in HO scale I will not be able to sell my sons train set and upgrade to DCC and HO scale. Thanks for any help you can be.
My son Matthew is a huge fan of railroading. He owns almost all of the Thomas trains and recieved the Lionel O Polar Express for Christmas. I quickly became addicted to model railroading and am excited to start building some modules. I would prefer to run HO as it is smaller and there is far more available in this size. However, no company makes the polar express in HO scale.
I have discovered that the locomotive is based on a Pere Marquette 2-8-2 which I have found undecorated and DCC for a very good price. I have been unable to determine what model the passenger cars are. If someone is able to point me in the right direction I would be most appreciative. I am willing to decorate the car with the correct coloring, markings, etc.
Without finding the polar express in HO scale I will not be able to sell my sons train set and upgrade to DCC and HO scale. Thanks for any help you can be.
The locomotive in the movie was based on Pere Marquette 1225, a Berkshire type locomotive, 2-8-4, which was very similar, if not identical to the Nickel Plate Road's Berkshires. In fact, the only photo of the Lionel version I can find is a 2-8-4. The car color scheme on the Lionel set looks correct, gray with a burgandy band at the window line. The observation car may really take some looking, there's a good view of it under "Wallpaper" on the Warner Brothers site for the movie. Gold alphabet decals should give you the Polar Express name for the cars.
Thank you for the quick reply. I don't want to sell my son's train set, I only want to "upgrade" it. I am sure that is a matter of symantics. The O scale track and trains are too large to store on our dining room table. I will be making a modular setup with windmills, roundhouses, airports, bridges, etc in the basement. The Lionel three rail track is unrealistic and terribly limiting for the setup I want to build for my son's birthday. The controls are antiquated in comparison to the new DCC controls.
If I can determine exactly which passenger cars were used in the movie and find HO scale models of the same, I will paint them up to look like the original polar express and give him a dynomite modular layout. I can also upgrade some Bachmann HO Thomas The Tank Engine locomotives to DCC and run those on the line.
My goal is for him to go down stairs and not realize that they are not the same polar express locomotives he was running on the dining room table.
Here are images of the passenger car and observation car ...
To answer your question about the passenger cars, I think they were heavyweight coaches and maybe a baggage car. Sorry, I haven't seen the movie in a long time.
I don't want to get too personal, but why would you want to sell your son's train set? He can keep and pass it on to his kids. Just an idea.
Again welcome and don't hesitate to post more questions on here. You might try the Classic Toy Trains forums and see if they can be more assistance to your question. Good eye on identifying the locomotive
Will