That 50-ton Hopper is a nice looking car, but I thought it odd that it was labeled for the Polar Express and not the Polar RR. I don't get the connection. Other than the passengers on their special once-a-year ride, all the other commodities have been transported by the PRR. Reindeer, hot cocoa, boxcars with ? inside. I would think that coal for stockings, or to keep the elves warm, would not be on that special passenger train. ???
Dave
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In another thread on the Polar Railroad a few months back, a forum member thoughtfully and accurately noted that the Polar RR has suffered from a bit of an identity crisis.
The Polar RR stock initially echoed the lovely colors of the Polar Express passenger cars and expanded on that beautifully. The cocoa boxcar, reindeer stock car, and tank car strayed from the theme just a bit, but they look outstanding running alongside the other Polar RR cars. The GP7 and K-4 locomotives are the bees knees, and borrowing the Pennsy logo (and adding the sprig of holly to it) is pretty clever.
Then the Polar Express freight set and PE rolling stock presented another conundrum... are they part of the Polar RR? For me the answer is yes, but that's personal preference, of course. Most of the Polar RR stock is scale and most of the Polar Express freight stock is traditional, but that hasn't been entirely consistent.
Next came the red/green Polar Railroad SD80MAC, and suddenly the Polar Railroad was Christmas colors. The red/green round-roof boxcar and green PS-2 hopper followed suit. To date there have been no further Polar Railroad releases in that color scheme.
To compound the confusion, this year we received the "Pennsylvania Christmas Crane" and the "Pennsylvania Gondola with Christmas Gifts and Trees" in what could easily have been the red/green Polar Railroad livery. Instead, they're Pennsy--BUT they use the Polar Railroad version of the Pennsy logo! (i.e., with the holly)
So there's identity crisis for sure. As of December 2014, there are 19 pieces of Polar Railroad/Polar Express freight, with one more on the way--I've listed them all below. The Polar RR is my favorite fantasy scheme, and I'd love to see Lionel decide exactly what the line is supposed to be. Also, as there are licensing royalties in the mix for anything Polar Express, I'd imagine that adds another level of complexity to things.
PRR ps-1 boxcar
PRR reindeer stock car
PRR round roof boxcar
PRR wood sheathed boxcar
PRR hot cocoa car
PRR I-12 caboose
PRR ps-4 flatcar
PRR ps-2 hopper
PRR coal hopper w/presents
PRR tank car
PRR caboose
PE 50-ton hopper (upcoming)
PE depressed center flat w/bell
PE searchlight car
PE 10th ann boxcar
PE 2005 toyfair boxcar
PE wood sided reefer
PE starter gondola
PE starter boxcar
PE starter caboose
...
Next came the red/green Polar Railroad SD80MAC, and suddenly the Polar Railroad was Christmas colors. The red/green round-roof boxcar and green PS-2 hopper followed suit. To date there have been no further Polar Railroad releases in that color scheme.
...
And that SD80MAC was grossly underproduced -- considering it was the Polar RR's foray into traditional red/green Christmas colors! It's truly a tough locomotive to find, and any hopes of grabbing one now will surely take you to the secondary market.
Instead of filling out that color scheme in the Polar RR livery, Lionel switched gears and put red/green/silver to work on the North Pole Central. Again, a bit of mishmash of scale and traditional pieces -- but a bit whimsical nonetheless. Within the last two years, the North Pole Central's scale products have included 3 GP35's (2 power and 1 dummy), a PS-1 boxcar, and an extended vision caboose... along with an upcoming PS-5 covered gondola that joins the ranks this year (although like the scale PE black hopper may not arrive in time for Christmas).
And so Lionel's Christmas rolling stock identity-crisis continues as if new product managers are steering the ship every couple of years. But hey, there's certainly no lack of variety in the offerings... That is for certain.
David
While I love the Polar Railroad items, and have quite a few of the freight items, I am not sure they've sold very well for Lionel. That may be another reason they put the PE name on the hopper item.
I always wondered if a company that uses "Polar Express" has to pay a royalty or other fee to Warner Bros? That would explain the high cost of scale PE cars, but the hopper car seems to be more in line with other Lionel freight cars, so maybe they don't?
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