Pere Marquette No. 1225
Specifications
| Road Name | "The Polar Express" locomotive |
| Number | 1225 |
| Original Railroad | Pere Marquette Railway (later Chesapeake & Ohio Railway) |
| Builder | Lima Locomotive Works, Lima, Ohio |
| Build Date | October 1941 |
| Wheel Arrangement | 2-8-4 Berkshire (N-1 class) |
| Gauge | Standard gauge (4 ft 8½ in) |
| Weight | Total 802,500 lb; locomotive alone 442,500 lb |
| Tractive Effort | 69,350 lbf |
| Boiler Pressure | 245 psi |
| Driver Diameter | 69 in |
| Years Operated | 1941–1951 |
| Current Status | Operational — inspiration for The Polar Express |
| Current Location | Owosso, Michigan |
| Current Owner | Steam Railroading Institute |
Pere Marquette No. 1225 is a 2-8-4 “Berkshire”-type steam locomotive built in October 1941 by Lima Locomotive Works for the Pere Marquette Railway, designed for fast freight service. It continued running after the 1947 merger into the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway before retirement in 1951.
Rather than being scrapped, No. 1225 was donated to Michigan State University in 1957 and displayed near Spartan Stadium, where a young Chris Van Allsburg climbed on and admired it. In 1969 the MSU Railroad Club began “Project 1225,” an effort to restore the locomotive to operating condition, moving it to Owosso, Michigan in 1982 to continue the rebuild. It moved under its own power again in 1985.
No. 1225’s greatest fame stems from its role as the inspiration for Chris Van Allsburg’s 1985 book The Polar Express. When Warner Bros. adapted the book into the 2004 film, the production team used No. 1225’s original builder’s blueprints to model the CGI locomotive and recorded the real engine’s sounds for the soundtrack. Since 2004, the Steam Railroading Institute has run seasonal “North Pole Express” excursions aboard No. 1225 each holiday season.