Magical Michigan Polar Express Train Ride! All Aboard This Christmas to See Santa! | Pere Marquette 1225 | Christmas North Pole Express in Owosso | Steam Railroading Institute

Ride the Michigan Polar Express | Christmas North Pole Express in Owosso | Pere Marquette 1225 Locomotive | By: Sherry Trautman | Travel-Mi.com | Updated: October 16, 2022

ALL ABOARD, everyone! 

This Christmas, ride the 1225 Pere Marquette train, see Santa and visit the Christmas village of Ashley! The 1225 Pere Marquette locomotive is absolutely breathtaking. 

You are in a real treat, as this Michigan Christmas train ride is an incredible winter experience for the whole family. 

How Incredible Is The Pere Marquette Steam Train!?

What Train was the Movie, "The Polar Express" Based Off Of?

You know, the super popular movie with Tom Hanks?  

Well, per NPR, a Hollywood film crew came to Owosso Michigan in 2002 to capture the look and sound of the Pere Marquette 1225 as they wanted their upcoming Christmas movie, The Polar Express, to be as realistic as possible. 

It's very exciting that the Michigan Polar Express made movie history in 2004!

Ride The Michigan Polar Express in Owosso Michigan!

Ride the Breathtaking Michigan Polar Express This Christmas! 

Once you witness the huge blasts of steam, hear the loud "here we go!" horn and experience the raw power of this living, breathing beast, your jaw will hit the ground.  

The Pere Marquette 1225 Polar Express embarks on several sold out trips to the Christmas Village of Ashley each November and December.

Pere Marquette 1225 (Polar Express 1225) Fun Facts!

How Tall Is the 1225? 14 feet and 6 inches tall, 101 feet long

How Much does the 1225 Pere Marquette weigh? 442,500 lb!

When was Pere Marquette 1225 built?  October 1941

What is it's top speed? Its top speed is 70 mph.

Who owns Pere Marquette 1225 now? Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan. They operated the Polar Express train ride Michigan

How Does the Pere Marquette Operate?

Per the Steam Railroading Institute, "It takes about eight hours to generate a full head of steam on the locomotive’s boiler, which operates at 245 pounds per square inch.

The tender holds 22 tons of coal and 22,000 gallons of water, consuming one ton of coal for every twelve miles and 150 gallons of water per mile."

Chris and Sherry's Adventures on the Michigan Polar Express!

From the moment we stepped foot into the Parlor Car, we were blown away by the beauty of the train.  Our car was the second from the end and we climbed about 7 stairs to enter the train. 

• There are several different classes and prices to chose from when selecting your tickets.  These photos are only representative of the Parlor Car. 

Chris and I splurged for the luxury of the parlor car which is an adult only experience for our date night.  Our train car had a variety of seats (all assigned) that ranged from club chairs, couches and seats with tables. 

All seats were spacious, comfortable and offered great views out the expansive windows on the Polar Express train ride Michigan.

There was a lovely spread of mini sandwiches, cheese and crackers to enjoy along the route to the village of Ashley.  Our train car had a restroom and a bar with adult beverages and hot chocolate.  It was all very thoughtful and greatly appreciated by all!

You will need to purchase your tickets very early in the season as they sell out quickly.  You will receive your electronic tickets by email and you will just bring your phone with the email to the Visitors Center at the Steam Railroading Institute.  

You will receive these lovely paper tickets at check in.

• We recommend arriving 45-50 minutes early so you can park, walk to the Steam Railroading Institute Visitors Center, check in, explore their lovely shop for Michigan souvenirs and mementos of your trip, use the restroom inside the Steam Railroading Institute and board the train. There are also porta-johns outside too.

The Pere Marquette 1225 Polar Express is super photogenic, so be sure to get some photos!

You can begin boarding about 30 minutes prior to departure.

We absolutely loved our table and comfortable seats aboard the Michigan Polar Express train. The volunteers, conductor and bartenders were so very friendly and made our trip very special.

After enjoying the Christmas village of Ashley, we climbed aboard for fun surprises!  Caramel corn and lovely North Pole Express mugs! 

You'll Visit The Christmas Village of Ashley!

Once you disembark after your one hour, fifteen minute train ride, you will get to visit the Village of Ashley!

While visiting the Village of Ashley’s Country Christmas, be sure to step into the Czech bakery for delicious pastries, the Hobo Kitchen for hot soup or the Whistle Stop café for hot fries as you wander. 

We bought 2 handmade Christmas ornaments here that they personalized with our names!

Plus (depending on the weather-it was crazy cold when we were there) there's face painting, balloon artists, street performers and lots of photo opportunities! 

Don't worry, you won't go hungry!  Foote's Party Store, Schalls Burger Barn, Shepler's Pretzels and a few more treat shops will make sure of that!  

There are several bathrooms at the Village of Ashley’s Country Christmas. 

You may want to bring a canvas shopping bag to pick up gifts for everyone on your list! You can find goat milk soaps at Xowen Farms, lavender gifts at MI Lavender Patch Farms and hand loomed rugs at Tara's.  

• Be sure to have your photo taken in front of the Pere Marquette 1225 and stand in line to meet Santa Claus!  Oh, and there's horse drawn wagon rides too!

Where to Park at the Steam Railroading Institute for the Polar Express Owosso

There is paid parking right across the street from the Steam Railroading Institute (about $10) if you are running late.  

Free parking is SUPER close, located at the NCG Cinema, and takes like 5-6 minutes to walk on paved walkways. 

The Steam Railroading Institute parking is marked and easy to find.

1225 Pere Marquette History

I'm absolutely fascinated with the powerful, majestic and absolutely breathtaking 1225 Pere Marquette Steam Locomotive. 

I decided to dig into the history of the 1225 Pere Marquette and discovered it was built in 1941 by the Lima Locomotive Works for the Pere Marquette Railway.  It hauled freight until it was retired in 1951 and was sent to be scrapped in New Buffalo Michigan. 

How sad, right?  But wait!

In 1957, the MSU Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan thought the train was a great piece of machinery for students to study so they put it on display until 1981/1982.

While it was there, a group of students was fascinated with the 1225 steam train so they decided to form The Michigan State University Railroad Club. They had an ingenious (and ambitious) idea of restoring the 1225 Pere Marquette to begin exciting excursion trains that would transport football fans to the Michigan State University on game days. 

Around 1982, the stream train was moved a couple times and went to live at the Tuscola & Saginaw Bay railroad in Owosso for restoration.  The engine ended up at the Steam Railroading Institute (where it resides now) and engineers worked hard to get it running again. 

In November 1985, the 1225 moved under its own power for the first time since 1951 and made a few 12 mile trial runs between Owosso and Chesaning. The 1225 attended conventions and hauled freight trains until 2009 when it suffered a couple failures.

The 1225 began an overhaul in 2010 in which a crew of engineers and volunteers worked tirelessly to replace its aging boiler.

Four years later and nearly $1 million spent, the incredible Pere Marquette 1225 is back on the rails again!  

Where To Photograph the North Pole Express

Here is the route of the North Pole Express along it's journey to the Christmas Village of Ashley.  You can see all the cross streets so you can determine where to photograph this incredible Michigan steam train. 

Love Michigan Steam Trains!?

HO HO HO My Michigan friends! If you want to ride more incredible Michigan steam trains, check out our list of:

Best Michigan Christmas Trains!

For a nostalgic, absolutely fabulous way to celebrate Christmas with friends and family, you just gotta visit Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad! 

You will swear you stepped into a Norman Rockwell painting!

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