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The abandoned toy car (referred to as the puppet car on the film's official website) is the first passenger car the Polar Express pulls during its journey to and from the North Pole. Rather than carrying passengers, it is instead filled with abandoned toys, consisting mostly of marionettes and string puppets, collected from various back alleys and vacant lots around the world and taken to the North Pole to be restored. Santa Claus developed the idea shortly before the events of the film. The actual name for it is never revealed, but the Conductor says it is along the lines of "re-bi-cycling."

After the train gets off the Ice Lake, Hero Boy, Hero Girl and the Conductor return to the passenger cars, passing through the abandoned toy car on the way. The Conductor tells the story behind the broken toys and Hero Girl expresses how sad she finds the way they were treated. The Conductor and Hero Girl cross to the next car, but Hero Boy gets distracted and runs into an Ebenezer Scrooge puppet, being operated by the Hobo from the roof of the car. A scared Hero Boy runs away and back to the other passenger car.

Basis[]

PassengerCarBasis

The abandon toy car's basis.

The abandoned toy car, like the other passenger cars, closely resemble steel heavyweight passenger cars built by the Pullman Company in the 1920's and 1930's. They were used by several railroads in the United States and can be found at various preserved railroads across the country.

Livery[]

The abandoned toy car's livery is the same as that of the other passenger cars: blue with a red stripe going along the side windows and a black roof. In some merchandise lines, the words "Polar Express" also appear in yellow on the sides above the windows, which is only on one of the other passenger cars and below the windows in the film.

Trivia[]

  • From outside, lights can be seen shining through the car's windows like the other cars, but no light source exists inside.
  • Some of the toys in the car can also be seen in Hero Boy's house:
    • The soldier toy doll in the car is later seen being played by Hero Boy on Christmas morning.
    • The teddy bear Sarah has with her in her bedroom and on Christmas morning can be seen in the car.
    • The doll house in the car is seen on Christmas morning. It also appears the book.
    • The red and blue drum in the car is later seen under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning.
    • The Grader in the car is later seen under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning.
    • The red pickup truck in the car is seen on Christmas morning. It also appears the book along with the dollhouse.
  • One of the puppets Hero Boy looks at strongly resembles Pinocchio from Disney's film adaptation of the same name.
  • The clown puppet wearing a top hat and yellow suite with red polka dot strongly resembles Pennywise from the 2017 and 2019 version of "IT", but without the red lines up the face, also based on the 1990 incarnation of the Pennywise with a round nose.
  • The abandon toy car is not in the video game, but there is a similar car in the "Scrooge's Plan" level, having puppets hanging from the ceiling and lacking a light source. However, instead of broken toys, it has presents and Jack-in-the-Boxes.

Gallery[]

Preceded by
Locomotive
The Polar Express
Abandoned toy car
Followed by
Passenger cars


Vehicles
Train The Polar Express (locomotive) Abandoned toy car Passenger cars Observation car
North Pole North Pole vehicles Pneumatic Present Crawler Zeppelins Santa Claus' sleigh North Pole Handcar
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