Polar Express rolls through family’s home at Christmas

The Wagner family, including Kimmi, Bryce, Rick, Elaine and Katie, all work together to create a winter wonderland for their Polar Express train to travel through. -

Wagner, an Oregon Department of Forestry worker who lives with his family on a small acreage near Hot Lake, liked the film for more reasons than one.

The story of a youth losing and then recapturing a cherished belief was appealing. The winter scenery, complete with wildlife, was gorgeous.

Then there was the train itself, with its steam locomotive, its coal tender and its warmly lit passenger cars. For Wagner, the Polar Express chugging down the track through swirling snows stirred an old urge.

Rick remembered times long-ago when he and his father set up a Lionel model train and ran it in on track around their Christmas tree. It was a tradition then, and one worth bringing back now.

“I walked out of the theater wondering if Lionel made the Polar Express. I looked it up, and sure enough, they did,” Wagner said.

The electric train Wagner bought came with the steam locomotive and the coal tender bearing the legend “Polar Express,” just like in the movie.

The passenger cars even included the “puppet car” with little puppets on strings visible in the windows. There were figures from the movie, too, including Tom Hanks as the conductor.

But this was just a starter set. What was needed was more track, and an enchanted winter wonderland for the train to pass through.

With the passing years, Wagner and his family added more and more to the display. Shopping mostly at local stores, they found little people and plenty of animals — including moose, polar bears, black bears, deer and at least one mountain goat — and buildings and trees.

 They bought cotton batting for snow, collected rocks and sticks for natural features. The project grew and grew.

Rick Wagner watches as the Polar Express travels the circuit through his living room. Wagner was a model train enthusiast when he was a kid, and took the hobby up again after seeing the “Polar Express” movie. - BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH photos

The Express passes through a village, complete with a train station, a church, houses, all kinds of people bundled in winter coats and hats, and lots of evergreen trees. It goes by a farm, where an otter swims in a pond near the barn.

Buildings light up and a carousel in the village center spins and makes music. Everywhere a person looks, there’s another little wonder to behold.

Possibilities for expansion are endless, but for now, the family is out of room.

“I keep having visions of taking it down the hall, but it would get in the way of opening doors,” Wagner said.

It takes a lot of work to set the display up each year, and for the Wagners, that’s the point.

Rick and his wife, Elaine, their daughters Carrie, Katie and Kimmi, and their grandson Bryce all pull together to make the project happen. They truly share in the holiday.

“We’ve always seen Christmas as a big family time,” Rick said. “There’s just something about Christmas that brings everybody together.”

Each family member has a job to do. Rick sets up the platforms, lays the track, makes sure that the wiring is right and the transformer works. Elaine and Carrie arrange the village and other little population centers along the route.

Kimmi is in charge of the snow, Katie the animals. Bryce helps out wherever he’s needed.

“It’s really something,” said Elaine. “I’ve always enjoyed decorating for Christmas, so when Rick joined in with the train set it became something we can do together. It’s really been fun.”

By now, the Polar Express is a family tradition and Christmas wouldn’t be the same without it.

“I’m the kind of person who values family traditions,” Rick said. “I always say, the best time to start a tradition was 20 years ago, and the next best time is now.”

Modern technology has made it possible for the Wagner family to share the Polar Express with the world.

To view a video, Google Hot Lake Polar Express, and follow the search to YouTube.