Bringing the Polar Express to Life

After the initial wow-factor of the front driveway, the next attraction along the route was the Polar Express. We took advantage of shipping containers used for storage to create a painted train. The key to this design both in structure and added effects was simplicity. Foam, paint, and scrap wood in the hands of our amazing build team created the front of the locomotive, with some more foam and paint along the sides of the containers to complete the look.

I was given the task of bringing the locomotive to life. A Par 64 made a realistic looking headlamp. A high-density haze machine running through a black bucket stood in for a smoke stack. Some extra LED pars and a COLORado Solo 2 added extra color accents and a wash across the front of the train's engine. To light the rest of the train, our TD found a line of small solar floodlights that were charged during the day and deployed in the evening by our security team to wash the side of the train. Finally, a quick sound design comprised of various train noises from my own travels and YouTube added an aural element to the magic. While the build was very simplistic and the parts list minimal, I'm very proud of the final product. I learned that not all projects need a full plot of movers to look great and bring on smiles.