We purchased the hub, motor and extra tracks to make it even better. The train was super fun to build. My 9 year old loves it. The polar bear made the train a little too heavy for the motor to pull without stalling every once in a while but we enjoyed problem solving with motion and even building a free build car with the spare parts.
For the most part, a great addition to the collection. Super disappointed it did not come with the one thing that I thought it did come with, the parts to make it move on its own... The advertisements I saw showed it moving on its own! Super disappointed the parts for this to happen are upgrades/ options. (And they are rarely in stock.)
Fun build and great looking set, but what poor oversite to not have lego train motors in stock for over a month. Why would you offer a train set and either not include the motor and hub, or at least insure you ramp up production of those parts so they could be purchased. Really poor planning and a disappointment for sure. Detracting from the w Enjoyment of the set.
Adding the motor was difficult. Not clear on assembly of motor assembly. Train didn’t run well after assembly. Took 3 days with help from facebook chats.
My son loved this build and all of the tiny secrets it holds! However, it was missing a couple pieces 😔
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from LEGOBy Katie, LEGO® Customer Service, December 4, 2025
We're happy to hear your son loved building his Holiday Express Train! Request your missing pieces at LEGO.build/BricksPieces-BV, and we'll be able to send some replacements.