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.
I have been a collector of the Lego Christmas since it came out. I was disappointed to get another train. I feel like there are several other items, school house, church or other options that could have been considered and more original than another train. And very disappointing to see the price go up and the build below avg.