Pere Marquette 1225: Departure from the North Pole

Steam billows and steel gleams as Pere Marquette 1225 powers out of the Saginaw County Fairgrounds - known during the holiday season as the “North Pole” - during the inaugural year of the North Pole Express excursions. The massive 2-8-4 “Berkshire” locomotive, built by the Lima Locomotive Works in 1941, has become one of Michigan’s most iconic machines - both for its preservation by the Steam Railroading Institute and for its cultural legacy as the inspiration and sound model for The Polar Express.

In this photograph, 1225 embodies the living intersection of engineering and imagination - its mechanical precision softened by the winter air and the nostalgia it evokes. The plume of steam and the stark contrast of snow and iron recall a bygone era when railroads were not only arteries of commerce, but symbols of wonder and connection.

Captured at the start of what would become a cherished holiday tradition, this image freezes a moment when history, motion, and myth converged - the real-life locomotive that brought the magic of The Polar Express to life.