The Birthday Train

The Birthday Train is the train Tillie pulls over the mountain in the 1991 film. It consists of 4 cars and is one of 4 trains that regularly journeyed over the Mountain.

Backstory
As of now, nothing is known about the Birthday Train’s past, except it is well known in the trainyard, indicating it must be a rather old train. Despite this, it seems well maintained as it has no apperant signs of fatigue.

Appearance in the Film
The Birthday Train makes it’s first appearance and mention after Tillie’s failed attempt to take the Milk Train over the Mountain. It is seen parked in a storage shed that resembles a birthday cake. Afterwards, the train is loaded and departs on what was supposed to be a normal trip. Part-way to the Mountain, Georgia breaks down and the train’s journey temporarily ends. The train then disappears for a time. It is unknown where the train was during the time the toys spent stranded, but it was most likely taken to a nearby siding while a replacement for Georgia was found. The train reappears with Tillie pulling it and remains attached to her for the rest of the film.

Component Cars and their Roles
As previously stated, the Birthday Train consists of 4 carts, two small hopper cars and two short boxcars. Each car has a different appearance, but all of them seem to be painted a bluish green on the ends with a green trim and they have 4 wheels total.

Coal Car
The Coal Car is at the front of the train. It’s a small hopper car that has sides painted blue on the sides with a gold trim. When Georgia is pulling the train, this car is filled with coal and Rolo clumsily falls into it as the train jerks to a start. Later in the film, when Tillie is pulling, the car is empty and Rolo and Jeepers are sitting in it. This indicates that the coal was removed at some point while the toys where stranded.

Toy Car
The Toy Car, as I call it, is a tall boxcar that is located behind the Coal Car and before the Food Car. This car is tall, has sides painted red with a gold trim, and is where many of the toys are stored. It has a convex roof that is painted blue and has a hole in it so the two giraffes can fit in it. It also has a window and a door on each side.

Food Car
The Food Car is identical to the Toy Car, except it’s painted blue with gold trim and no bracing. It also had a balcony to store any overflow. Instead of a hole in it’s blue roof, it has two studs. It also has a window on each side.

Reserve Car
The Reserve Car is an old car, that was identical to the Coal Car except for the red paint in the place of blue and the fact that it was the last car in the train, indicating that it was intended for reserve storage. Perky the Elephant rode in this car. During the journey, a crude bridge the train was crossing partially collapsed when a boulder slammed into its support. The car then broke from the rest of the train and fell into the river below along with any presents it was carrying. What happened to it afterward remains a mystery.