This plot was copied directly from the Starlight on Ice souvenir brochure and is interesting for its amusement value. Thanks to Liz Sanborn.

The little boy plays with his trains until his mother orders him to bed. As the boy's dream unfolds, he introduces the champion engines of the world, including Greaseball, the diesel locomotive from the USA (Rolling Stock). When Rusty the Steam Engine announces his intention to race, he is mocked by the others - even Pearl, the observation car of this dreams (Call Me Rusty). Pearl, Dinah the Dining Car, Buffy the Buffet Car and Ashley the Smoking Car step forward and state their romantic interests (A Lotta Locomotion). Pearl says she'll know her dream train long before she sees him, because "he'll whistle at me" (He'll Whistle At Me). Pearl's reverie is interrupted by the appearance of the freight cars Flat Top, Dustin and the three Rockys (Freight is Great). Suddenly, a strange module appears, surrounded by the Components Krupp, Wrench, Purse, Volta and Joule. From the module, the super-sleek Electra emerges (AC/DC). Greaseball, the reigning champion, announces he will win the first race (Pumping Iron). Rusty, Greaseball, Electra and the other engines each boast that they will win. Soon, all the characters sing of their own strengths (Coda of Freight). Control tells the engines they can't race without partners. When Pearl is invited to join Electra for heat one, Rusty feels rejected. Alone, Pearl wishes that choosing between Rusty and Electra were somehow easier. When she chooses Electra, Control tells Rusty to scram (Make Up My Heart). Racing against Espresso, Nintendo and Electra, Greaseball wins the first elimination heat. He and Electra have a place in the final. Afterward, Poppa, and old steam engine, appears and urges Rusty not to lose faith in the power of steam (Poppa's Blues). Poppa says Rusty should try a new power - the power of Starlight Express! When Control announces a last-minute opening in the race, Poppa and Dustin enter as a team. To everyone's astonishment, Poppa wins the second elimination race. Bobo places second. An exhausted Poppa convinces Rusty to take his place in the final. Greaseball, Electra and the others tell Rusty he hasn't got a chance (Laughing Stock). To win the race, Rusty knows he needs the power of Starlight Express. Alone in the darkness, though, he wonders if the power is real (Starlight Express).

As Act Two begins, Electra, Greaseball and their followers rap about their own powers. Greaseball dumps Dinah and angers Electra by stealing Pearl away from him (The Rap). Dinah sings out her anger and heartbreak at losing Greaseball (U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.). Ashley and Buffy urge Dinah to make Greaseball jealous by racing with Electra. She agrees to do so...unless Greaseball changes his mind. Buffy hooks up with Rusty (Coaches' Rolling Stock). In the final, Rusty runs well against Bobo, Electra and Greaseball, but a crash on the bridge stops the race. Greaseball, Electra and the others blame Rusty for the wreck and beat him up. Pearl laments, "This wasn't how I wanted it." Rusty tells the three Rockys he was cheated out of winning the race. They say that winning's all a matter of timing, and he's a loser like them (Right Time, Right Place). Rusty feels dejected until a familiar voice (Poppa's) urges him to believe in himself. "The Starlight Express is no more nor less than you," the voice says. Inspired, Rusty reenters the race, with Dustin as his partner. During the rerun of the final race, Bobo is eliminated, Greaseball and Electra crash, and Rusty saves Pearl. Against all the odds, Rusty wins! Electra and Greaseball admit that all their fast living has taken its toll (One Rock and Roll Too Many). Pearl realises that her first love is her true love. She and Rusty make up (Next Time You Fall In Love). Greaseball tells Dinah he's "S.O.R.R.R.Y." Poppa convinces him and Electra to convert to steam. When Control tried to interfere, the trains yell "Shut it!" Together, the trains celebrate their newfound freedom and power (Light at the End of the Tunnel).