NYBG: Holiday Train Show 2014

Before my membership ran out at the end of the year, I made one last visit to the New York Botanical Garden for the Holiday Train Show. I went to the train show twice last year but they add buildings every year, so I wanted to see what was new.

My complaint from last year was the same this year: there are too many children and pushy parents, but that is to be expected. I wasn't able to go during a weekday this year, so I braved the crowds on a Saturday morning. It's all pretty organized, so you can still see everything and they do offer child-free bar car nights for evil child-hating hags such as myself. I renewed my membership, so maybe this will be the year I finally do the nighttime visit.

A lot of the buildings and bridges were repeats from last year, but there was enough new material and different arrangements to make it interesting. I've also seen a lot of the real-life versions of things since last year, so it's always a thrill to recognize a replica and compare it to my impression of the original.

This year I recognized Lyndhurst, Sunnyside, Kykuit, the Little Red Lighthouse, the Bartow-Pell mansion, the Jewish Museum, the Apollo Theater, the Old Stone House, Gracie Mansion, the Morris-Jumel mansion, and the TWA flight center specifically from my travels. There was also a special exhibit on World Fair structures, including the Unisphere and the New York State Pavilion and a display featuring famous mansions in the Hudson Valley area—both of which I've visited recently.

It was sad to see a particularly beautiful mansion only to read that it had been demolished years ago, and seeing the old Penn Station—even one made from twigs and leaves—is always bittersweet. I love the innovation and interesting use of natural materials, and anything in miniature never ceases to fascinate me.

The models are really extensive, with staircases and interior lighting and patterned roof tiles—all made from sticks, leaves, nuts and flowers. Although it's called a train show, and there are plenty of trains running around the displays, it's really more about the wonderful architecture and neighborhoods of New York. Like one of my other favorite places to visit—the New York Panorama—the Holiday Train Show is a little extravagant, a little kitschy and a whole lot of just-for-fancy.