New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show chugs into new exhibition space

As the trains wended their way through lush cityscapes, children leaned, pointed and rejoiced. They tugged at their parents to get their attention, and scurried from one locomotive display to the next.

The trains, like the children, were small, as were most of their surroundings.

It was, of course, the New York Botanical Garden’s annual Holiday Train Show, a celebration of all things New York City. The locomotive extravaganza brought together different eras of New York City under one roof, from the late 18th century Elephantine Colossus to the Freedom Tower.

Unlike previous years, this year’s show is not taking place in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory because of ongoing restoration work on the building’s central dome. Rather, the show is contained within a structure on the conservatory’s grounds, giving Applied Imagination, the company behind the show, the freedom to re-imagine how the show is displayed.

While the space may be different, the holiday cheer remains the same as the trains chug along to the delight of visitors big and small.