NYBG’s Holiday Train Show—a favorite holiday tradition—has been making memories for over 30 years! See model trains zip through an enchanting display of more than 190 replicas of New York landmarks, each delightfully re-created from natural materials such as birch bark, lotus pods, and cinnamon sticks.
Plus, take in NYC’s largest outdoor holiday light experience at NYBG GLOW, returning for its third year with even more illuminated displays. Thousands of dazzling, energy-efficient lights and whimsical, picture-perfect installations reflect the surrounding gardens and collections, creating a spectacle not to be missed. These special evenings feature music, dance, food, and more—making for the ultimate night out this season.
About the artists ~ In 1991, Paul Busse founded Applied Imagination. Applied Imagination was a great artistic convergence of Paul’s work with landscaping, garden railroads and his unique use of plant material to create “botanical architecture”. Since Paul Busse first brought his wondrous landscapes of trains and plant-based structures to The New York Botanical Garden with the first Holiday Train Show® in 1992, Applied Imagination have gone on to produce special exhibits for many other venues around the country.
Paul is now retired, and the company is owned and operated by his daughter, Laura Busse Dolan. On a walk through the woods on the Applied Imagination property in Alexandria, Kentucky, Laura and the artists of Applied Imagination inevitably bring back some interesting tidbit that can be used in crafting one of their magical displays.
Expect to see more than 190 scaled iconic buildings and structures such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Yankee Stadium, and the Statue of Liberty, all on display under thousands of twinkling lights. Step into a miniature city where famed New York architecture is re-created using bark, leaves, and other natural materials.
See more than 25 G-scale model trains and trolleys hum along nearly a half-mile of track. Don’t forget to look up—NYC bridges come together to create an aerial display of trains soaring overhead!
The Holiday Train Show will be on view from November 19, 2022 to January 16, 2023 at The New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, in the Bronx, New York.