New York City has two exhibitions called the Holiday Train Show, and they open a day apart this weekend. The free show at Grand Central Terminal opens Friday, Nov. 13. The ticketed New York Botanical Garden show in the Bronx opens to the public Saturday, Nov. 14. Both have model trains running past New York landmarks, but the two displays have different hours, settings and admission rules.
At Grand Central, you can see the whole model railway without leaving the station. At the garden, the train display is part of a larger visit that takes you into a glass conservatory and out into the grounds. If you’re choosing between them, start with how much time you have and whether you need to reserve an entry time.
Grand Central has the free show
The New York Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery & Store puts its 22nd annual show on a 34-foot, two-level layout. The museum says Lionel model trains pass through a miniature Grand Central Terminal on their way to the North Pole. The fleet includes vintage subway cars, Metro-North trains and the Polar Express. You can see how the model tracks thread through the city scenes from the edge of the display.
The gallery is in the Shuttle Passage off the Main Concourse, next to the Station Master’s Office. That location matters if you’re meeting someone in the terminal. The gallery has its own hours, separate from the station and the holiday market elsewhere inside Grand Central. The terminal’s event listing says the show runs through February 2027. It lists hours of 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, with closures on major holidays. The museum’s store lists Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day among its closures.
The Transit Museum’s accessibility page says the gallery is wheelchair accessible. Use the Lexington Avenue or 42nd Street entrance to reach the Main Concourse by an accessible route.
The Bronx show adds a new skyscraper
At the New York Botanical Garden, model trains run past nearly 200 versions of city landmarks made from plant materials such as bark, palm fronds and pinecones. One Vanderbilt, the skyscraper next to the real Grand Central Terminal, joins the display this year. The show runs through Jan. 10, 2027, and includes displays inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and outdoors. The garden says the train-show ticket includes access to its grounds and collections, so visitors who want to see more than the models can build that time into the same outing.
For opening weekend, choose a timed ticket. The garden’s ticket guidance says most Tuesday through Friday visits are untimed, with exceptions including Nov. 27 and the period from Dec. 21 through Jan. 4. On select evenings the conservatory stays open later. The garden also lists sensory-friendly mornings on Nov. 21 and Jan. 9. Check the calendar for the date you want, since daytime admission, later hours and special sessions have different schedules.
How to get from one show to the other
If you want to see both in one outing, the first display is inside the same station where you can catch a Metro-North train for the second. The garden’s directions point visitors to a Harlem Line local train that stops at Botanical Garden. The station is across the street from the Mosholu Entrance. The garden also lists the B, D and 4 subway routes to Bedford Park Boulevard. Check the MTA station schedule for your travel day and allow time to get from the garden entrance to the conservatory if you’ve booked a timed slot.
