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Photos by Marisol DĂaz
Traditional train show chugs into Botanical Gardens sshah@riverdalepress.com wo-year-old Evan Branch knelt captivated in front of model train tracks snaking through a bed of tropical plants at the New York Botanical Garden’s conservatory. The boy’s eyes widened as Thomas the Tank Engine’s trademark cheery face sped past, then he chased the model as it chugged along the rails. “Oh my gosh, he’s going to come right over here again!â€? Evan’s grandfather David Branch said, summoning the child back. Dozens of such scenes played out on the packed Nov. 15 opening day of the garden’s 22nd Holiday Train Show. The Botanical Garden’s staff transformed rooms in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory into a whimsical exhibit featuring 150 models of New York City landmarks along with 21 model trains and trolleys. A large model of the Statue of Liberty with a dress tailored from palm fronds and holding a pomegranate ower torch greets visitors at the start of the show. Highly detailed replicas of 19th-century Hudson Valley mansions surround the icon in a sprawling display nestled among ferns, holly and other colorful plants in the conservatory’s spacious Palm House pavilion. “You really learn more about plants and architecture and trains,â€? said Karen Daubmann, the garden’s associate vice president for exhibitions. “You start noticing things the more you look.â€? The show has grown from a modest exhibit with a handful of models in 1992 to become a holiday tradition anticipated throughout the city and beyond. Last year, the Botanical Garden reported that 200,000 visitors viewed the exhibit. Paul Busse’s Kentuckybased workshop, Applied Imagination, crafted the show’s models from organic materials including bark, seeds and acorns to make replicas of structures from Manhattan brownstones to the city’s great bridges. This year marks the introduction of trains made of natural materials, too. They compliment a eet including steam engines, modern trains and Santa-themed cars. A replica Metro-North train is also new this year. Last Friday, a couple from Toronto and their grandchildren paused to peer at a wide model of Pennsylvania Station as it stood before its 1964 demolition. “I couldn’t have conceived of something like this in a con-
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servatory,â€? grandparent Ian GrifďŹ ths said. “I think there’s nostalgia for the older people and interest for the kids.â€? Penn Station is one of many models lining the long hallway connecting the Palm House Pavilion to the conservatory’s southeastern section. Strangers shared their impressions as they strolled elbow-to-elbow down the corridor. “Look, they’re moving!â€? two-year-old Matteo Piazza marveled at the unique sight of model trains in a garden. “Now they’re going away. Say, ‘Bye-bye, train!’â€? chimed in Zina Zimmerman, a woman who attended the show with a different group. The is holding activities for different age groups until the show closes. Worskshops are scheduled for children every weekend until the end of December, including every day between Dec. 23 and Jan. 1. Former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins will give a reading on Saturday, Nov. 23. The exhibit runs through Jan. 12, 2014. In keeping with the festive holiday spirit of the train show, evening events with cocktails are scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays next month. At the end of a tour through the show on opening day, Mike Sudano and a group of friends and family raved about this year’s exhibit. “I’m overwhelmed,â€? Mr. Sudano said. “I have to come back. There’s too much to see.â€?
Clockwise from top left, A REPLICA Metro-North Train is new to the Holiday Train Show this year. THE STATUE OF LIBERTY sports a gown made of palm fronds. EVAN BRANCH, 2, watches a model freight train zoom by. BRADY McHUGH, 3, gazes after another train. A STEAM ENGINE evokes a bygone era of transport.
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By Shant Shahrigian