Nostalgia Train fans, this is your month! NYC Transit is running the 1930s-era Nostalgia Shoppers' Special on the V line between Long Island City in Queens and lower Manhattan! According to the MTA, "The Nostalgia Shoppers' Special is made up of subway cars in service from the 1930s to the 1970s, running along the lettered lines from the Grand Concourse to Coney Island. Ceiling fans, padded seats and incandescent light bulbs were state-of-the-art when these cars were first placed in service." more ›

As we mentioned yesterday, the MTA's Transit Museum Annex opened its annual Holiday Train Show-- and this year there are the first-ever MTA-licensed NYC Subway Lionel Train Cars along with the recently released Metro-North Commuter Lionel Trains. A press release from Lionel Trains explains how the model subway train cars are extremely detailed:

"The R-27 Subway Car was first put into service by the MTA in 1960 and continued to serve New York City riders into the early 1990s. Lionel has created an exact replica of these trains all the way down to the kale green enamel finish, rooftop rivets and even the destination boards on the exterior of the train cars, along with opening doors and authentic subway sounds!"

The wonderful Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanic Garden opens this Saturday, and Gothamist urges anyone with a passing interest in NYC architecture to head up to the Bronx to see it. We went last year, and it was absolutely magical: The Guggenheim made out of huge mushrooms! The Brooklyn Bridge carefully constructed from twigs - with trains zipping on it! The lions outside of the New York Public Library! The NY Times' Ink column looks at the creation of buildings and bridges, which has Yankee Stadium as a new addition this year, and there's a great quote from tPaul Busse, the landscape architect who builds the models: "Every year, we take a ride into Manhattan. But after working with our buildings, the real thing can almost be a letdown." more ›

The New York Botanical Gardens' annual Orchid Show opens tomorrow, and it might be the perfect thing to stave off the winter blahs. Thousands of brilliant orchids will be on display throughout the conservatories, and the NYBG has many tours and demonstrations planned throughout the show, which ends March 27. more ›

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After hearing so much about it, Gothamist finally decided to head up to the Bronx to check out the New York Botanical Garden's Holiday Train Show. Inside the conservatories, there are replicas of various NYC buildings and landmarks, "made entirely from plant parts like berries, mushrooms, pinecones, and twigs," with model trains running through around, through and over them. And Gothamist can say that the replicas are pretty incredible. Adults and children filled the conservatory, oohing and aahing over the truly magical displays. We were dazzled by the detail that goes into constructing these models. Leaves for roofs! Twigs for arches! Of course, the conservatories aren't exact replicas of the five boroughs, so there are a understandable few geographic shortcuts: The Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge span overhead, as the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and Grand Central are clustered together. However, the Guggenheim is just a few inches away from the Metropolitan Museum, amongst flowers and evergreen, which translates pretty well. Another way Gothamist had a good time was guessing certain structures before we examined their nameplates. more ›

Look at photos of the Holiday Train show. It's just a Metro North train ride to the Garden's gates (directions).
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