Holiday Train Shows on Long Island | MommyPoppins

If watching a model train making its way around a tiny Christmas village isn’t on your family’s list of Long Island holiday fun, why not add it this year?

We guarantee children and adults alike will gaze with wide-eyed wonder at the sights and sounds of these model train shows. The holiday-themed decorations of the communities they’re in are also a sight to behold. Below, we’ve put together a list of some of the best train shows that are sure to delight the entire family.

If all this train watching makes your family eager to climb aboard a real caboose, check out our roundup of Polar Express and other Santa trains near Long Island and NYC and find many more ways to enjoy the season in our Guide to Holiday Fun on Long Island.

Christmas Train Shows on Long Island

1. Long Island Garden Railway Society Holiday Shows – Sayville, Garden City, and Bethpage

See the listing for dates, locations, and times. 

This Massapequa-based organization promotes the hobby of model railroading. The holiday-themed exhibit will be at three locations this year. Trains will run during the day at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City. In the evening, it will run at the Sayville Historical Society and Old Bethpage Village Restoration. Old Bethpage Village Restoration is also holding its annual Candlelight Evenings Holiday Show. 

2. TMB Model Train Holiday Shows and Open Houses – Farmingdale

Select days from Saturday, November 26-Sunday, February 12, 2023

This show features 10 larger-size trains running on 19 miles of track. Adults will enjoy a model train layout that was featured in an episode of The Sopranos.

3. West Island Model Railroad Club Open Houses – Hicksville

Select Days from Friday, November 25-Sunday, December 11

This under-construction railroad features 5,600 square feet of fun. The club has an 11-mile, double-track mainline and a recently completed upper level. Visitors can run the trains and chat with other enthusiasts at winter open houses. Check their site for exact showtimes each day.

RELATED: Where Kids Can Dine with Santa on Long Island

Enjoy Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers’ open houses. Photo courtesy of the organization

4. Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers Open Houses – Levittown

Select days from Friday, December 2-Sunday, December 11

Bring the whole family to see Long Island’s largest operating O-gauge exhibit during the organization’s holiday open houses, which run on two consecutive weekends in December. (O-guage is a popular model train scale.) Multiple trains take you on a journey through a miniature village that is decked out for the holidays.

5. Railroad Museum of Long Island Holiday Open Houses – Riverhead and Greenport

Celebrate the holidays at either location of the Railroad Museum of Long Island. Guests can ride the Long Island Rail Road miniature park train from the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair, climb inside a 1960s LIRR caboose, activate the 57 accessories on the historic Lionel Layout, and watch scale model trains operate on two indoor train layouts. Santa is set to arrive at noon each day via train.

This post was updated for 2022