New York Visit

There is a smallish one inside GCT (bigger than a lot of home layouts, but smaller than a club layout). Ask at the information desk where it is. I'm not that familiar with GCT to give you good directions. Macy's also has a layout in their Santa Land in the 8th(?) floor. We did not get to see it b/c the line to Santa was so long and our time so short. You should have a better chance now that Santa has made his yearly trip.

Chris

LVHR

lehighline posted:

There is a smallish one inside GCT (bigger than a lot of home layouts, but smaller than a club layout). Ask at the information desk where it is. I'm not that familiar with GCT to give you good directions. Macy's also has a layout in their Santa Land in the 8th(?) floor. We did not get to see it b/c the line to Santa was so long and our time so short. You should have a better chance now that Santa has made his yearly trip.

Chris

LVHR

 

The one in GC is on the lower level on the west side of the building. The easiest way to get to it is to enter GC at the corner of 42nd and Vanderbilt, then walk down the ramp. It will be in a shop called the Grand Central Transit Museum. A few years ago they had an exhibit of old toy trains too, but those are not there this year. Also, if you are into libations, the Campbell (formerly Campbell Apartment) has its own entrance on the West side of the building off Vanderbilt. It was formerly the opulent office of John W Campbell, a board member of the New York Central and Chairman of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad. The stairs are a bit of a climb though. I think there is a small elevator, but I have never used it.

George

The layout in Grand Central is in the New York Transit Museum Store in the west end of the station. If you're walking in from 42nd St. it's to your left as far as you can go. I'm pretty sure Santa Land in Macy's only stays open until Christmas Eve, December 24th. Once Santa is gone they close it up. 

Get in an Uber and come to Paterson  About 20-30 minutes from midtown  Forget those little rinky dink layouts

The GCT Layout is very nice. Very crowded spot in the store though.

Try to visit the annual train show at Bronx Botanical Garden. It is just a twenty minute train ride from GCT on the Metro-North Harlem Division. Outstanding toy train exhibits amidst the flora in the Bronx.

MELGAR

Here’s a few pics from our 2016 NYC trip.

Macy’s

Grand Central, Transit Museum.

Exit through the gift shop...but where to take it for a test run?

You can guess where this is going....

Special thanks to John S. and the NJ Hi-Railers for our visit.

This looks familiar... view from our apartment that we stayed in.

Christmas Eve in Trainworld

A fantastic trip with many special memories.

Nick

Gullivers Gate around Times Square is also worth checking out.  A little pricey, but the amount of work and detail in the layout must be seen to be appreciated.  Its an HO scale layout that has scenes from different countries.

MELGAR posted:

Try to visit the annual train show at Bronx Botanical Garden. It is just a twenty minute train ride from GCT on the Metro-North Harlem Division. Outstanding toy train exhibits amidst the flora in the Bronx.

MELGAR

I went to the Botanical Gardens yesterday. The display was very impressive!

NYC Fan posted:

. I'm pretty sure Santa Land in Macy's only stays open until Christmas Eve, December 24th. Once Santa is gone they close it up. 

Yup- last day is Christmas eve - because if Santa was there after, he would be deluged with kids complaining that they didn't get the "Pony. Submarine. Trip to Disneyland." etc.)

Macy's now has a reservations only system to see Santa - It will give you a window of time within 30 minutes, and you can be text'd when your time arrives so you can shop and not wait too long.  It's about 1 hour at peak time (afternoons) for the wait - it used to be up to 4 hours.  

It's still free and the trains are maintained by Lionel.

wmcwood posted:

MELGAR posted:

Try to visit the annual train show at Bronx Botanical Garden. It is just a twenty minute train ride from GCT on the Metro-North Harlem Division. Outstanding toy train exhibits amidst the flora in the Bronx.

MELGAR

I went to the Botanical Gardens yesterday. The display was very impressive!

I agree. I hope Dan Padova has the time to make the visit. The train ride from GCT to Botanical Garden is interesting too.

MELGAR

Trainworld, on McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn, is just a subway ride from GCT.

MELGAR

lehighline posted:

There is a smallish one inside GCT (bigger than a lot of home layouts, but smaller than a club layout). Ask at the information desk where it is. I'm not that familiar with GCT to give you good directions.

 

GCT - the display by TWTRAINWORX is in the Transit Museum Annex, under the Vanderbilt staircase.

Dan,

No layout, but worth the visit, I believe it is the last train store in Manhattan. the Red Caboose at 23 West 45th Street.

There is an affordable British pub right next store (to the Red Caboose) that makes the most amazing (and large) Fish & Chips, The Cock and Bull.

If you have time, take a cab to the the West Side, visit the High Line:

Tom 

MNCW posted:

Dan,

No layout, but worth the visit, I believe it is the last train store in Manhattan. the Red Caboose at 23 West 45th Street.

There is an affordable British pub right next store (to the Red Caboose) that makes the most amazing (and large) Fish & Chips, The Cock and Bull.

If you have time, take a cab to the the West Side, visit the High Line:

Tom 

And DON'T touch the cat at the Red Caboose!

BMT-Express posted:

MNCW posted:

Dan,

No layout, but worth the visit, I believe it is the last train store in Manhattan. the Red Caboose at 23 West 45th Street.

There is an affordable British pub right next store (to the Red Caboose) that makes the most amazing (and large) Fish & Chips, The Cock and Bull.

If you have time, take a cab to the the West Side, visit the High Line:

Tom 

And DON'T touch the cat at the Red Caboose!

I believe the Cat died. Alan in the Red Caboose is a real piece of work... Very rude and nasty if you don't buy; comes up with prices while you're there and asking about certain items. I'll NEVER give that man a penny.

Zach posted:

BMT-Express posted:

MNCW posted:

Dan,

No layout, but worth the visit, I believe it is the last train store in Manhattan. the Red Caboose at 23 West 45th Street.

There is an affordable British pub right next store (to the Red Caboose) that makes the most amazing (and large) Fish & Chips, The Cock and Bull.

If you have time, take a cab to the the West Side, visit the High Line:

Tom 

And DON'T touch the cat at the Red Caboose!

I believe the Cat died. Alan in the Red Caboose is a real piece of work... Very rude and nasty if you don't buy; comes up with prices while you're there and asking about certain items. I'll NEVER give that man a penny.

Couldn't agree more. Worked in NYC for over 20 years before changing jobs right after 9/11. Alan was a nasty guy back then. He wouldn't sell me a piece of track to place in a display case unless I bought a lot more track. I thought he was joking at first, but he was dead serious. With his attitude, I am shocked he is still in business.

Pat 

I usually visit the Red Caboose once a year...I was in there 2 years ago and he had a mint copy of Greenberg's Guide to Lionel Trains 1901-1942 Volume II: O and OO Gauges. I've seen people charge over $100 for this book at various train shows. You would think someone running a Manhattan train store would really be ready to gouge some unsuspecting visitor...instead he was charging a very reasonable $49.95. 

I know others have had issues with him, but I never did.

I believe the cats name was Lionel and that he passed away a few years ago. 

Tom 

MNCW posted:

I usually visit the Red Caboose once a year...I was in there 2 years ago and he had a mint copy of Greenberg's Guide to Lionel Trains 1901-1942 Volume II: O and OO Gauges. I've seen people charge over $100 for this book at various train shows. You would think someone running a Manhattan train store would really be ready to gouge some unsuspecting visitor...instead he was charging a very reasonable $49.95. 

I know others have had issues with him, but I never did.

I believe the cats name was Lionel and that he passed away a few years ago. 

Tom 

I went in there once. My impression is that he tries to stay out of your way. If you have a question or need something, just ask him politely. Others have said he is very helpful if you engage him.

George

I've been to Red Caboose a few times, and Alan is very no-nonsense. Ask him a direct question, he gives you a direct answer. No bs'ing, and if you don't like his prices, just leave. It can be a difficult attitude, but it seems to have served him well all these years. I started visiting the store in 1968 when it was Model RR Equipment Corp and Alan worked in the Red Caboose store across the street on the second floor. He was the same then, too. Anyone know how the store has fared through the pandemic?

I was always intrigued by the Red Caboose ads in CTT.  They had a bunch if vintage Lionel and Amer. Flyer but I recall it was another dealer sharing the space and name.  They bother appeared to have interesting attitudes on the phone...but I may have been speaking with the Red Caboose owner.  Some relation to a defunct operation called Golden Spike?

Gulliver's Gate went bankrupt, and was supposedly restructuring and relocating- what is their current (Oct 2020) status- will they re-open, and when??

No trains this year - no trains in Grand Central, no trains in Macy's and no trains at the New - York Historical Society.

 2020 is a wipe out.

@Mike Wyatt posted:

Gulliver's Gate went bankrupt, and was supposedly restructuring and relocating- what is their current (Oct 2020) status- will they re-open, and when??

Considering that they've had no updates to their Facebook page or website since they closed I would assume that the company is dead.

A shame, considering the high hopes they had when they opened back in May 2017.

Stuart

We saw Gulliver's Gate in November 2018.  We were very impressed with the quality of the exhibit, the friendly staff. and the overall value.  Though it was not per se a train exhibit, it was a fantastic modeling exhibit. 

We were also impressed with the SIZE of the thing, given the cost of prime retail space in NYC, mid-town Manhattan, near Times Square, and directly across from the Majestic Theater (Phantom of the Opera for now over 30 years). 

Gulliver's Gate did not seem to very "busy"- I guess that combination might be what killed them- the cost of (their figure)  50,000 sq. ft. of exhibit, AND several thousand more square feet in their check-in area.  But likely no "hundreds of thousands" of visitors.

Too bad.  Maybe in a less-costly city??

@BMT-Express posted:

No trains this year - no trains in Grand Central, no trains in Macy's and no trains at the New - York Historical Society.

 2020 is a wipe out.

NO WAY! IS this for Real? That SUCKS if it is!

@Mike Wyatt posted:

We saw Gulliver's Gate in November 2018.  We were very impressed with the quality of the exhibit, the friendly staff. and the overall value.  Though it was not per se a train exhibit, it was a fantastic modeling exhibit. 

We were also impressed with the SIZE of the thing, given the cost of prime retail space in NYC, mid-town Manhattan, near Times Square, and directly across from the Majestic Theater (Phantom of the Opera for now over 30 years). 

Gulliver's Gate did not seem to very "busy"- I guess that combination might be what killed them- the cost of (their figure)  50,000 sq. ft. of exhibit, AND several thousand more square feet in their check-in area.  But likely no "hundreds of thousands" of visitors.

Too bad.  Maybe in a less-costly city??

In talking to some of my former coworkers about Gulliver's Gate I had suggested the idea that they should move it out into Queens near Citi Field where there are the other museums and tourist spots such as the Hall of Science and the Queens Zoo.

Stuart

How about Cleveland??  Many train guys and modelers.  Would nicely compliment the 12,000 sq. ft. Corner Field Model Train Museum - in Middlefield.  Rent is WAY less!!!

stay away from NY CITY  crime is at an all time high , police have been defunded , people are moving out ,because of crime , i would not go to ny on your dime right now , look at the news , i have relatives that live just outside of nyc at jones beach long island , stay home techman  

NY in the 1970's was the pits. Way worse than it is now. Graffiti everywhere, squeegee guys, trash, abandoned buildings everywhere, the Guardian Angels patrolling where the cops wouldn't go. And I still took the subway every day to go to school and work.

NY today has bike lanes, car-free zones, new buildings going up everywhere. All those abandoned buildings have been renovated. I love going in several times a month to visit museums and go to my favorite restaurants. The virus has hit the economy hard, and I haven't been there for the last few months, but I can't wait to start going back again. Right now, the museums I want to go to are sold out due to reduced capacity. But soon, I'll be back. 😁

@techman posted:

stay away from NY CITY  crime is at an all time high , police have been defunded , people are moving out ,because of crime , i would not go to ny on your dime right now , look at the news , i have relatives that live just outside of nyc at jones beach long island , stay home techman  

Totally agree. NYC is essentially still on lockdown. I worked there for 20 years, and from what colleagues who still work there have told me, it's unrecognizable. It's also not safe. The police are demoralized. Unless someone has a critical business need to go to NYC, I would avoid it.

Pat