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THE NEW YORK CITY HOLIDAY TOY TRAIN WALKING TOUR

NYC FanNYC FanOGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBER
Nowhere I know compares to New York City during the Holiday Season. And, once again I am looking forward to taking my family into midtown Manhattan for our annual NYC Holiday Toy Train Walking Tour. Being with my family and sharing the spirit of the Holidays with them is what it is all about.

We start off with the traditional train ride into the city. Coming from our home in Rockland County we arrive at Pennsylvania Station, a block from Macy's.

Macy's is the setting for the great Christmas Movie Classic "Miracle on 34th Street" and is the home of Santa Land. There in lies the first of the toy train treasures, the Lionel layout built by TW Design.

MACY'S HERALD SQUARE


Herald Square and Macy's Tree of Lights

Miracle on 34th Street movie poster

The 34th Street side of Macy's...I Believe!

The Macy's Santa Land Conductor keeps the line moving

The city area with the Christmas Tree centerpiece in the back

My sons Mike and Tommy

My son Tommy and his girlfriend Emily on the way to see Santa

The city area of the Lionel Layout

The far end of the layout

Just one of the big kids going to see Santa

One block east of Macy's is the Empire State Building. A visit to the 86th floor observation deck is an unforgettable experience. The views are breathtaking and we actually had snow up there!

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING


The Empire State Building

Macy's as seen from the 86th Floor Observation Deck

My daughter Gina on the Observation Deck

The Flat Iron Bldg on Madison Square

Looking Northwest at Times Square and the Paramount Bldg

Looking Southeast toward Brooklyn....see the Bklyn Bridge? Dead center.

Souvenir photo

We then head north to 42nd Street, and Grand Central Terminal. The Terminal itself is worth the trip with the magnificent facade and statuary facing traffic coming north on Park Ave, and it's famous concourse. But as an added attraction, The MTA Museum Store features another wonderful Lionel Layout featuring the prototype of TW Design's Grand Central Terminal model.

GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL


Grand Central Terminal 42nd Street

Grand Central's Main Concourse Info Booth with it's famous clock

The TW Design Grand Central

Big City platform

Lionel action in the village

Approaching the village

The Lionel Tug

Lionel NYC 0-8-0 Switcher

We walked north on Park Ave to 50th Street and then west to 5th Ave. Rockefeller Center is the Holiday Heart of New York City. For 80 years, there has been a Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Plaza, where visitors from all over the world stop and reflect on the meaning of the season. The Top of the Rock is the Observation Deck on the 65th Floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Nearby is St. Patrick's Cathedral, Radio City Music Hall, and Saks 5th Avenue.

ROCKEFELLER CENTER


My kids: Mike, Gina and Tommy

The 2009 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Under the Big Tree looking toward saks Fifth Avenue

One of my favorite guys on the Plaza

Rockefeller Center looking toward St. Patricks Cathedral


St. Patrick's Cathedral seen from the "Top of the Rock."


Souvenir photo from the "Top of the Rock."


Saks Fifth Avenue with St Pats in the background


The Tree


Radio City Music Hall

Heading back south on 5th Ave we turned west on 42nd Street to take in Times Square.

Highlights of a New York City Holiday Tour include the windows of Lord & Taylor, the festive decor of other stores on 5th and 6th Avenues, the beautifully adorned landmarks such as The Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Park Ave. and Times Square. Lionel will have a store this year, although not in Rockefeller Center. It will, however, be on the route of the walking tour. The exact address will follow.



CHRISTMAS SPIRIT ON PARK AVE, 5TH AVE, 6TH AVE, TIMES SQUARE


The Spirit of the City on 5th Ave.

Cartier's 5th Ave.

6th Ave AKA Avenue of the Americas

Park Ave windows

Waldorf Astoria Hotel

Lobby of the Met Life (former Pan Am) Building

The Paramount Theater Building

Times Square

Lord & Taylor 5th Ave.

A Lord & Taylor Window along 5th Ave

Saks 5th Avenue and the Musical Snowflakes

Macy's

More will be added to this post as we get closer to the holidays!
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KRAKRAOGR Forum Member
quote:
I hope they don't take away the classic charm and the nostalgia factor! There's nothing like going up to Santa Land on those old wooden escalators!

This may be the year to take this all in.


Skip



I doubt that Santa Land is going anywhere.

Read the press release from Macy's, you notice that one of the bullet points
addresses the wooden escalators, all but one remains.

In fact quite a bit of the work is focused on restoring many features ofo their building.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/ph...&cat=news&id=1624141

Ken
Ed WalshEd WalshOGR Forum Member
I just can't imagine how after all these years they still have the wooden escalators. I first hit those wooden escalators 61 years ago and its been about 40 years I've been back in the store.

I applaud Macy's for recognizing the historical value of them. They must have one heck of a maintenance crew/program to be able to keep them going all these years.

Ed
bluelinec4bluelinec4OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBERMEMORIAL SUPPORTER
Just in case your in the New York area the weekend of 12/3-12/4 and 12/18 The NJ Hirailers will have a mammoth Christmas tree, beautiful menora, and open houses that I know will have a visit from Santa and his elves in the afternoon of each. The 12/3 and 12/4 weekend is a joint effort by us and the LCCA ( Lionel Collectors club of America). The LCCA will also be hosting a swap meet those days Come on by!!!
NYC FanNYC FanOGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBER
OK a little true story:

I used to love the Marklin Layout at Swiss Air back in the 70's. For those who never saw it, it sat in the window at the Swiss Air office on Fifth Ave. near Rockefeller Center. Two trains took turns navigating through the Alps in opposite directions. When one train would return to the village at the front of the layout, the other would get a green light and take off along the same route in the opposite direction. I could stand there for an hour watching this great layout.

Fast forward to 1989, when I was asked to do a train display for the Bear Mountain Christmas Festival, about 30 miles north of New York City. I had a meeting with a gentleman from the Palisade Interstate Parks Commission by the name of Ed Dyroff. He told me that they had a layout that needed to be restored but I was welcome to use it. He went on to tell me that it was donated to Bear Mountain by Swiss Air and it had been in their 5th Ave. office. He told me that it had been stored at their warehouse on Iona Island for quite a few years and needed a lot of work. We made an appointment for the next week, so we could go down to the island and retrieve the layout. I could hardly wait for that day to come. Finally the day arrived and I met Mr. Dyroff at the Bear Mtn Administration Building. We headed down the windy trail to Iona Island.He unlocked the chain and slid back the loading dock door. The open space was filled with various decorations used throughout the year for the many activities at the park. He explained that things in the warehouse get moved a lot from season to season. After digging for a few minutes we found the layout.

Actually we found what was left of that fabulous layout, some badly broken styrofoam mountains, track long gone, and no sign of the village. A big disappointment for sure. Unrecognizable, the remnants of that once great layout were truly "in ruins."

So I wound up starting from scratch and build a Lionel display layout that was part of the Bear Mountain Christmas Festival in it's final years.
NYC FanNYC FanOGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBER
quote:
Paulinskill Posted November 07, 2011 07:09 AM

Just saw an ad for the holiday train show at NY Botanical Garden. It was on New York channel 4 (NBC) here this morning. First time I ever saw an ad for that. A ride but that could be added to Skip's list.


Owen

Location: Long Valley, NJ | Registered:: February 23, 2003


I am honored to have had Owen make one of his last posts, to this thread. We will miss Owen. Frown
MiketgMiketgOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER
Hi Skip,

Thanks for the post explaining what happened to the old Swissair lauyout. It made me even think of selling my Lionels and going into European HO. In the long run, I wound up going into European O and keeping the Lionels, but that is another story. It was a truly magnificient layout, one that let you see what another world was like before the ease of the Internet and satellite TV. Funny thing, that layout also inspired my older brother to put mountains on his
N scale European Arnold Rapido layout. (I still have his 1970 Rapido Catalog somewhere, one of my all time favorite catalogs.) We used to by his Rapido at Coronettes, another long gone, Long Island store.
Thank you for some great memories and all the best,
Miketg
SL Silver LakeOGR Forum Member
So today from my vantage point of in a window, building holiday windows at Rock Center I watched some other guys with much heavier equiptment put up the scaffolding for the tree. The tree will show up tomorrow morning. With any luck my window will be up for the weekend and running next week. With the rest of them. Everything has to be up before the tree lighting.
gg1mangg1manOGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBERMEMORIAL SUPPORTER
Hi Alex, there are many good hotels in Manhattan. Just Google Mahattan hotels then you can choose what fits your budget.

The best place to stay is close to Times Square. That is in Mid Town and is where most of the train sites are.

If you are driving into town, don't! Stay in Jersey City. There is a hotel right at Ten Exchange Place, I think it's a Hilton. The nice thing about Jersey City is that the parking is alot cheaper then in town and you can take the PATH train right into MidTown. The Double Tree is another great Jersey City hotel, but you will have to take a short trolly ride to get to Ten Exchange Place. It's only about a half mile so you can walk it if you wont. The streets are safe around there. They also have a couple of Malls and many box stores near by.
Once in Midtown you can take the subway to where ever you have to go, or even a cab would cost less then parking.
NYC FanNYC FanOGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBER
Potrzbe,

I assume you want to stay in midtown.

If you aren't concerned about price, the Grand Hyatt at Grand Central Terminal would be a great place to stay. But if you're like me and can't pay $350+ per night, then I suggest one of these:

Apple Core Hotels
Apple Core's 5 Midtown hotels lack flair but the rooms are clean, supply the basics, and come with complimentary breakfast. All locations have fitness and business centers, and the La Quinta has a great view of the Empire State Building from its year-round rooftop bar. Not a bad deal considering that doubles start at only $89.99.
• La Quinta, 17 W. 32nd St., between Broadway and Fifth Ave.; 212-736-1600
• Comfort Inn, 129 W. 46th St, between Sixth and Seventh Aves.; 212-221-2600
• Red Roof Inn, 6 W. 32nd St., between Broadway and Fifth Ave.; 212-643-7100
• Super 8, 59 W. 46th St., between Fifth and Sixth Aves.; 212-719-2300
• Ramada Inn, 161 Lexington Ave., at 30th St.; 212-545-1800

www.applecorehotels.com

Otherwise, you can look into staying in one of the suburbs, on one of the train lines in NY or NJ, that will get you into Grand Central or Penn Station in a matter of minutes.

quote:
Skip
Don't gotget the post game activities


Ben is referring to the great Brazilian barbeque, Plataforma Churrascaria, at 316 West 49th Street. If all that walking makes you hungary, that's a great place to fill the tank!
POTRZBEPOTRZBEOGR Forum Member
Thank you for the hotel info. I spent a couple of hours in mid town when my son and I returned from Germany in May. Even though I am 64 I have never been to NYC and I live in the DC metro area. Just never got up that way. I was suitably impressed as I love cities and NYC is one of the citiest of cities in the world.
bluelinec4bluelinec4OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBERMEMORIAL SUPPORTER
There is a Sheraton Suites hotel in Weehawken NJ This is just at the mouth of the Lincoln tunnel on the NJ side.( Built on the ex-Erie yard ) It has free parking, free ferry to Manhattan, huge rooms and is about 140.00 a night for a suite. Have stayed there many times. Good place to drive into the area and bounce around. It also has access to the Bergen Hudson Light rail
R RailkingOGR Forum Member
Ben,
You live in SI and stayed in Jersey??
These post about the Apple drive me and I think lot's of ex NY'er's nuts...
You would think that after being out of the Apple for the past 30 yrs,The urge to be back there is as strong as ever.. No matter how much you try to take the city of the man, it just cannot be done.. It always creeps back in and nudges at you.. Smile


quote:
Originally posted by bluelinec4:
Have stayed there many times. Good place to drive into the area and bounce around. It also has access to the Bergen Hudson Light rail
W woojrOGR Forum Member
quote:
Originally posted by bluelinec4:
There is a Sheraton Suites hotel in Weehawken NJ This is just at the mouth of the Lincoln tunnel on the NJ side.( Built on the ex-Erie yard ) It has free parking, free ferry to Manhattan, huge rooms and is about 140.00 a night for a suite. Have stayed there many times. Good place to drive into the area and bounce around. It also has access to the Bergen Hudson Light rail



Unless I looked up the wrong Sheraton, at 500 Harbor Blvd, Weehawkin, the price I find is over 300 a night for early December. Am I in the right place or is it the holiday rates? Thanks, John
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