National Train Day at Grand Central was well attended. In fact, it was packed on Saturday. I was surprised at the long line of people inside Grand Central waiting to go to the exhibit. I almost decided not to wait, but the line was moving quickly enough.
What I didn’t realize was this is the first of many lines before entering the exhibit. Many, many, many lines.
At one point, they boarded us onto parked commuter trains for 20 minutes so we could rest and enjoy the air conditioning.
After almost two hours of waiting we were finally on the tracks housing the train sets. The line to walk inside each car was at least another 30 to 45 minutes and by this time, I gave up and just walked around the outside of the cars. So apologies for no interior shots, it was just too long of a day.
New York Central Locomotive FL-9
Salisbury Beach sleeper car
New York Central 448 Business-lounge car
20th Century Limited
The vintage cars ranged from 1910 to present day and were fascinating to look at and think of the history of each and how train travel might have been at the time.
After viewing the train sets I walked back into Grand Central where they had other displays and memorabilia. The staff apologized several times saying they never expected such a large crowd. I can only assume that since this event coincided with the 100 year anniversary of Grand Central, more people heard about it.
Overall it was an enjoyable visit. The staff kept the lines orderly and moving, and seeing these older trains is always fun. Even with the wait, I’d recommend going to your next Train Day event. Just bring a good book.
