Next stop, Riverdale

Posted Friday, December 15, 2017 12:04 am

A model train passes by a replica of the Riverdale Monument at the New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show. The show is an annual tradition that brings together the work of the company Applied Imagination, whose artists and technicians create replicas of famous New York buildings, statues and structures from natural materials.

Julius Constantine Motal

A replica of the Van Cortlandt House rests below a railway in the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden. Built in 1748 and located just off the park that bears the same family name, the Van Cortlandt House is one of the oldest buildings in the Bronx.

Julius Constantine Motal

Families take in the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden.

Julius Constantine Motal

The Statue of Liberty stands tall in the last room of the Holiday Train Show in the conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden.

Julius Constantine Motal

Thomas the Tank Engine rounds a corner near a replica of the Lefferts Homestead in the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden.

Julius Constantine Motal

Patrons wait for the opportune moment to take a picture of a train in the first room of the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden.

Julius Constantine Motal

A train makes its way past a replica of the Elephantine Colossus, a late 19th-century statue that stood in Coney Island from 1885 until 1896, when it was destroyed in a fire.

Julius Constantine Motal

A model train passes under a replica of the Washington Arch in the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden. The team of artists and technicians at Applied Imagination laid over a half-mile of train tracks in this year's show.

Julius Constantine Motal

Patrons watch the trains go by in the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden.

Julius Constantine Motal

A ladybug train car whizzes by a replica of the Gothic Arch.

Julius Constantine Motal

Patrons take pictures of the displays at the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden. The show features replicas of famous New York buildings, statues and structures made from natural materials like twigs, fruit and pinecones, among other things.

Julius Constantine Motal

Patrons watch the trains go by in the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden.

Julius Constantine Motal

A model train passes over a replica of the Queensboro Bridge in the last room of the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden.

Julius Constantine Motal

By Julius Constantine Motal

Across several rooms in the conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden, model trains wind their way through and around some of New York’s most iconic buildings.

In the spirit of the garden, the replica buildings are made from natural materials: twigs, fruits and seeds, among other things you might find on your lawn.

The show is brought to life thanks in part to the efforts of the team at Applied Imagination, a company that specializes in creating these kinds of natural displays. The Kentucky-based company has been behind the train show for more than 20 years.

Each building, bridge, statue and structure has a small placard indicating what it is, and their natural composition gives them a fairy tale quality that proves especially captivating for kids. The show is a composite portrait of New York in all its architectural wonder, including some local landmarks like the Riverdale Monument and the Van Cortlandt House.

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New York Botanical Garden, Holiday Train Show, Bronx, Julius Constantine Motal

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Next stop, Riverdale

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