Electric train displays are inextricably linked to holiday magic for children and children at heart, and there’s no better place to experience that wonder than the National Museum of Transportation (2933 Barrett Station).
For 13 years, a small team has spent days pulling nine trains and a massive, historical, to-scale Macy’s window display out of an 80-foot baggage car to delight and entrance guests throughout the holiday season.
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New this year, from November 28—December 30, a miniature, electronic rocket ride display will be complemented by a movable mini ski lift, Santa in his sleigh, and people making snow angels and ice-skating. On November 29, Santa will arrive via helicopter to the museum, kicking off a month of festivities. Other events on select dates throughout the season include a variety of Santa visits, live reindeer experiences, magic shows, and miniature train and trolley rides. Admission is $16; $14 for military, seniors, and first responders; and $8 for children ages 2–12.
Board member and holiday train display coordinator John Brophy says kids typically show the most interest in the E. Desmond Lee exhibit waterfall. “Isn’t that the funniest thing?” he says with a laugh.
But, he explains, Thomas the Tank Engine, the helix Polar Express, a button-activated dinosaur, and electronic action and fantasy figures are also major crowd-pleasers for young visitors. For an extra-special Easter egg, look for the miniature B103 train racing around the top level of the Lee exhibit—and then find its real-life counterpart on the museum grounds.
For the adults, the ’80s-era Macy’s (formerly Famous Barr) downtown window display, which has been improved over the years at the museum but is largely the same, offers a nostalgic trip down memory lane of St. Louis Christmases past. The display ran for 25 years, and when the store closed, the company gifted it to the museum. “They contacted several places about taking it, and we said we’d put it up every Christmas, so they gave it to us,” Brophy says.
The most challenging part of putting the 24-by-24 tabletop world together is connecting the scenery with the track in the right places. “It might be kind of an old, fuddy-duddy hobby, but to put this up, you have to know carpentry, electrical stuff, modeling stuff—all of it,” Brophy says.
When it all comes together, however, there’s nothing like it, Brophy says. He cites the multiple layers of large-scale, G-gauge trains as his personal favorite feature. “Trains have always kind of been part of the holidays,” he adds. “A lot of people have an electric train running around their tree. And so many people have grown up with them, seeing them is like returning to childhood.”
Although the displays themselves are only slightly altered and added onto year after year, Brophy says return visitors who make it part of their holiday tradition find new things to discover every time. “People come back every year and say, ‘We saw this last year, but we didn’t see this,’” he says.
In a world where kids are mostly interested in screen-related recreation, especially on winter break, Brophy says the tradition of seeing the holiday train displays offers a physical, slower-pace activity. “Kids love the action, and so do adults,” he says.
