Garden Railway

Closeup of a bright blue model train engine, Number 592, The Blue Comet, on railway tracks through a garden planted with yellow chrysanthemums.

The Garden Railway is currently closed for the season.

Celebrate the tradition of our whimsical, wonderful Garden Railway.

A fanciful blend of horticulture, engineering, and lighthearted fun awaits guests of all ages with this very special display located outdoors near the Beer Garden.

Each fall, members of our Horticulture, Facilities, and Guest Services departments team up to achieve the not-so-small feat of creating this multi-level world in miniature—complete with a beautiful seasonally changing plant palette. We proudly showcase our collection of dozens of locomotives, steam engines, diesel engines, and specialty engines—as well as the ever-popular Thomas the Tank Engine and many of his friends—as they rumble along nearly 500 feet of track amid textural foliage, flowering plants, and woody plants.

Read our blog posts to learn more

The Model of Craftsmanship

October 9, 2024

The Model of Craftsmanship

Our remarkable Garden Railway has delighted guests of all ages for 24 years now … and how this multi-level world in miniature all comes together is no small feat.
Full Steam Ahead

October 7, 2020

Full Steam Ahead

Each fall, a multi-departmental team made up of members of our Horticulture, Facilities, and Guest Services departments together achieve the not-so-small-feat of creating this multi-level world in miniature.

Explore Our Garden Railway

A curving miniature train track next to a curved bamboo fence peek out from undulating piles of light brown mulch.

What starts as a blank slate of land just east of our Beer Garden becomes a textural, detailed display showcasing a varied collection of steam and diesel locomotives.

A kneeling worker hammers a stake into mulched ground to help support an outdoor miniature railway.

The railway’s tracks are all elevated two to five feet off the ground and must be supported by trusses and wood planks staked into the ground.

A person in a green Longwood Gardens shirt and cap extends a tape measure from a miniature outdoor railway track to the overhead arch of a bridge.

Our team of railway engineers place the approximate 500 feet of track, complete with trestles and bridges crafted in-house.

Inside view of storage shed housing shelf after shelf of miniature train engines and cars.

They then unpack the railroad equipment, make any needed repairs, and clean and lubricate all of the locomotives and cars to get them ready for the season.