Train gardens bring holiday cheer in Baltimore area
Holiday train gardens are a tradition for many local fire stations, including the Baltimore City fire house on Glen Avenue in Mount Washington. The Shops at Kenilworth in Towson also has an elaborate garden around its fountain.
The gardens feature dozens of scenes with action figures, Baltimore landmarks, moving parts and, of course, trains.
The gallery shows images from both train gardens, and the video below is from Glen Avenue.
-
- From left, sisters Jane Hughes, 3 and Molly Hughes, 1, of Baltimore, and Griffin Weber, 2, of White Hall stare at the train garden at The Shops at Kenilworth on Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- The full train garden is nearly as long as the inside of the Glen Avenue fire house. It has several trains that roll by, including one that goes around near the top of the canopy. The canopy is surrounded by Baltimore Ravens fleece, and has purple lights and tiny stars shining down. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Children are seen looking at the train garden through the draping Christmas lights at The Shops at Kenilworth. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- The train garden at The Shops at Kenilworth was the main attraction for those passing through the mall Friday afternoon. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- One scene at the Glen Avenue train garden depicts a fire rescue. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Another scene at the Glen Avenue train garden is a winter wonderland. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Eliza Steinmeier, of Mount Washington, pitches in at the Glen Avenue fire station. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- A miniature Fort McHenry was created for the train garden to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Even a few pirates made it into the Glen Avenue train garden. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Bob Filippelli, of Reisterstown, stops for a moment to look at the train garden at Kenilworth. His father had been an engineer, which drew him to it on Friday. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- The train garden on Glen Avenue has a Domino Sugars sign – a familiar sight for Baltimoreans – placed along one of the several train tracks. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- A section of the Glen Avenue train garden has several Halloween-themed miniature houses on display. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Mr. Boh is also a familiar site to Baltimoreans. The firefighters at the Glen Avenue station said they wanted to include a hometown feeling in the garden. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Chase Wise, 6, who used to live in Baltimore but is now visiting from Vermont, presses one of the many buttons at the train garden to activate a moving piece. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- The train garden in Mount Washington, indeed, has something for everybody, including a King Kong miniature. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- A miniature hot air balloon rises and falls on a string at the Glen Avenue fire station train garden. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- A fire engine at the Glen Avenue station is parked beside the train garden. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- A section of the train garden at the Glen Avenue fire station in Mount Washington shows a police officer and dog talking to a man next to a Jeep. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Frank Capra’s holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” plays on the screen at a miniature drive-in movie theater at Kenilworth’s train garden. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Sawyer Meyer, 4, of Timonium, takes a bite of his ice cream while looking at the drive-in movie in the train garden at The Shops at Kenilworth. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Another angle of the fire rescue scene at the garden on Glen Avenue. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- If you look closely at the Kenilworth train garden, you can see the DeLorean from ‘Back to the Future.’ (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Sawyer Meyer, 4, of Timonium, presses his hand against the glass barrier surrounding the train garden at The Shops at Kenilworth. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
-
- Dozens of children stopped to look at the train garden at The Shops at Kenilworth Friday, which had several strands of icicle lights hanging above it. (Jon Sham/BSMG)
Video:
Baltimore neighborhoods
Baltimore street photographers
Year in review
Freddie Gray: protests, aftermath
24 hours with...
A. Aubrey Bodine
Viewing Baltimore from above