By Paul Lomax
Special to DNAinfo
MIDTOWN — Thousands of New Yorkers stopped at Grand Central Terminal over the weekend to catch a glimpse of an elaborate model train set on display for the holidays.
The stunning exhibit at the New York City Transit Museum Gallery Annex — a 34-foot long layout that features MTA trains traveling from Manhattan to the North Pole — attracted young and old alike on Sunday.
Matt Morettini, 35, of Brooklyn, brought his 20-month-old daughter Clara, and a group of friends to take in the display.
"My daughter loves trains, so we all came here to have a look at the show," he said. "What better place can you go than Grand Central Terminal to look at trains!"
Morettini added that a friend of his has a "set-up like this in his basement but it's nothing as elaborate as this."
"It makes me wish that I had a train set as a kid. It's great."
The Holiday Train show features Lionel-made trains running on eight separate tracks as well as vintage trains from American Flyer and Louis Marx & Company.
"We've had over 15,000 people visit here and take a look at the display since Thanksgiving," said Vonette Noble, 19, a sales associate at the museum. "I love it. We've been so busy with holiday crowds, especially families with their kids.
"I don't how they do it, but the display just gets better and better every year."
The Holiday Train Show will be on display in the Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall until Jan. 16, 2012.
