Mini Railways, Towns, Bridges And Mountains Await At America's Largest Train Set In New Jersey

A cross between a 1970s filmmaker's special effects studio and your weird uncle's garage, NorthlandZ contains an entire miniature city built around model train infrastructure in Flemington, New Jersey. More than 8 miles of track take miniature trains and locomotives across mini-landscapes of canyons, mountains, and cityscapes through bridges and tunnels. Like a world unto itself, scenes play out with action and drama in the towns and villages — some with familiar landmarks — that you won't want to miss.

Outside of the exclusive theme park that transports guests into an interactive Studio Ghibli film, you won't find a more story-centric attraction that instantly brings kids into scenes they recognize and love. Only an hour's drive from Manhattan, NorthlandZ is located at 495 Route 202 in Flemington. The extensive model train set, kids' play area, toy museum, and full-sized outdoor train ride can keep kids and their chaperones busy for hours. Birthday parties, scavenger hunts, and museum sleepovers give kids even more ways to engage with the magic of NorthlandZ. Seasonal events for Christmas, Halloween, and Veterans' Day add to the fun. The museum could certainly be a contender for the five best children's museums in America.

Although NorthlandZ earned a Guinness World Record for the longest small-scale model railway track in 1997 with a total track length of around 50,000 feet, the largest model train set title was added in 2019 when Hamburg's Miniatur Wunderland in Germany opened a new route, Monaco Provence, along its already-sizeable miniature line. The new addition boosted Hamburg's overall set length to 51,558 feet, tipping it over the edge and displacing NorthlandZ, who still use their title to advertise. No train set or model railway in the United States competes so closely.

Both model railways chug through authentic landmarks, but Miniatur Wunderland is more dedicated to reality, recreating cities – Monaco and Venice are newly in the mix – giving inspiration for the real-world most scenic train rides in Europe, and even an airport recreated with painstaking realism; meanwhile, NorthlandZ invents and imagines many of its fantastical places, with a quirky, cartoonish look. Trains are the throughline, and the world is a place of pure imagination. A doll museum and a massive organ, other interests of NorthlandZ's creators, are also on display.

The entire miniature railway at NorthlandZ was built by Bruce Williams Zaccagnino, who started constructing scenes in his garage in 1972, and first exhibited his train show for local guests in Flemington, as well as national and international TV broadcasters, in 1977. In total, Bruce has logged at least 306,600 hours of time constructing the world of miniatures. Along with his wife Jean, whose own passion created the accompanying La Peep Doll House, the collection grew and grew, until the couple's home could no longer host it in their home; today, NorthlandZ spreads over 16 acres that include a play area, birthday party zone, more than 200 dolls, and an organ with more than 2,000 pipes, which Bruce can play. In 2019, it was sold to new owners when Bruce and Jean decided to retire.

Visitors can buy a kids (2 to 11 years) or adult ticket; group passes for three, four, or six people; or even a pass for a birthday party of 10. Tickets to ride the full-sized, outdoor train are sold separately. The collection and exhibition are open every day from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.