kaufmann's | It's Christmas 365

Everything is magical in miniature displays.

Here are 10 (and a bonus one) model train and miniature displays to visit this holiday season around Pittsburgh.

Western Pennsylvania Model Railroad Museum

This display is among the nation’s oldest, dating to 1938.

With about 4,000 square feet and 6,500 feet of track, this display features Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, in 1952.

Among the 100 steam locomotives and 250 diesel engines, look for some regional landmarks: Fallingwater, J&L Steel and Cox’s Department Store.

There are buttons with interactive displays for children of all ages.

The display is located at 5507 Lakeside Drive in Richland Township, Allegheny County (Gibsonia). It is open on select days through Jan. 15. Cost is $5 for children under 12 and $10 for adults. For more information, visit the website.

Ohio Valley Lines

This display in Ambridge in celebrating 40 years. The display features “two fantastic, highly-detailed model railroad displays.”

The show is open select days through Jan. 8. Cost is $6 for adults and $2 for children 3 to 12. For more information, visit the website.

Beaver County Model Railroad and Historical Society

Visitors can see several locomotive power and rolling stock, plus a variety of displays, and can check out the rest of the building and library.

Admission is free, and donations are accepted. The show runs select days through Jan. 1. Find more details here.

Pennsylvania Trolley Museum

Check out the Trolleys and Toy Trains exhibit at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. Be sure to see the Victorian-style village and the Lego layout. For costs and dates, visit the website.

Kennywood’s Model Train Display

Carefully crafted by the Pittsburgh Independent Hi-Railers, the model train display at Kennywood Park’s Holiday Lights features 14 scale miles, a quarter mile of real track and hundreds of scenes and locations. Read more here.

Admission is included with a Holiday Lights general admission ticket. For tickets and dates, visit Kennywood’s website.

McKeesport Model Railroad Club

The 2,200-square-foot layout features life depicted in the fictitious Mon Valley town of Steelton.

Admission is $3 for ages 5-17 and $5 for adults; free for children younger than 5 and also for military, first responders and uniformed scouts. Find more information here.

Rochester Area Heritage Society and Model Railroad Museum

This display features five different model railroad displays in five different scales.

Display is open select days through Jan. 8. Admission is $5 and free for children 12 and younger. For more information, visit the group’s Facebook page or call 724-777-7697.

Miniature Railroad & Village at the Carnegie Science Center

This display dates to 1919 and features some of Western Pennsylvania’s landmarks — Mister Rogers’ house, Kaufmann’s Department Store, Fallingwater and new this year is the Evans City chapel from “Night of The Living Dead.”

Cost to view the display comes with general admission for the science center, which is $20 for adults, $15 for people 65 and up, $12 for children and free ages 2 and younger. For more information, visit the science center website.

Phipps Conservatory Garden Railroad: Our National Parks

Visit Phipps and celebrate national parks with the Garden Railroad display. Guests can activate elements of the display through touchless interactive stations with the famous Old Faithful Geyser, look for Bigfoot and look for more than 3,500 plants.

Admission is part of the general admission for Phipps. Cost starts at $19.95 for adults, $11.95 for children 2 to 18, and $17.95 for people over 65 and students over 18. For more information, visit the Phipps website.

Ridings Family Train Display

Visit the Ridings family train display at the McCarl Industrial & Agricultural Museum in Darlington. Weekends through Dec. 31 (closed Christmas Eve). More details here.

Train Gang of Washington County

The Train Gang of Washington County is located in the Washington Crown Center Mall (1500 W Chestnut St, Washington, PA 15301), close to I-70. Open Wednesdays through Sundays. Check the group’s Facebook page for specific hours. Admission is free; donations are welcome and are shared with local charities. More details here.

Pittsburgh has not had a proper Christmas parade since 2019, when WPXI produced what would become the last holiday season parade in Pittsburgh, ending a nearly 40-year tradition that first began with Kaufmann’s Department Store.

But fear not: The fine folks behind YaJagoff Media are back with another Pittsburgh-centric holiday parade that’s not a parade: “The Not Your Average Holiday Parade N’at, YaJagoff.”

This year’s “not so fake” holiday parade will be held at The Block Northway, McKnight Road Babcock Boulevard in Ross Township, on from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Dec. 3.

Erika Jay and Monica of Pittsburgh radio station Q92.9 will serve as roving reporters, making their way to each tent for interviews.

YaJagoff’s Rachael and John will narrate the parade-like happenings from the back of a Rohrich pickup truck. The entire event will be livestreamed on YaJagoff, as well as the Q92.9 Facebook pages, thanks to Sorgatron Media.

The event will feature entertainment from the Steel City Ukuleles, Mark Ferrari and Ashley Marina, plus performances from dance and performance troupes, and appearances by Pittsburgh personalities including KDKA-TV’s Ray Petelin. The Moonshot Museum is also listed as a participant.

Oh, and, of course, the parade-like event will feature Santa Claus!

Each parade attraction will be stationed, and featured, at four stops in the parking lot under sponsored tents: Mancini’s Bakery, Millie’s Ice Cream, North Country Brewing and Screenmobile.

The event will be held at the main entrance of The Block Northway’s parking lot.

“It’s bigger and better this year, so, get in the holiday spirit,” YaJagoff co-owner John Chamberlin said in a news release. “Get up, worsh your face, and come join us, live or on Facebook.”