We went here for the holiday train ride. It was absolutely fantastic. We did purchase the parlor car option which is the first class accommodation. It was well worth the extra money. Plus you get parking right up next to the train car. The parlor car offered spacious, comfortable seating, VIP time with Santa Claus, a hot adult beverage, or nonalcoholic version, bottled water, snacks, Christmas cookies, and a great narrative of the ride. You're also allowed to walk the length of the train, but you need to have a wristband so you can get back into the parlor car area. Be prepared for lots of traffic as you drive to the train station from other parts of the Bay Area. Traffic is bad during the winter if not always. The train leaves right on time so you do not want to be late. Also, the railroad provides very detailed and helpful instructions about how to get to the depot and how to navigate the parking and other systems. They have outside train cars and inside train cars so you can choose what type of seat you want. This is definitely been worth the money and should become a holiday. read more

Niles Canyon Railway - Trains Near Me - Fremont, California

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We love this train! Only been for Train of Lights and an amazing experience each time! Getting tickets is a bit stressful but I managed to grab tickets for our party of 9 for a Saturday! They let you bring food and drinks on as long as you clean up after yourself. The ride was relaxed, the train had different festive decorations per car, the kids had a blast and Santa was on the train and so friendly! 10/10 would ride again! read more

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This was really fun to do! Riding the diesel train was good to experience this journey through time. A relaxing excursion through the countryside. I'm so glad that this is still running and people are able to hop aboard and get to enjoy this scenic ride. I will have to try the Christmas rides in the winter. I'm sure that will offer a different kind of wonderful experience too. Thank you to the volunteers who keep this place running. We appreciate you. read more

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Today was the sale for the Train of light at 10:00 am . the website gave error code . My 2nd year without tickets Very disappointing read more

Niles Canyon Railway - Error code , multiple try's to buy tickets for Train of lights. - Trains Near Me - Fremont, California

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Went for the holiday train. Completely volunteer run. Loved the experience. Snacks and hot chocolate are delicious too read more

Have taken these train rides a few times in the past year or so, and always a pleasant experience, but not this time! This past Sunday, which was not a holiday, I did not expect to see mainly families with children under the age of 10. Toddlers that scream and make so much noise, you miss the commentary from the PA system. Everyone seem to be bringing tiny toddlers that don't have the ability to be able to listen or let others listen. As a senior and my companion is handicapped and in her 80's, were boarded first by their hydraulic lift with the help from 2 volunteers. Making it easy for her to navigate with her walker from one car into the adjoining car which was the snack bar and then into the next car that offers comfortable seating. The train had 2 other cars attached that appear like they used to be for logging or something, no roof or windows, just wooden benches. A tarp is over the top to keep sun off the heads of riders. The ride itself is very unique and comfortable and most of the windows had been slightly opened by the volunteers, so there was enough ventilation. I found it strange to see all the Christmas lights and wreaths hanging everywhere in that carriage. So much work went into it, that they don't want to spend more time disassembling lights. After boarding we quickly got our hot dogs ($5./ea.) and bottles of water and a bag of chips. Good quality hot dogs, that's for sure! This was a steam train ride, and we later found out from train conductor that not many kids ride on the diesel trains. If we'd only known that, we could have booked that instead and had a lot less noise. Some noise is understandable, but Sundays ride was horrendous. Since they don't serve alcohol on the train, it can't be that reason that people, (not kids) had a few before they boarded, perhaps? Last year took the diesel and it was almost an empty carriage, and only adults. Costs $5 less than the steam train ride. Unlike Roaring camp Railroads in Felton, Niles Canyon offers FREE parking, within a few yards of the train, as opposed the half mile walk the other place imposes on people. Also tickets are less than half the price of Roaring Camp. Also this ride is 1 hr. 20 min roundtrip, with a 15 mi. stop near Niles, when they move the engine down the track to face the other direction on return. We saw it through our window, some people went outside to witness the turning of the engine. It's only a 35 min. ride from San Jose, straight up 680. The many volunteers who walk through the car while we were seated spoke to us to make sure we were enjoying everything. One gentleman told us many train jokes. An unexpected pleasure! All the employees onboard the train are extremely nice and helpful. I highly recommend Niles Canyon Railway despite the fact there are no Redwood trees as there are in Felton, I guarantee you will still be highly entertained! For senior prices, around $25/steam and $20 on Diesel, you can't go wrong. read more

The Niles Canyon Railway is run as a living history museum, with steam and diesel locomotives, and designed to educate and promote understanding and appreciation of the western railroads. We were attending the Charlie Chaplin Days event nearby, and this Special-for-Chaplin-Days Steam Train ride was part of our weekend passes for the event. We departed from Niles (though we were told it was for this special event and they typically only have rides departing from Sunol now). The entrance to the parking lot can be found near the Sullivan underpass, near Mission Street. All of staff we encountered during our visit were friendly and helpful. The train was beautiful with lovely outdoor seating we took advantage of on this warm and sunny day. They sold refreshments on the train, but the only actual "meal" available was hot dogs. They also sold some merchandise, including adorable toy trains for young ones. The ride was great, the scenery mostly made up of trees and hills, as well as water running through the creek. They shared a lot about the history and significance of places we passed, but the speaker system was not great and it was hard to hear or understand, so if you care about this, you may be disappointed.  The ride was about 45 minutes one way (from Niles to Sunol), then it took about 15 minutes for the steam locomotive to be moved to the other side of the train. Then the ride back to Niles was only 30 minutes, as we traveled at a higher speed. There's only one way on and off the train, so there's a bit of a wait getting on and off the train, but it goes by fairly quickly. Seating is first come first served, so come early if you want something specific based on weather (ie. indoors during the winter). Overall, this was a great experience, not $30+ worth of an experience, but it was still a great opportunity to just relax and enjoy the scenery. Even better if you especially like trains. read more

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We came here for Mother's Day! You have to buy your tickets online at www.nary.org. From there you can select the date and time you want to ride the train. Make sure you select the schedule you can ride cause there is no refund if you cannot make it or you miss the train. The ride is a pleasant smooth journey along Niles Canyon. You travel from Sunol, Ca to Niles, Ca. The journey takes approximately one hour+ round trip. Riding this train is like going back in time to the First Transcontinental Railroad. The volunteers are very friendly and knowledgeable, very cool! Next time we come back we're gonna ride the Steam Engine train! read more

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LONGEST HOLIDAY LIGHTS TRAIN IN THE US with over 1 million lights on the interior and exterior. Unfortunately, its sold out for 2022, you have to get on the tickets as soon as they are for sale. My wife missed purchasing by 30 minutes and it was all sold out but luckily a another parent from our co-op language school invited us to a private caboose she had reserved for her family and friends. The history of trains in Niles Canyon dates back to the building of the original transcontinental railroad. The first Western Pacific Railroad Company (formed in 1862) started construction in San Jose towards Sacramento. Since 1987 its been providing train rides to the public through the help of the many volunteers that helped rebuild, maintain, and even hope on the train to give some historical anecdotes. Nice 1.5 hour ride from Niles to the station in Sunol. You leave at 4:30 and get to experience some daylight and night on the way back. The private caboose was used by the train engineer and crew to rest and monitor the train, it's been adapted for passenger use but the cool thing is you can still go up to the cupola and get a nice top view of the train front and back. read more

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Great holiday lights and good experience. Nice holiday feel. We saw the train decorations and Nile's lights it was nice!! read more

They scammed me and my family on these tickets. They took all of my money and are now saying due to a computer glitch they will not honor my tickets on December 8th at 4:30 PM. Please beware of this scam company. They said they oversold the tickets by mistake but are refusing to give me my money back or honors my tickets for another day. Please don't ever buy any tickets from this company they are scamming people with their train of lights event. read more

"Sometimes that light at the end of the tunnel is a train."--Charles Barkley The Niles Canyon Railway is the historical preservation of early 1900s trains and coach cars that all can enjoy for a small price. There are two depots one can catch the train ride from the historic town of Niles (aka Fremont) to Sunol (https://goo.gl/rgBrhq), but multiple ways to catch the excursion. First let's talk shekels: 2018 prices: Adults (13+) $14; Children (3-12) $8; Seniors (62+) $11 and Infants (0-2) are gratis. They do take credit cards for payment of train tickets, but if one wishes to purchase snacks from the snack bar onboard it will require cold hard cash. Sunday train rides: Trains typically run every Sunday in the spring/summer months (April-August) and every 1st and 3rd Sunday the rest of the year. There are two train rides that take you from Niles to Sunol (and vice-versa) that take around 1hr 20min to complete the back and forth journey. Of course one can take the early train to Sunol (or Niles) and then catch the later train back to their point of origin. Special Trains: They run special Beer and Wine trains throughout the year. Check their FB page or website for more details. Train of Lights (aka Christmas Trains): Really cool train ride that takes place during the Holiday Season (aka Christmas) and is covered with well over 500,000 holiday lights. You can ride with Santa, drink hot chocolate and sing carols while the train lights up the dark canyon walls. Pretty neat to do and highly recommended you do this at least once if one has young children. This ride typically begins the Friday after Turkey Day (aka Black Friday) and runs throughout the Holiday (aka Xmas) season. Check their website for more details. Pro Tip: purchase tickets ahead of time to avoid getting sold out at the box office the day of. This is a pretty popular event. Chartering Trains & Cabooses: Available to rent out for groups (https://goo.gl/ymzG27) and children's parties (https://goo.gl/jQBEAx). Check website for more details and pricing info, or email: station-agent@ncry.org Overall a fun, and fairly inexpensive, way to kill an afternoon with the young train enthusiast in one's life. I recommend starting your journey here in Niles as you can visit the historic 1885 Depot (https://goo.gl/LbB1NS) next door and check out some cool train artifacts. Until next time, Kids. Choo-choo! read more

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Make sure to schedule and buy tickets ahead of time. We've been wanting to tide this train for a while now. It was worth the wait, though. The ride was fun! They have kept the train in good condition. I really like how they have preserved the lighting fixtures and the seats. Perfect for families with kids and kid at read more

Took my grandma to the train station last Sunday. She loved the train ride from Sunol to Niles. It was about an hour and a half round trip with a 15 minute stop in between. There is a lot of scenery that you see on the train that you do not see on 84 while driving through. There are many houses, buildings and structures that are on the train ride. You can also see the old train tracks that they used in the mid 1900s. Currently at the Niles stop there is a train owned by the SF railroad museum on display. read more

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These folks restore old locomotives and train cars which they use for the train ride from Fremont to Sunol and back. The track parallels the creek that runs through Niles Canyon, so it is quite scenic. My favorite is their Train of Lights holiday train. The cars are decorated with colorful lights and as you go through the canyon, drivers honk and wave at the passengers on the train. They attach all kinds of different cars, so you walk up and down during the train ride and enjoy looking out through the caboose, ride in on open-air car or enjoy the ride in a enclosed passenger car. Great for kids. Highly recommend. read more

My kids love trains (which kid doesn't??) - so when the weather got nice a few weeks ago, we decided to ride the train from Sunol to Niles. My kids loved seeing a huge, breathing steam train up close. I dropped off my wife and kids at Sunol, then picked them up at Niles and went to nearby Fremont for lunch! (lots of restaurant choices there) read more

Train of Lights is a must do with kids! It's nothing fancy, but it is so unique to ride in vintage train cars lit up with Christmas lights. Parking was free. We were able to buy tickets on the same day during the holiday weekend. read more

nice ride for a Sunday day, my son does not get tired of going there every Sunday.