arcade and attica railroad

Too much of a hassle and too much waiting! We did this with our 3 children: 8, 5, and 1. The train picks you up at the arcade station, then it's a 45 min trip to curriers to see Santa. You will be standing outside waiting in line for Santa. Our ride was sold out, so we waited 25 minutes to get inside for Santa-which was very rushed, only time for a fast photo. You spend about an hour at curriers station until the train takes you back to arcade. Of course there is snacks available everywhere..to keep kids at bay while you have to stand around waiting! We'll pass next year!

I visited the Arcade and Attica Railroad on 12/05 for the "Santa Train Ride". The cost is $16 per person. The train cars were barely decorated...not a good sign for a Santa Train Ride. The cars were FREEZING as they were not heated, therefore condensation was building up along the windows and water would periodically drip down onto our seat. You arrive at the "North Pole" only to have to stand outside in a line of about 200 people to enter a small shack to see Santa. After the three minutes with Santa you then have the opportunity to go into an unheated tent where they were single hotdogs and cookies before heading back on the dreaded boring ride back to the station. The bathrooms that they tell you they have at the stop are FILTHY DIRTY PORTABLE JOHNS. my 4 year old was asking if we could "please just go into our car" she didnt even want to take the train back. There was one man with a guitar roaming from car to car singing christmas songs to entertain the children, but by the time he made it to our car the ride was almost over. To entertain the kids (who were mostly either sleeping, crying, or complaining that they were bored or cold) one Mom decided to start her own singalong of christmas songs. I was BEYOND disapointed with this event. I cannot fathom how it is even sold out for the remaining rides, unless it is filled with people who have never done it before. I emailed Arcade and Attica Railroad and as of yet they have not responded to me. I almost wanted to demand a refund when we got off the train because it was that bad of an experience. My four year old hated it and was bored 95 % of the time. I am sorry I spent the $32 on it, took the day off of work and drove over an hour to get there. A total waste of my time. I was told when I called that the ride would be 2 1/2 hours.....we boarded the train at 955am, it was supposed to leave at 10am, it never left until 1025am with NO EXPLANATION WHATSOEVER AS TO THE LATENESS, then we arrived back at about 130pm. It was an awful experience. Please save your money and avoid this over priced freezing and boring train ride at all costs. Take your children to the mall to see Santa.

The day we visited was the Civil War re-enactment weekend. Very interesting. Enjoyed their camps and their simulation battle. Enjoyed talking with the "actors". Learned a few things about the people and the times. Used a Groupon and it was a good deal.

I love the history and experience of the old train. Very reasonable priced and a great way to spend the day. The town is locally based right at the station.

I purchased 2 groupons on 8/21/14 for 4 people to take a train ride before Nov 2014 of this year. I called the company after purchase to choose a date for our train ride. I was informed at the time of the call the only available date left for the season was Sept 20th at noon. (Why did they have a groupon in Aug and no available rides if it expired in Nov??) I reserved my tickets (which technically were already purchased thru groupon) for that date, she took my info and that it was for 2 adults and 2 kids. I then specifically asked the women when I should arrive by. She informed me by 11:15 so that I could collect my tickets and board. NO further info was provided by her. On 9/20 I arrived by 11:15 at the railroad and had to wait in a long line. When I finally got to the ticket counter after 12(!!), I was informed that the train had no more seats available. I told the woman I had a reservation and she informed me I should have arrive at 10:30 and had until 11:45 to collect my tickets. I informed her that that was not what I was told over the phone and that I was waiting in line since 11:15 as instructed. If I would have arrived at 11:45 I def would have not had seats. It made no sense. I asked her what the point of the reservation was then and that I paid for tickets already. She said many people that have groupons do not show to their times so they proceed to sell to the general public. Basically first come first serve. Which again makes no sense, then don't offer groupons or reservations. I was not the only person that was outraged, there were at least 20-30 people still in line. Several of us were told the same info over the phone when making reservation. I also asked about making a reservation for another date and was ignored. I asked several times. I was not rude to either of the women at the ticket counter throughout the ordeal. This place is super slow, disorganized and poorly run at the ticket counter. Customer service was terrible. When I as well as others started asking questions some guy came out and basically started yelling at most of us about it. It was very poor customer service. They should not be selling to the general public if there are reservations. They should have a separate line for reservations and only sell tickets within the last 15 min. Additionally as I was standing in line a tour bus with 29 people arrived. What looked like the tour guide went to the front of the line and purchased 29 tickets on the spot. She did not wait in line. My tickets which I had a reservation for went to this tour bus of adults. This place was out of control and should not be offering groupons or any type of reservations. I hope they can sleep at night knowing people with 2 little boys, who purchased tickets and did what they were informed, were turned away. My 5 and 3 year old were extremely disappointed and saddened. Rude and unacceptable customer service. They need to spell out their ticketing/reservations/arrival time process in full detail. I will be contacting groupon and attempt for a refund. I would give 0 stars!!!

We had been wanting to do this for years, and finally did to celebrate our youngest's 3rd birthday. Went with 4 adults and 3 children, arrived 45 minutes early as recommended-definitely do this. It takes a bit of time to park, go to the bathroom (there aren't any on board), buy your tickets, look around, and board. There were WAY more people there than we had expected. Inexpensive food to buy on board, just about everyone in our car had popcorn. An adorable older gentleman entertained, walking around with his accordion, he even sang our son Happy Birthday (he does come around for tips at the end, but I didn't think he was pushy, as I had read in some reviews). We went on a rainy, cold day, definitely check the weather there and dress appropriately to be comfortable, we saw some people who looked like they were freezing. When the train stopped we had just enough time to get out and look at the engine, talk with the crew, eat inexpensive and yummy hotdogs, and use the surprisingly clean portable restroom facilities. It didn't occur to me but a lot of people were putting pennies down on the track for the engine to run over at the stop, something to remember for next time. Generally a mix of adults, families, teenagers, grandparents and grandchildren, all kinds of groups. I had researched online whether to go here or another train ride nearby and this one won for us, hands down on price alone. A fun experience for a special day, would definitely recommend and would definitely do this again-would love to go to one of the December runs, the views would be beautiful. Two more tips-they do offer special things for birthdays, I think you can even bring your own cake onboard, you just have to inquire ahead of time, and the seats can be moved to be forward or rear-facing, wish we had known that from the start!

It the best steam train in New York State hands down.Great family fun for everyone.The open air car is a blast.Two hour ride is outstanding great scenery in western New York.Good value for your buck.

I picked up a Groupon after doing some research and wanting to give this a try. Even without the coupon we still would have done this but it made it that much better.The train-station is right on the outskirts of their downtown, and it looks really cool. The cars on the train and the engine are cool with the steam from the engine being view-able from a long ways away. The station itself did not seem very authentic from the inside, but looked good from the outside. After having gone to the wrong location first it is very easy to find and you can't miss it if you have programmed the right location.Your on a train, and the windows open or you can sit on an open car directly behind the engine so you are likely to get a little dirty but nothing out of the ordinary. The train itself is clean, but it's old of course so not top of the line.There is a set of washrooms in the main building before you leave the train station which are flush toilets. When you arrive at the other train station where they have another concession stand there are 4 porta potties which seemed to few for the number of people so there will be a little bit of a wait. You may not have enough time to use the facilities, check out the small museum, and get something to eat in the 20 or so minutes they allow before the return trip.We were on a very tight time schedule and almost didn't make it. Ended up in the wrong location, not entirely due to the establishment but a small disclaimer about GPS directions and east and west main street would be recommended. There is also no notes regarding parking, which they don't appear to have any. We found the location, and then had to find parking which took a couple of extra minutes. They were very good though about letting us board, although they were about ready to take off as I think due to the pouring rain there were a few people that arrived at the very last minute. Allow 2 to 3 hours to check out the museum and the ride itself round-trip.A final note, is that if you are using a GPS to get here make sure to choose the option which says Main Street East. We nearly missed the train after I input the address and it gave me three different possibilities (A Garmin) and I simply chose the first one. Mistake! The girl there said there has only ever been one 178 Main Street and has been like that for 100 years. However with expansion, there now appears to be an east and a west and we got the west one.Also, the reviews about the banjo / accordion player are right, and is an unnecessary addition to the attraction. I get that there is a lot of kids on board, and you want to try and entertain them but this was guy was not very good. He interfered more than added to the whole experience and then the fact that he walks around looking for tips puts you in an obligatory position to tip, and it is less voluntary then I would like. It would almost be rude not to tip when they do stuff like that.

This is a relaxing joy ride in the antique passenger coaches behind a chugging steam engine. The train runs through beautiful farm land country. There is an open coach if you want to enjoy more of an open view but all coaches have windows that open. The train stops at a half way point. There is hot dogs and ice cream available, the lines where long. The restrooms at the "layover" are porta potties. they where clean but again long lines. I ordered our tickets in advance and I'm glad I did. The train ride sold out that day. This is great for all ages.

Were fortunate to get a Groupon so tickets ended up being $7.50 each. It was an enjoyable trip and because the entertainment added to the ambiance I didn't mind tipping them. I do agree with a previous post that it took too long to get ice cream at the halfway stop - this is due to their offering MANY different flavors that have to be mixed individually! They should either do novelties like previously suggested or offer the soft ice cream in vanilla, chocolate, or twist only! Prices were reasonable. So you won't have to ride backwards on the return trip be advised that the seats are easily moved to the reverse position (of course the 10 year olds were the ones to figure this out)!Be sure to check out Dome's Downtown once the ride is over it's got some penny candy, bulk foods, in addition to toys, games and lots of books. The larger Dome's is nearby but Downtown location is more of a kid oriented shop.

Took my niece here today. Great ride, 21/2 hrs total. Train goes slow and nice country view. We opted for the outside car which is the caboose going. what you arent told is its the front going back. The whistle is loud so be prepared. We counted 7 small (3&under) children horrified by the loudness and crying. Parents be smart dont traumatize your child, MOVE INSIDE! The stop offered lunch and snacks, ice cream, all reasonably priced.

Went on the kids fun ride you paid $16.00 even for little kids. Was to leave at noon (signs say no waiting) we waited for two buses for fifteen minutes. The entertainment all requested tips the the couple playing music passed the hat and down right asked people. On the turn around you could get a hot dog and drink very reasonable but took way too long to get ice cream should do novelties (ice cream sandwiches nutty buddies ect) with a full train would be able to sell much quicker 45 minutes turned into one and a half hours two hour ride was 3 and a half

For a little trip with my Niece, we went to the Arcade and Attica railroad for the Memorial day celebration. There was entertainment on the train and snacks for everyone. Then we stopped and saw a wonderful tribute to the soldiers of the Civil War.

the movies have nothing on the Arcade & Attica railroad, which shuffles along -- often behind steam power -- through six miles or so of rural farmland... loud, smelly, colorful and just the right length of the youngsters who are its prime demographic

We have taken our children - now 5,4, and 18 months on the polar express train for the past 3 yrs. It is fun for adults and kids- the cars are decorated for Christmas, Christmas caroles, and santa. The kids can't wait to go again this year.