Niles Canyon Railway - Fremont/Niles Station Entrance

A must visit. Steam diesel train rides offered through the beautiful Niles canyon. Go back in time and enjoy the marvel of rail travel.

The train of lights was a fun event for the kids. We went with the general boarding which is $30 per person. You need to come at least an hour before to get the parking, tickets and getting first I'm the queue to board. You can either sit in the closed boggie or the open one. The total round trip distance is 13 miles and takes an hour for the train. You can get snacks like Cheetos, lays or some hot beverages like coffee or hot chocolate....you need cash as they don't accept cards.

Niles to Sunol round trip with few fees Get on and off at Sunol Station only for some certain weekends, If you missed the nostalgic train, try it at this friendly trip.

The holiday train of lights was a delight! Thousands of lights and bunting, inside and out. Calm and happy people and enchanted kids. Fabulous hot cocoa and even a Santa. Uneventful in the nicest way; a respite from the busyness of the holidays.

Love the Niles Canyon Railway! Highly suggest a ride any time of the year and especially on the Train of Lights in Nov and Dec!

It's like stepping back in time. The train runs from Niles to Sunol. Santa visited with the the kids. Light refreshments are available to buy. Each car is decorated differently with lights and Christmas scenes. The only two negatives were the cost at $30 a ticket and that parking in the train's lot was not extended on the night of the parade, which meant we were unable to attend the parade. We had to leave the lot and by that time, no parking was available close enough to the parade.

Last night, we had a blast at the Niles Canyon Railway - Train of Lights with a group of friends and our little ones, ranging from 18 months to 4 years old. Here’s the lowdown for anyone thinking about going: 🚂 First off, aim to get there by 4 PM. It gives you enough time to sort out parking, pick up your tickets, and get settled. Remember, the train pulls out at 4:30 PM sharp! 🎅 The experience is made even more special by the amazing volunteers who run the show. And guess what? Santa makes an appearance too, so get your cameras ready for some adorable pics with the big guy! 💡 The train itself is a sight to behold – decked out in dazzling lights that really bring the holiday spirit to life. It's a little snug inside (it is a train, after all), but that just adds to the cozy, festive vibe. 💰 Bring some cash for snacks and drinks – everything's a steal at less than $2! Just a heads-up, they don't take cards. All in all, it's a great holiday experience.

The land mark!

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

"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!

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

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.

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.

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)

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.

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