Black River & Western Railroad

Black River & Western Railroad

Black River & Western Railroad
4
About
BR&W is the little-railroad-that-could, serving our community for over 50 years. Our volunteer staff is dedicated to preserving railroad history and offering our guests the opportunity to experience old fashioned steam railroading right here in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. We're proud to offer trains and events for every occasion, from holiday themed events to date night and rail-fan specials, there's something for everyone!
Duration: 1-2 hours
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  • Car_La
    Asbury Park, New Jersey8 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    The best way to get us into the holiday spirit!
    Such a fun morning with my 4 and 2 year old kids. We got lucky and found open seats the morning of (because that's just how I am). We brought along 2 friends and had such a great time. The kids were old enough to enjoy it, even if they are not entirely sold on santa clause yet. The crew was lovely and great with all of the children on board. This was my first experience on a "polar express" type train. It was clear there were details put into maximizing fun and excitement for the kiddos by spacing out little treats and appearance by both Santa and Mrs. Claus and their helpers. :)
    Visited December 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written December 7, 2024
  • Laurie
    2 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Family Experience
    Our trip to the North Pole was so much fun. We took our two grandchildren ages 3 and 14 months. My 3 year old granddaughter loved being on the train. Santa and Mrs. Claus were very interacting with the kids. The volunteer staff was extremely friendly. We loved being able to get off the train to take many pictures. Great photo ops. Walking through the train museum was fun. We had done this trip about 8 years ago with our grandchildren who are older now and enjoyed. I did miss the elves this year walking through the cars singing carols. Otherwise a very enjoyable day!
    Visited December 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written December 9, 2024
  • nancy61
    19 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent, highly recommend
    We took our son and his family on this trip on a snowy December night. It was fun and organized and the entire staff couldn’t have been friendlier or more helpful. We had a three year old and six month old with us. The conductors helped us on and off the train and helped us with the stroller and diaper bags. The entire trip lasts a little less than two hours and is just enough time. The train ride is fun and festive with Santa and Mrs. Claus, who take the time to talk to every child, hand out treats and pose for pics. Someone also reads the Night Before Christmas and leads everyone in Christmas carols. At The North Pole train station stop there is ample time for pictures at all the photo opp sites, to see the multiple Lionel train set ups, have a professional pic taken at the photo booth, and enjoy hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie. Everything is included in the price, which BTW is much less than all the other Christmas trains we looked at. We plan to make this a family Christmas tradition and highly recommend it to anyone with small children or grandchildren.
    Visited December 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written December 21, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles63 reviews
Excellent
38
Very good
12
Average
4
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4
Terrible
5

Jim J
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Family
Myself and the family visited on November 19 - I believe this was the first day they ran the train. You board in Flemington and take the train to Ringoes (which is the North Pole). The train cars were cozy and historic. On the train is Santa and Ms. Claus who engage with the children and hand out small gifts. Overall the experience in my opinion was well worth it, considering the other options nearby are more expensive.
Written November 21, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for the positive review, we appreciate your business and look forward to seeing you again soon!
Written January 12, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

CA P
Philadelphia, PA3 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2021 • Family
This was supposed to be the Polar Express. In the past, Elves would come through the cars & sing Christmas songs. Also, when you made it to the “North Pole” kids were given hot chocolate & a cookie. I’m aware of the pandemic but single serve drinks and cookies are possible. It was a disappointment after prior years of a nice little ride. Plus, they corralled everyone onto a smaller more confined space than previous years.
Just so disappointing.
Written December 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Elena M
1 contribution
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2021
The above rating is based only on the train ride.
The train ride was great. All train personnel were friendly and helpful especially traveling alone with a two year old. We were on the pumpkin patch train ride. Unfortunately, I found Evritt's farm to be very disappointing. With the majority of children under 7, there was absolutely no organization. Everything seemed hastily put together - so called games, tractor ride, tables to eat. Some of the workers were helpful while others were just rude and nasty. While paying for the muddy pumpkin my two year old selected, I asked the young cashier if I could have a napkin to wipe the mud off the pumpkin. She was about to give me one, when a man sneered "NO". That remark is my feeling towards Evritt's farm. They need to get their act together or Black & Western needs to find a different farm.
I preferred the unthemed train ride from the 1980"s - perfect for young children.
Written September 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

John Z
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Family
Never again! We read a few positive reviews about the Polar Express ride out of Flemmington so we picked the Black River Railroad as our Polar Express train ride this season. What an Awful experience this was. From start to finish this was terrible. You drive to the old run down, abandoned and desolate Flemington Outlets and park in a creepy parking lot (nothing festive at all here), no signs or Christmas lights, just a fenced up junky mall. We were greeted by a creepy dude walking his dog who kept walking close to us as we were trying to take photos. The previous passengers exit the train and we patiently wait. No elves, no Christmas magic, not kid friendly whatsoever. The ticket checker was talking to an old man and his family about things unrelated to Christmas and not safe for children's ears as we were waiting to board. I tried to inform the group that maybe they can chat online about those topics, and that they shouldn't speak about those things in front of little kids. You would think I was speaking gibberish because the employee had no clue what I was saying and continued to talk about. I approached several employees to ask when we could board, it was poorly managed and poorly executed. When we finally boarded for our 3pm departure my son wasn't given his golden Polar express ticket, I had to hunt down the same guy who was having the non-kid friendly conversation earlier. The train itself was nice, wasn't all that magical and decorated but we were hoping the experience would improve. It did not. The ride was not that great, the "north pole" looked like a junk yard full of rusty train cars that look like homeless squatters use. Steer clear of the hot coco and chocolate chip cookies. The photo station was okay but half of the photo is black due to the black curtain on the one side, why not utilize that space with something more festive. Odd that they had children (approx 10 yrs old) working the photo op. Santa and Mrs. Clause were what you would expect for a rundown town and junky railroad. It felt like they were being forced to play dress up for the kids on this train ride. Overall, I would give it zero stars if possible.
What they need is to read the Disney guide for customer service and put some magic in this experience. I could rant a lot more about this experience, this is my shortened version of how awful this experience was. It was like riding the Polar Express through a post apocalyptic rural Jersey town.
Written November 19, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gregory M
Ho Ho Kus, NJ2 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022 • Family
My wife and kids wanted to take a train trip to show the kids how much I loved going to the black river train when I was younger. I saw they were having this “Railfest” event and thought it would be a great chance to show the young ones the train. Boy was I wrong! We went on the June 12 date which was advertised to be exciting and fun, and that the kids would have plenty to do to keep them occupied. We rode the 1pm steam train and when we got to the end of the line they told us to get off and go to the event area which was really depressing. There were just a bunch of old tractors, some other farming tools, some toy trains, a fire truck, and a bus. Just a regular school bus you can see any day of the week. I thought they might be using it to shuttle entertainers but no it was just sitting there. They didn’t even have any cool or special trains at the station, just a bunch of nasty rust buckets. The kids got bored and cranky and at that point were just tired because they spent the whole day being excited only to be let down by a bus. The train ride itself was nothing amazing, just a bunch of car dealerships and utility poles. Occasionally we would even get to see a golf course. But the only real highlight of the event was the steam engine. The kids were excited to hear the whistle and the bell ring and smell the steam smoke. I asked them if they would go again and they said “only for the steam train, not the bus! The bus was poopy!” Their words, not mine. I’ll come back when it’s not an overcharged let down. Do better!!!
Written July 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TJerryTony
2 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
Our trip on Saturday, October 3rd, 2020 was disappointing; our disappointment was due primarily to no narration of the trip, and the limited time spent at Bowne. We arrived at Bowne at 6:30pm and we were told we have until 6:40 to return back on the train. The stop had two portable toilets which was inadequate for the passengers. The toilets on the train were closed. We would have to love learn the history of the Black River & Western Railroad and the celebrities who travelled on the train.

We would not recommend this trip to anyone.
Written October 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Felix R
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
The " Sunset Limited" ride was great. Beautiful sunset over the farmlands. The open windows , low lights , rocking train and rail sounds provided a travel back in time feel. A ten for me !!!
Written October 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Paul D
2 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022
The train was terrific. The rest was nice and fun but nothing to brag about either. Pricing was fair all around. The had fun activities for small kids. The pumpkin picking was neat with a nice selection of pumpkins. The corn maze as small but interesting with story board signs that added to the fun. The food was good but the selections were limited.

If it's been rainy, be prepared to deal with mud.

This is great for small kids. They had a hula hoop contest, guess the weight, and other fun activities.
Written October 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Steve s
18 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022 • Couples
Absolutely great time we had. The old time steam locomotive you could here it’s horn for miles. Nice scenic ride and a delightful 1 hour stop at Pumpkin Junction , a well thought out pumpkin patch and corn maze. . They sell sweets and food and pumpkins . A extremely fun afternoon and must do with families with small kids.
Written October 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

basseranian
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021 • Friends
Fun train ride and activities. We were running late so they called us and held the train for our arrival. Super impressed with that. Great choice of pumpkins, corn maze, music, food, hayride and more!
Written October 29, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Black River & Western Railroad - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

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