After 10 months and a quarter of a million dollars of renovations, the doors to Northlandz, the world’s largest model train museum located in Flemington, reopened on September 26 with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Some of the unveiled renovations include restoration of about 75 non-working trains; restoration of damaged scenes; and new landscaping, flooring, interior and exterior paint, LED lighting and exterior sign. There is also a new gift shop, private event space and play area for kids.

New owner Tariq Sohail purchased Northlandz last November from builder and founder Bruce Williams Zaccagnino, who has since retired from building and curating the 100-train, 1200-miniature structure museum. The venue also includes a doll collection with more than 200 historic dolls, an 1890s' replica steam train and a 2,000-pipe organ.

Renovations began in January but, according to Sohail, the team still has about 30 percent of the planned renovations to go.

“Northlandz is like a piece of art that you can always bring something new and exciting to so people can visit again and again,” said Sohail. “We’re never done with it – it will be an ongoing project.”

Some future projects include an expanded play area with climbing walls, bounce area, arcade and increased interactivity in the exhibit space. A studio is also planned for kids to take model railroad classes.

Eventually, Sohail's plans may also include a restaurant, hotel, movie theater or waterpark on the 16-acre site. Northlandz only occupies 52,000-square-feet of the property.

Sohail, a Flemington resident,came across the Northlandz property while searching for additional warehouse space for his distribution business, WBM International.

“Our realtor said, ‘Maybe you can demolish what’s inside,’ but when we saw it, we said, ‘No way we could demolish this – what this guy built is amazing,’ ” said Sohail. “Bruce was running it by himself so there was a lot of wear and tear – it looked like a ghost house. We wanted to preserve it so it was here for the people.”

According to Sohail, Zaccagnino had been persuaded to sell the business since it was no longer profitable and falling apart, and he wanted to retire.

READ: Northlandz, Flemington's 'wonder of the world'

“Every single person has commented on how clean it now is and how they can see a lot more with our new lights,” said Sohail. “They like how there are more trains and the scenes aren’t damaged anymore. Plus, they love the gift shop and how there is space for them to sit and eat and also host birthday parties and other events.”

Northlandz, which is about a mile walk-through, is composed of hundreds of exhibits containing scenes such as a Civil War battle display, the world's only toothpick farm, a city, a miniature carnival and a plane crash site. The museum has been called "a fantasy journey" by the Travel Channel and a "breathtaking beauty" by the Discovery Channel.

The museum began almost 50 years ago as a basement hobby for Zaccagnino, who previously worked as a concert musician and computer game software developer.

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He continued to imagine new scenes for 18 years, and led him to build lfive basement additions. Persuaded by friends, Zaccagnino began to open his basement twice a year to the public, which brought such excitement that he created a year-round attraction and opened Northlandz in late 1996.

If you go

Northlandz

Where: 495 Route 202, Flemington

Contact: 908-782-4022, northlandz.com

Cost: $15-$20 per person

Jenna Intersimone has been covering food, drink and fun in the Garden State for the USA Today Network New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. Born and raised throughout every corner of NJ, she’s a tried-and-true Jersey girl. Contact her at Jintersimone@Gannett.com or follow her @JIntersimone.