All aboard! A beloved Cincinnati holiday tradition will roll back into the station soon. Cincinnati Museum Center’s (CMC) Holiday Junction featuring the Duke Energy Holiday Trains returns for the season Friday, Nov. 14.
Now in its 79th year, Holiday Junction is a tradition that’s been handed down from generation to generation, with Greater Cincinnati families gathering to watch the candy-colored circus trains, sleek sleeper cars and coal-laden hopper cars (for those on the naughty list) zip around scenery of snowbanks and crowded streets.
The display features 50 locomotives and 300 rail cars that traverse over 100,000 scale miles through a winter wonderland. Highlights include a 1904 electric toy train from the Cincinnati-based Carlisle & Finch Company, along with a pre-World War II Lionel layout and a ‘60s Lionel Super O layout that show the evolution of toy trains and prefabricated landscapes. You’ll also be able to spot Thomas the Tank Engine as he and his friends chug around the mountains of Sodor.
“The holiday season at Cincinnati Museum Center continues a Union Terminal tradition of reconnecting families scattered across the city or across the country as the Rotunda echoes with joyful greetings and laughter,” Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center, said in a press release. “It’s a tradition we’re honored to continue and one we treasure as much as the historic Duke Energy Holiday Trains. Whether it’s as a gathering place for far-flung families, childhood friends or people putting down roots in a new city, holiday traditions live at Cincinnati Museum Center.”
Also returning is Brickopolis, a busy metropolis crafted from LEGOs that depict fantastical scenes, including trains, an active seashore and hijinks from the citizens of Brickopolis. You can also take part in the holiday scavenger hunt, scouring the snow-blanketed hills and trees of the garden railway layout to find symbols and icons of Tri-State pride. Expect to make multiple laps of the area to find them all.
Holiday Junction will also turn into a living Christmas wish list from generations of kids, featuring iconic toys like those from Star Wars, NERF, My Little Pony and Super Soaker. And, if your little ones want to tell Santa Claus which toys they’d like for Christmas, he will be at the museum on Friday, Nov. 28.
For even more train-themed fun, Rocky Mountain Express will also return to the OMNIMAX Theater. The film features a steam-powered locomotive that will take the audience on a breathtaking journey along the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Holiday Junction runs Nov. 10-Jan. 5. Admission is free for CMC members and included with the price of museum admission for non-members.
Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave., West End. More info: cincymuseum.org.
