Holiday Junction Train Display Rolls Back into Union Terminal This November

All aboard! A beloved Cincinnati holiday tradition will roll back into the station soon. Cincinnati Museum Center’s (CMC) Holiday Holiday Junction featuring the Duke Energy Holiday Trains returns for the season Friday, Nov. 10.

Now in its 77th 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. Right now, crews are busy laying more than a thousand feet of track and locomotives are being fine-tuned to travel more than 100,000 scale miles as LEGOs are snapped into place to create a magical wonderland.

“There’s no place like ‘dome’ for the holidays,” Elizabeth Pierce, CMC president and CEO, said in a press release. “Each year Union Terminal becomes this Hallmark movie-like scene of multiple generations embracing in the Rotunda, reminiscing around the Duke Energy Holiday Trains and lining up to get their picture with Santa. The holiday magic here creates memories that span generations.”

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Highlights of Holiday Junction include a 1904 electric toy train from the Cincinnati-based Carlisle & Finch Company, who made the first such electric toy train in 1896, 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.

Also returning is Brickopolis, a busy metropolis crafted from LEGOs that depict fantastical scenes; beloved characters from Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, Harry Potter and more; and, of course, a train. You can also take part in the holiday scavenger hunt, scouring the snow-blanketed hills and trees of the garden railway layout to find icons like Rudolph and the Grinch. And on Friday, Nov. 24, Santa makes his arrival at CMC with a little help from UC Health.

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If you want even more trains, Rocky Mountain Express will return to the OMNIMAX Theater, featuring a steam-powered locomotive that will take the audience on a breathtaking journey along the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Holiday Junction runs Nov. 10-Jan. 8. Tickets are $10 or $5 with the purchase of other museum experiences. Admission is free for CMC members.

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Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave., West End. More info: cincymuseum.org.

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This article appears in Oct 18-31, 2023.