Duke Energy Holiday Trains return to Cincinnati for 70th year

Now in its 70th year, the Holiday Junction exhibit featuring the Duke Energy Holiday Trains just opened at the Cincinnati Museum Center with working model trains on display throughout the holiday season. 
 
The exhibit has been a Cincinnati staple since 1946. It’s one of the largest portable models in the world and features authentic “O” gauge trains, which means that a quarter inch of the model is equivalent to one foot on a real train. All of the rail cars, tracks and buildings are 1/48 actual size, and while on display the trains will travel more than 100,000 scale miles.
 
A few changes have been made to Holiday Junction this year, including adding a raised platform around the exhibit so everyone can view the trains. There is also more family-friendly programming than ever before.
 
Members of the Ohio Kentucky Indiana LEGO Users Group have built a 12-by-24-Ft. LEGO train and landscape, which includes Cincinnati landmarks and 100 mini figures with characters like Spiderman, Batman, Ghostbusters and the Scooby-Doo gang.
 
Also new this year is a rare Carlisle & Finch Company train set that dates to 1904. The model includes the train and the trolley as well as overhead wires. Carlisle & Finch was headquartered in Cincinnati and invented the first electric toy train in 1896 — it featured metal cars and a train that ran on metal rails set two inches apart. At the start of WWI, the company was ordered to stop toy train production and focus on making searchlights for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, and although Carlisle & Finch never returned to building toy trains its legacy lives on.
 
Returning this year is Pogie and Patter Super Spectacular Holiday Fun Hour, a train ride, the observation deck that overlooks the trains and an expanded gift shop with trains and other toys. Santa will arrive just in time to light the Union Terminal Christmas Tree at 11 a.m. on Nov. 27.
 
Rocky Mountain Express is showing at the OMNIMAX Theater, celebrating the age of the steam engine and construction of the railroad through the Canadian Rockies.
 
Admission to Holiday Junction is included in the All Museums Pass ($14.50 for adults, $10.50 for children) or to the Cincinnati History Museum ($10.50 for adults, $8.50 for children). Duke Energy customers can go online and print off a special code for free admission to the Holiday Junction.
 
Holiday Junction is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, with some extended Saturday hours. Museum Center is closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day but is open New Year’s Day. The display continues through Jan. 3.
 
Check out the Cincinnati Museum Center’s website for a list of other holiday-themed events. There’s sure to be something for everyone!