One of Cincinnati’s most beloved holiday traditions returns to Cincinnati Museum Center November 8. The Duke Energy Holiday Trains, returning for their 73rd season, headline CMC’s whimsical Holiday Junction featuring the Duke Energy Holiday Trains.
The Duke Energy Holiday Trains have been a Cincinnati holiday staple since 1946, delighting generations as more than 300 rail cars and 60 locomotives chug through a mini metropolis on 1,000 feet of track.
Track-level views reveal the intricate details of the display, from anxious passengers waiting to board, to cars with the perfect tree strapped to their roofs, to a visitor from the North Pole circling the chimney tops. Guests can also get a bird’s-eye view of the trains from an elevated walkway as the city stretches out before them.
The elevated vantage point brings guests eye-to-eye with a whimsical take on the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky skylines. The display topper is created with more than 100 pieces of custom-cut art in the shape of Union Terminal, Music Hall, Paul Brown Stadium and more, appropriately connected by the Roebling Bridge.
The Duke Energy Holiday Trains are surrounded by other incredible train layouts, some dating back as far as 1904.
The Carlisle & Finch Company, based in Cincinnati, produced the world’s first toy electric train in 1896. Their 1904 version click-clacking through Holiday Junction showcases meticulous craftsmanship and detail in its metal trains, cars, buildings, and bridge. Nearby is a pre-World War II Lionel layout and a Lionel Super O layout from the 1960s, complete with ready-made structures specially designed to complement the O-scale trains.
Holiday Junction also includes an interactive winter wonderland where you can build a snowman, create footprints in the snow and climb aboard a riding train to chug alongside and underneath a snowy garden railway layout. Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends are back as well, steaming along mountainside tracks.
A blizzard of bricks fills the William L. Mallory, Sr. Gallery as part of Holiday Junction. Brickopolis features fantastical scenes of some of your favorite Disney and comic book characters, populating a world carefully curated to enchant and amuse guests. Keep an eye out for local landmarks recreated in impressive detail with LEGO bricks.
Tower A will also reopen this holiday season, delighting guests a unique view of the active Union Terminal railyard. The original control tower of the station, Tower A will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday during the holiday season.
Of course, no holiday is complete without a visit to see Santa. Santa makes his grand arrival on Friday, November 29. And though his reindeer are resting up for the big day, Santa will make an airborne arrival at Union Terminal.
Holiday Junction featuring the Duke Energy Holiday Trains is open November 8, 2019 through January 5, 2020. Click here for more details.
Cincinnati Museum Center
