After a four (4) hour drive from Cleveland, first up on our weekend Cincinnati adventure, EnterTRAINment Junction. As you may recall, our family has been wanting to visit this 25,000 SF indoor train mecca for about a year. Then, like clockwork, Groupon came to the rescue, and offered up two (2) all-access passes for $14, saving our family a little over half off.

1) EnterTRAINment Junction: A Fantastic Train Experience for the Family
2) EnterTRAINment Junction: The Early Years (1860s-1900s)
3) EnterTRAINment Junction’s Children’s Imagination Junction Play Area
4) EnterTRAINment Junction: The Middle Period of Railroading (1940s-1950s)
5) EnterTRAINment Junction: The Modern Period (1970s-Present)

We were very fortunate that my parents drove all the way down to meet us at EnterTRAINment Junction, since our boys love my father’s train layout. Bug and Lan-Shark just can not get enough of the trains, so they were really excited to meet my parents at the Junction.

EnterTRAINment Junction is located at 7379 Squire Court, West Chester, Ohio 45069, conveniently right off of the freeway. The building has an ample, new parking lot, although right off the bat we realized it may be crowded since there was also a train show that weekend. The facility was located inside a new looking building tucked in a commercial district.

Once inside, my first impression was surprise! Why? Because the inside was beautifully detailed and made up like a village, and for a moment I felt like I was inside an elaborate themed casino, and half expected to hear the slot machines in the background, but instead it was train whistles. Inside was brick paved roads, buildings with various offerings, and both EnterTRAINment Junction and the A-Maze-n Funhouse.

First up, well after diaper changes for the adults and potty breaks for the toddlers, was to check out the train show. My father has been a long time member of the Train Collector’s Association (TCA), which was also hosting the show. I felt like I was a kid again, where we spent a great many weekends at train shows, often selling. After quickly walking around the tables, we made our way over to some of the less elaborate train layouts on display. It was a fun time to learn about my father’s old hobby, but the greatest enjoyment came from seeing my boys enjoy trains with my dad.

You will notice the one display is owned by Neil Young, the rock-n-roll singer, who had dedicated his display to EnterTRAINment Junction. Neil has been a lifelong train enthusiasts, and actually owned a portion of Lionel. While definitely not as detailed as the layouts we were about to see, it was cool knowing that Neil Young had played around with the layout right in front of us.

EnterTRAINment Junction is run by a tremendous group of dedicated volunteers, who spend countless hours bringing reality to life in miniature scale. The building is also home to the Cincinnati Chapter of the National Railway Historic Society.

Since these reports are going to get very picture heavy, I will be breaking up the reports into smaller pieces. Tomorrow we will enter into the heart of EnterTRAINment Junction and highlight the Early Period of Railroading 1860s – 1900s.

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