History
Our Vision:
“Create something unique, a one-of-a-kind family entertainment center that would entertain, educate and promote railroading and the hobby in a magical environment.”
Our History
EnterTRAINment Junction owner, Don Oeters, a successful Cincinnati businessman and train hobby enthusiast, had an idea that turned into the World’s Biggest Model Train Layout in the country.
Bruce Robinson, local architect, took Don’s ideas and developed concept drawings that brought them to life in what can only be called an “indoor theme park” so Don quickly decided to move forward and create this major attraction. The attraction would be home to the world’s largest model train display which takes you on a virtual train journey. Additionally, it would include an indoor kid’s playground, a railroad museum, as well as a gift shop, hobby shop, snack bar, private rooms for birthday parties and events, and eventually, an old style fun house to give it the feel of a nostalgic Cincinnati amusem*nt park.
Don’s dream was simple: make it about the history of railroading, have it be interactive and for all ages. In early 2007, construction began, which was led by Larry Koehl, the Greater Cincinnati Garden Railway Club, Miami Valley Club, and other volunteers. They planned the train display area and began to lay track, construct mountains and build miniatures. After a hectic year of construction, EnterTRAINment Junction opened in August of 2008.
To develop and create a world class museum, Don enlisted the help of Dan and Ruth Britt of Hamilton, OH. They were able to take mountains of information tocreate interactive and educational displays that are enjoyed by all.
EnterTRAINment Junction continues to be a dream come true for the whole family – from children to railroad aficionados. Don continuallyupgrades the attraction with new additions including new structures and train controls.
Timeline:
- 2007: Construction began
- August 2008: EnterTRAINment Junction opens!
- October 2009: Hobby Shop opens
- March 2010: Kid’s area expansion
- June 2010: New outdoor kid’s train ride opens
- March 2011: Grand opening of A-Maze-N Funhouse: The Greatest FunHouse on Earth
- March 2012: New funhouse walkthrough – Crazy Caper
- June 2013: Phase 2 of train display completed on the mezzanine which includes amazing replica of Cincinnati’s Coney Island
- 2014-2015: Additions in the Imagination Junction kid’s play area with 20% expansion
- 2015: Escape the Room Challenge Opens
- 2016: Complete redesign of the computer train control systems began
- 2019: Addition of It’s a Marbleous Life: The World’s Most Complete Collection of Marbles!
- 2020: Expansion of the kids climbing structure.
- 2020: Escape the Room Challenge closes.
- 2022: Addition of the World’s Largest Collection of Thomas & Friends Memorabilia.
Did you know?
Our highest mountain on display is over 16 feet tall.
Our Train Journey uses 1,968 gallons of scenic colored dirt and grasses costing over $26,000
Our mountains are carved out of 58,000 square feet of spray foam!
We have over 2 miles of G track with 1 mile hidden inside mountains.
There are over 100 scratch built bridges and trestles modeled after real-life structures.
Over 130 talented craftsmen volunteered over 200,000 man-hours to create our display.
EnterTRAINment Junction was conceived in 2003, train construction began in June of 2007 and opened for business in August of 2008.
The entire display is built to be historically accurate showing railroads in 3 distinct time periods.
Opening for business in August 2008, we’ve continuously added more to layouts each month.
Over 1,800 gallons of water is used with 3 storage tanks for waterfalls and rivers.
The control panels that operate each track have over 20,000 solder joints with 8,000 lines of programming to operate multiple trains on the same track.
The walkway through our exhibit is 850 feet long.
Our train display is 25,000 sq. ft. – about ½ of a football field.
Each tunnel leads you into a new time period through your journey.
Our scale is ½” = 1 ft. So, a 6 ft person in life is modeled as a 3” person in our display.
We have hidden 10 dinosaurs in our display – can you find them all?
All of our volunteers leave a personal touch on the items they work on – you can even see a photo of some in their buildings!
The seats in our museum are from Dayton train station from 1900.
We’ve had visitors from all 50 states and 37 countries!
We recently added a Bates Motel to our display – have you spotted it yet?
The tilt in our tilt room is 25 degrees.
During construction, we had to dig into the ground to build the Ames Room.
When you take a picture with flash on a camera of the steamboat, you’ll hear thunder after like it was a flash of lightning.
During your journey, we simulate night and day with 15 minutes of daytime followed by 5 minutes of night.
The switchback line has 2 trains. The one going up the hill has no logs and the train going downhill are fully loaded with logs.
The Coney Island amusem*nt park display is a replica of Cincinnati’s Coney Island as it looked in 1965 – complete with working rides.
