A beloved local holiday tradition, the Duke Energy Holiday Trains began in 1946 in partnership with the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad.The portable model grew, as the railroad grew, through the 1940s, ’50s and into the ’60s. In 2011, Duke Energy gifted the trains to Cincinnati Museum Center to ensure the trains and beautiful historic displays will stay in the Greater Cincinnati area for all of Duke Energy’s families, friends and customers to enjoy.
- Since 1946, more than 9 million people have come to see the Duke Energy train display.
- The display is one of the largest portable models in the world, measuring 36 1/2 by 47 1/2 feet long.
- More than 300 miniature rail cars and 60 engines run along 1,000 feet of track.
- The trains are authentic “O” gauge in which a quarter inch on the model is equivalent to one foot on a real train; rail cars, tracks and buildings are 1/48th actual size.
- During the holiday season, the trains will travel more than 100,000 scale miles.
- While these trains may seem to travel slowly, they are traveling at actual scale speed. The basic three-track loop is 1/48th of a mile around, representing a full mile of real track. If a model train travels that loop in one minute, it is traveling at 60 miles per hour – not at all slow for a real train.
Monday – Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased in advance here or in person Museum Center’s Box Office. An All Museums Pass includes admission to Holiday Junction featuring the Duke Energy Holiday Trains and costs $12.50 for adults 13 and older, $8.50 for children and $11.50 for seniors 60 and older.
Have you visited the Holiday Junction/Cincinnati Museum Center in the past?What’s your favorite part??
My children and husband would so love to see this!