EnterTRAINment Junction facts for kids
EnterTRAINment Junction Logo
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| Location | 7379 Squire Court, West Chester Township, Ohio |
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| Opened | August 1, 2008 |
| Closed | January 5, 2025 |
| Owner | Don Oeters |
| General manager | Bill Balfour |
| Operating season | Year round |
| Area | 25,000 sq ft |
EnterTRAINment Junction was a huge indoor display of model trains located in West Chester Township, Ohio. It was known as one of the world's largest indoor model train displays. This amazing place featured over 90 large G-scale trains. These trains showed different times in American railroading, from early days to modern times. The facility also had a museum about trains, an expo center, and a fun house. EnterTRAINment Junction closed its doors permanently in January 2025. Many of its displays were moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to reopen as The Motion Museum.
Contents
History of EnterTRAINment Junction
EnterTRAINment Junction was the dream of its owner, Don Oeters. He was a successful businessman and loved model trains. Don wanted to build the biggest model train display in the world, like an amusement park. He hired Bruce Robinson, who had worked on Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museums, to help design it.
Building started in early 2007, and the first train tracks were put in that spring. EnterTRAINment Junction first opened to the public on August 1, 2008. After many years of fun, it was announced in June 2024 that the attraction would close around January 2025. Most of the displays were then moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. They were planned to reopen there under a new name, The Motion Museum.
Explore the Areas
Main Lobby
The main entrance area of EnterTRAINment Junction looked like a typical railroad town from the 1930s. This lobby had several rooms for parties, a cafe, a gift shop, and offices. All these areas were designed to look like classic buildings from that time.
The Train Journey
The Train Journey was the most popular part of EnterTRAINment Junction. This huge train display was said to be the world's largest indoor train display. It took over 60,000 hours of work to create this amazing display. It featured detailed models and more than 90 G-scale model trains. Each G-scale train engine was about 1/24 the size of a real train. The nearly 1,200 box cars were about the size of a loaf of bread.
Along the path, there were interactive buttons. Visitors could press these buttons to control lights, sounds, and moving parts of the models. The entire display was divided into three sections. Each section showed a different time in the history of rail transport in the United States. These were the Early Era, the Middle Era, and the Modern Era.
Early Era (1860s to 1900s)
The first part of the Train Journey showed the early days of American railroading. This section featured trains that were common during that time.
The trains traveled through mountains. This part represented the challenging work of building America's first railroads. The section also had early railroad towns, including a 6-foot paddle boat. There was also an 11-foot tall waterfall that looked like real pouring water. The trains went through tunnels in rolling hills, passing buildings and homes from that period.
Middle Era (1940s to 1950s)
The Middle Era section of the Train Journey showed how railroading changed in the middle of the 20th century. This area displayed a 1950s American town. This town would have used the newer train technologies of the time. Besides the freight and passenger trains, the town also had moving street cars and interurban trains.
Modern Era (1970s to Present)
The Modern Era section of the Train Journey showed railroading as it is today. This section featured tall skyscrapers that looked like buildings from companies such as Boeing and 3M. It also had a model of Seattle's Space Needle. The trains looked like the large diesel engines you see today. In this era, trains mostly carried cargo instead of passengers, and the display showed this change. Interactive models included a railway turntable, a crane for unloading cargo, and a hot air balloon.
Coney Island Display
EnterTRAINment Junction also had a detailed model of the famous Coney Island (Cincinnati, Ohio) amusement park. This display was a recreation of Coney Island as it looked in the late 1960s. It included a working model of the famous Shooting Star roller coaster. There was also a 4-foot tall Ferris wheel and many other rides and attractions from that time. Some parts of the layout were changed a little due to space, but all the models were accurate for the period.
Great Train Expo Center
The Great Train Expo Center was a large area inside EnterTRAINment Junction used for many different things. During certain months, several extra train displays were shown here. One of these was even donated by the musician Neil Young. A large model of the Mount Adams Incline was also in this area.
Sometimes, an outdoor electric train was brought inside for kids to ride. This area was also used for special yearly events. These included an indoor pumpkin patch for Jack o'Lantern Junction and a special Holiday Trains Expo during Christmas at the Junction.
At the back of the expo center, visitors could watch volunteers. These volunteers built, repaired, and painted the trains and models that were displayed in the Train Journey.
Imagination Junction
Imagination Junction was a 5,000-square-foot play area just for young children. This area had a tube maze that kids could climb through. It also featured a kids' carousel and other train-themed activities. During warmer months, kids could ride an outdoor narrow-gauge train. This electric train pulled two cars along 1,000 feet of track. There was also the Kids' Express, a hand-cranked kids' train that went along 400 feet of track. Both the electric train and the Kids' Express cost extra to ride.
A-Maze-N Funhouse
The A-Maze-N Funhouse was a section of EnterTRAINment Junction with five family-friendly mazes. These mazes had different optical and physical illusions. The main area looked like an old-time circus. Inside, there were five different "tents," each holding a separate maze.
The first maze was the Mirror Maze, a large house of mirrors. Kids could go in and find dead ends, optical illusions, and feel a bit lost because of all the mirrors.
The second maze was called the Clown College. It had several illusions, like bent mirrors, objects that seemed to float, and an Ames Room.
The third maze was called Curtain Chaos. Hanging curtains surrounded guests as they tried to figure out which way led to the next room and which way was a dead end.
Outer Limits: Journey Through the Black Hole was a space-themed maze. It had glowing stars, light effects, and a vortex tunnel. It also shared interesting facts and educational information about outer space.
The newest maze opened in 2012 and was called Crazy Caper. The story was that you were on a mission to find the Ring Master's key, hidden somewhere in the tent. Along the way, you found several "booby traps," loud alarms, and optical illusions like a Pepper's Ghost effect.
It's a Marbleous Life
In the summer of 2019, EnterTRAINment Junction opened the world's largest marble (toy) display. This was the second-largest marble museum in the world. It was created with marble enthusiasts Larry and Cathy Svacina. Marbles in this display dated back to the 1800s. The exhibit included games, collectibles, and fun facts about marbles and their long history.
Annual Events
Jack o'Lantern Junction
Jack o'Lantern Junction was a yearly family-friendly Halloween celebration at EnterTRAINment Junction. Families could walk through a trick-or-treat maze. This maze featured friendly ghosts, skeletons, and more. The outdoor train rides were open with a special Halloween theme.
Christmas at the Junction
Christmas at the Junction was a holiday-themed attraction that ran during the Christmas season. A special area was added to the Fun House section. This area was designed to look like the North Pole. Families could walk through this attraction on their way to meet Santa Claus. Along the way, they saw animated penguins, reindeer, elves, and even falling snow. The Great Train Expo Center was open to the public for free during this time. It featured several miniature train displays on snow-covered mountains.
Christmas in July
Christmas in July was a yearly celebration around July 25th. During this event, the Christmas activities from Christmas at the Junction opened for the entire month.
Everything Thomas
Everything Thomas was a yearly event that featured PBS's Thomas the Tank Engine. Kids were invited to look for small Thomas toys hidden throughout the Train Journey section. Also, Thomas-themed attractions were added to the Imagination Junction area. Special Thomas crafts were also available in the A-Maze-N Funhouse.
Escape the Room Challenge
In the spring of 2015, EnterTRAINment Junction opened a separate business called Escape the Room Challenge. It was located in a different building nearby, connected by the main parking lot. This facility offered four unique escape room experiences. It also had a virtual reality escape room. All games lasted one hour. Escape the Room closed permanently in 2020.
Esmeralda's Curse
This escape room was designed to look like a gypsy fortune teller's parlor. Players had one hour to escape before a curse would steal their soul. This was considered the most difficult room.
Escape the Mob
In this room, the story was that the mob had stolen a priceless family treasure. Players had to sneak into their shipping warehouse and escape before the mob arrived. This room was considered to be of medium difficulty.
Double Agent Dilemma
Also a medium difficulty room, the mission here was to find a double agent. Then, players had to disarm a bomb that the agent had planted in the agency.
Uncle Ernie's Millions
In February 2017, Escape the Room Challenge opened Uncle Ernie's Millions. The story was that your rich uncle had passed away. You had to find his will to inherit his $50 million.
DeComposed VR
In April 2019, Escape the Room Challenge opened DeComposed. This was the first virtual reality escape room experience in the region. DeComposed allowed up to four players to work together. They could interact virtually within the game.
See also
- Miniatur Wunderland
- Holiday Junction
