Four States Fall 2018 - 18 - EnterTRAINment (1)

Up front: Sorry these photos are not the best. Most taken through glass, so slightly blurry and a lot of reflections.

As it was October, the Halloween decorations were out. We were met at EnterTRAINment Junction by this cute ghost along side the outdoor train track. As it was drizzling, the little hank-crank kiddie train ride was not in operation, but no worries. Lots more to see and do.

Here's the entrance in West Chester, Ohio that replicates a train depot.

This attraction claims to be the world's largest indoor model train display--almost a half-football field in size at 25,000 square feet. The pamphlet says "over 90 computerized G-scale trains travel through hundreds of scratch-built bridges, trestles, tunnels, mountains, winding their way through hand-crafted and amazingly detailed cities, industrial areas, farm lands, and coal mining towns."

Construction began in 2007 and the complex opened in August 2008. The hand-crafted detail displayed throughout is the result of 60,000 volunteer hours. Estimates to design, build and install this attraction is $16 million dollars.

This self-guiding map shows several distant eras of train history (between the gray dividers on the walkway), as well as other attractions. Interactive buttons on displays offer additional information and action.

The first section displays the earliest days of steam-engine railroading. Here are some photos representing the towns, trestles, tunnels, and water tanks.

Trains zipped back and forth throughout. Some tracks had more than one train traveling on it at the same time.




This scene is along a river (maybe the Mississippi?) with a paddle boat docked nearby waiting for cargo delivered by train.
Throughout, the level of detail was amazing. Here is a stone farmhouse with cows, folks visiting outside of a store, and a chicken coop.

A little garden.

Whenever there was a "construction zone" along the RR route, there were realistic signs to fit the scene. Here is some Styrofoam shoulder work under repair.

At the end of the first section, there was an area where kids could be an engineer in a kid-size Little Toot replica or play hands-on with chunky-size, kid-proof track and train models.