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Written by Paul D. Race for Family Garden Trains

Written by Paul Race for Family Garden Trains

Garden Train Store: Index to train, track, and other products for Garden Railroading

Southwest Ohio/Northern Kentucky 2014 Christmas-Themed Open Railroads

Do you like to see big trains running at Christmas? Many people do, although most Large Scale railroads only operate during the summer months. However, some brave folks every year fight the temptation to take their trains inside when it gets cold, and they run trains in the weeks preceding Christmas as well.

For the last five years, we've had our garden railroad, the New Boston and Donnels Creek, open for visitors in early November. We light dozens of trees, play Christmas music, run Christmas-themed trains, pop popcorn (in a theater-style popcorn popper), serve other snacks, show Christmas or train movies outside, set up three trains that little kids can take turns running, and generally show folks a great time.

This year we plan to host our Seventh Annual Christmas-Themed Open Railroad on Sunday, November 23. Locally, we're calling this event "Christmas Train Day," because we've figured out that most folks don't know what "open railroad" means, or even "garden railroad." But if you say "Christmas Train Day," folks come expecting to see trains and something "Christmassy," and that they do.

Lots of folks come early to see the daylight operations. When the weather is cold, I don't blame them. But the truth is, the BEST time to come is about 4:00 - then, as you visit and it starts to get a bit darker, the lights glow more and more. The "magic hour" is just before twilight - you can still see everything, but it all has begun to take on a warm glow. Of course you can check the weather report before you plan your visit. This is Ohio, after all. In the past five years, we've had one bitterly cold day, three pretty days that turned cool after dark, and two "shirtsleeve weather" days.

In other words, it's usually a nice place to spend a Saturday afternoon getting into the Christmas spirit early. Our friend Dan Stenger, who lives about eighty miles south of us, often has his railroad open in December, but we choose November, because the NMRA has a big show in Dayton a week before and we want to show our support.

If you want directions or to be notified of future open houses, just use the contact form on this page.

Dan Stenger, a friend in northern Kentucky, is braver than I - he usually schedules two or more Christmas-themed open railroads houses in December. Dan's railroad is much larger than mine, so it's always worth seeing. Dan hasn't posted his 2014 dates yet, but I post them here as soon as he does.

In addition, there are many other places to see Large Scale model trains running in December. I'm going to start with the ones I know and add any more that I learn about as time goes on. So you should probably check back.

Additional Resources

Your regional Garden Railroad Clubs may publish information about public and private garden railroads in the area that will be open for Christmas. Click here to find a club near you.
Garden Railways Magazine maintains a database of train shows and other events. Many of the November and December events have Christmas themes.
Also, if you live near Nampa, Idaho, a friend there is holding open RRs by apointment in December. If you contact us, we'll forward your message to her for you.

Note About Public Railroads: While we are posting the best information we have, we can not guarantee that any railroad listed on this page will be open as planned. If you are going to be traveling any distance to see these railroads, please contact the organization first to make certain it will be open at the time you plan to attend.

Note About Railroads at Private Residences: Most garden railroaders who have "open houses" prefer to have contact information for the people who are planning to come - it lets us know how many people are coming so we can better line up help and snacks, it provides a bit more security for us, and it also gives us a way of getting ahold of you in case something goes wrong and we have to cancel at the last minute.

Also, please use the comments box below if you would like to:

List a holiday-season open house near you - please provide contact informaiton
Help at a "private" open house by bringing snacks or helping us get ready or supervise, or in any other way.
Request help setting up your own Holiday-themed display railroad for next year. Just fill in the details in the "comment" box below and we'll get back as soon as we can.

Thanks, and happy railroading,

Paul Race

Family Garden Trains

SW Ohio/Northern KY Christmas Railroad Open Houses

Location	Railroad	Public or Private?	Schedule	Contact
Springfield, Ohio	New Boston and Donnels Creek RR	Private Residence	Nov. 23, 1:00PM-5:00PM (other dates possible, depending on response)	Use check box	Notify of Future Open Houses?
Dayton, Ohio	Virginia Kettering's Train Display	Public, No Admission, Near Schuster Center Wintergarden, which also has many free Christmas Displays and Activities	Monday through Friday, Starting the Day after Thanksgiving and going to New Years, 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM, at the Kettering Tower, E 2nd St. and N Jefferson St.	www.dayton holiday festival.org
Northern Kentucky (18 miles south of Cincinnati)	Cranberry and Linville River Railroad Company	Private Residence	Not Posted Yet	Use check box	Send Directions?
West Chester, Ohio (12 miles north of Cincinnati)	EnterTrainment Junction	Public (There is a cost to get in)	10 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Saturday, and noon-6 p.m., Sunday. (Closed Easter Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day). (Closed Wednesdays, January thru April).	Check Web Site	Check Web Site
Columbus, Ohio	Easton Town Center	Public (Outdoor Garden Railroad)	10 a.m.- 9 p.m., Monday-Saturday, and 10 a.m - 6 p.m., Sunday.	Check Web Site	Check Web Site

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