Daily Archives: September 20, 2012
Trains and Pl . . . well, just Trains . . .
Today was another fun day and we hit the ground running . . . well, walking briskly anyway. Our first stop was back at Jungle Jim’s Market. Terry wanted to spend some time there, so we dropped her off and then we all headed out.
On the spur of the moment we saw a Jack in the Box and decided to grab a quick breakfast sandwich. But when we started to pull in we noticed police cars and policemen directing traffic into the parking lot, with a double line of cars going into the two drive-thru’s.
What’s up with that?
It turns out that this was the grand opening of the very FIRST Jack in the Box in the entire state of Ohio. I guess they don’t get out much here.
After we finished, we headed around the corner to our destination, EnterTrainMent Junction.
EnterTrainMent Junction is the largest indoor train display in the world. With two actual miles of track, 90 locomotives, and 1000 cars, the layout covers 25,000 sq. ft. in an 80,000 sq. ft. building.
The dream of Don Oeters, a Cincinnati entrepreneur and model railroad hobbyist, EnterTrainMent Junction is a family entertainment center focusing on trains, with something for everyone.
dfadsfad
Although EJ (EnterTrainMent Junction) is laid out using ‘G’ Scale equipment, most home layouts use one of the 3 sizes shown below. ‘HO’ scale is on the left, ‘N’ scale in the middle, and ‘Z’ scale is on the left. To give you some idea of the actual size, the ‘Z’ locomotive is only about 2 inches long.
The ‘G’ in ‘G’ scale stands for Garden, because this scale is normally used outside in a garden or backyard.
The display is divided into 3 main areas, the early days of railroading, starting in the Civil War era, the Golden Age, centering around the 1940’s and 50’s, and the Modern Era. And the detail is just amazing.
Another thing that’s unusual is that they use real water on the layout.
dfadsfad
The detail even extends to the lighted insides of the buildings.
The lighting cycles through periods of daytime and night, showing off the many lit interiors, but others are visible even in the ‘daytime’.
dfadsfad
The night time scenes are amazing.
dfadsfad
There’s even a very realistic forest fire with dancing flames.
The downtown area of the Modern City is fantastic. Most of the buildings are based on real structures, but from many different cities, like the Space Needle from Seattle,
dfadsfad
and this office building in New Zealand,
complete with occupied offices.
dfadsfad
And of course, what’s a railroad without someone spray painting graffiti on a railcar.
This was our 2nd visit here at EJ, but Nick’s first. And it was fun to watch him wander the aisles trying to take it all in.
If you’re in the Cincinnati area and have kids, or you act like kids most of the time like Nick and I, this is a must see.
Tearing Nick away from EJ, we all headed back over to Jungle Jim’s to pick up Terry, and then headed off to our next stop, IKEA.
Nick and Terry had never been to one, and when we left, Nick said it was the ugliest stuff he had ever seen, and that he would never forgive us for taking him there.
I guess there’s no accounting for taste . . . or lack thereof.
By now it was almost 5pm, so it was off to a nearby Red Robin for our burger fix. Nick liked this place better. And so did I.
Food was involved, after all.
Our last stop of the day was The Container Store. Jan and Terry were looking for some storage items, so Nick and I napped in the truck. Nick said now we could tell everyone we slept together.
He wishes!
We finally got home about 8:30pm after another long but very fun day. Tomorrow will be a stay-at-home before we make a day trip to Dayton on Saturday.
Stay Tuned.
——————————————————————————————————————–
Thought for the Day:
"Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." – Ronald Reagan
dfadsfad
