#149 December Status Report

December 7, 2019

The EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) employees and volunteers have outdone themselves again this year in setting up their gorgeous Christmas holiday display.  This is an open-to-the-public no cost exhibit in EJ’s expo area.  The central feature is the massive multiple-track, multiple-level G-gauge holiday layout, this year surrounding one of the main roof support columns in the EJ building.  Figure 1 is a panorama of the side of the layout with its main feature, the waterfall with its three spectacular bridges.  (The long bridge with the phantom train isn’t really curved.  The curve and the phantom train are artifacts created by the panorama image stitching program.) 

 Fig 1
Figure 1.  Christmas Layout Panorama 

 

The lowest of the three bridges in Figure 2 is about 8 feet long and supports two tracks on its upper level and a single track on the lower level inside the truss structure.  

 Fig 2
Figure 2.  Christmas Layout Bridge Detail 

 

Among the many models on the Christmas layout, two are especially noteworthy because of their beauty and their exquisite detail: the round barn and the open-framework covered bridge shown in Figure 3.  

 Fig 3
Figure 3.  Round Barn and Covered Bridge 

 

Even with all that is to see on the main layout, there is still more to enjoy.  A long O-gauge layout has multiple-loops of track and holiday scenes inside each loop (Figure 4).  The lighted buttons along the edge of the layout are for activating the trains on the various loops. 

fig 4 
Figure 4.  O-Gauge Christmas Layout 

 

 A miniature amusement park has all kinds of operating rides, which can be activated with the push of a button (Figure 5). 

 fig 5
Figure 5.  Miniature Amusement Park Model 

 

There’s a Christmas Village with lighted buildings and a train running around it, again at the push of a button (Figure 6).  

 fig 6
Figure 6.  Christmas Village 

 

The spectacular “Marbleous” Museum of all things marbles, a permanent exhibit at EJ which is normally accessible only with a paid admission to the EJ layout, is free to the public during the Christmas season as part of the Christmas holiday display (Figure7).  

 fig 7
Figure 7.  Marbleous Museum 

 And finally, but by no means least, a mesmerizing lighted replica of King’s Island’s Eiffel Tower has lights that play different moving patterns in time with the Christmas music that plays throughout EJ during the Christmas holiday season (Figure 8). 

 

 fig 8
Figure 8.  Dancing Lights on an Eiffel Tower Model 

 

The magnitude and quality of the entire Christmas display are a credit to the hard work, dedication, and creativity of the EJ employees and volunteers.  Much of the display, especially the main layout, was set up from scratch in less than three weeks after the takedown of EJ’s Halloween adventure which previously occupied the same space.  A job very well done, making a must-see holiday treat! 

 

© 2019 Tom Bartsch 

MVGRS Big Train Project Coordinator