Website: Choo Choo Barn
Season: March-December
Cost: Adults 13 and up $6, Children 4-12 $4, Children 4 and under FREE
Approximate Length of Visit: It really depends. I think we spent about an hour looking at the display and then more time looking through the shops.
Recommended ages: All ages but smaller kids will need to be held up to see the display better.
We've passed by the Choo Choo Barn several times but this was the first time we've gone inside. We would have gone in a lot sooner if I had known how much we would enjoy it.
Inside the Choo Choo barn you'll find one large model train display surrounded by a narrow walkway. Everyone is supposed to move only in one direction and you can only go as fast the people in front of you (especially if you have a stroller like we did - next time I will ditch the stroller - the baby just took his first steps!) It can feel a bit claustrophobic but it's not really a problem because there is always plenty to see right in front of you. We did encounter a 'traffic jam' which I later realized was caused by people stopping and waiting for one of the highlights of the display - the fire. One of the little houses starts smoking and the local fire department comes to put it out. My son LOVED that. Everyone did. That is definitely a highlight. My son is more into firetrucks than trains (although after coming home from the Choo Choo Barn, he started dragging out all of his train stuff).
I didn't get a picture of that but I took a few other pictures of the display. Excuse the glare on some of these - the display is surrounded by glass around the edges.
Chopping wood (this was animated):
A traffic accident:
Soldiers in the parade (my son loves parades and soldiers):
A traffic stop (the lights were flashing):
Dutch Haven:
Building a house (animated):
This Turkey Hill was one of my favorite parts of the display. I loved the lighted sign:
There is just so much - airplanes, a ski lodge, a quarry, Dutch Wonderland, a circus, a cave, a train station, rivers, farms, sports, and tons more. Every so often the lights dim down and you get to see the display lighted up for evening.
There are several shops attached to Choo Choo Barn - a small gift shop, a model train shop, a Thomas The Train shop, a candy store and there's an Isaac's Deli there too. The shop prices are all very reasonable.
This was definitely a hit. My son couldn't wait to get to preschool the next day to report on it. He's still talking about it.
There are several things that I really like about the Choo Choo Barn:
- It's open all year except between January and March when it's closed for maintenance. There are certain times of the year when it's harder to find things to do in Central PA since many activities are seasonal. I love that this is open all but three months out of the year.
- It has a great location - across from Strasburg Railroad and down the road from Cherry Crest Farms, not far from the outlets, Dutch Wonderland, etc. You could easily combine this with many other Lancaster activities.
- It's open on Sundays - some things in that area aren't.
- It's a rain or shine activity.
I will warn you that you might leave the Choo Choo Barn with a strong desire to build a model train display in your basement. Remember, you can always come back to the Choo Choo Barn to get your model train fix - we will.
Please add your comments regarding this activity or let me know if you have any questions about it that I might be able to answer.
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