The Great Train Story facts for kids

The Great Train Story

The Great Train Story is a super cool model train display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It's a huge setup, about 3,500 square feet, and uses HO scale models. This means everything is built to a specific small size, perfect for showing lots of detail!

The display tells the story of modern train travel. It takes you on a long journey, about 2,206 miles, from Seattle, Washington, all the way to Chicago, Illinois. Along the way, you'll see many different places, just like a real train trip!

You can spot tiny versions of famous buildings and landmarks. In Seattle, look for the Space Needle and King Street Station. When the trains reach Chicago, you'll see the Willis Tower, the Chicago Board of Trade Building, and Union Station.

Between these big cities, the landscape changes a lot. There are mountains like the Cascade range and Rocky Mountains, plus beautiful waterfalls and thick forests. You'll also see small towns, tunnels, and different kinds of bridges. There are even tiny lumber mills, farms, and coal mines, showing how goods are moved across the country.

Many types of trains run on the tracks. You'll see BNSF Railway freight trains carrying raw materials like lumber, grain, and coal. Other freight trains carry big shipping containers or even new cars! Passenger trains are also busy, including Amtrak, Metra, Chicago’s famous 'L' trains, and the South Shore Line.

A Look at Past Train Displays

The museum has had model train displays for a long time. Back in the 1940s, there was an older display called the Museum and Santa Fe Railway. It was built by a person named Minton Cronkhite. This older display was also very big and showed scenes from the Santa Fe Railway, including a tiny Grand Canyon. It was a favorite for visitors for many years!

Over time, the old display got a lot of use and started to wear out. It was updated a few times, but eventually, it closed in 2002. Some parts of it were even sold online, which helped raise money for the museum.

The Current Amazing Display

The Great Train Story display we see today opened in November 2002. It cost a lot of money to build, but many generous groups helped pay for it.

The idea for the current layout came from a museum designer named John Llewellyn. He and his team even traveled from Seattle to Chicago to get ideas for the display! They wanted to make sure visitors could get really close to the trains and see everything clearly. That's why the display is shaped like a winding path, so you can walk right into it. You can also get a great view from a balcony above!

The trains on the display use a special system to run smoothly, like a real railway. You'll see tiny signal towers and crossing gates that move when trains pass, just like in real life!

Fun Interactive Features

One of the coolest parts of The Great Train Story is that you can make things happen! There are seven spots where you can press a button to control different parts of the display.

You can:

• Help a lumberjack chop down a tree.
• Watch a mountain being blasted to make way for a new tunnel.
• See a drawbridge over the Chicago River open and close.
• Even send a Metra train on its way from a suburban station!

Up to 34 trains can run at the same time on 17 different tracks. The main track alone is over 1,425 feet long!

Hidden Surprises and Whimsical Scenes

Keep your eyes peeled for some funny and unexpected scenes hidden in the display:

• Look for a mini CowParade!
• You might spot Star Trek's Captain Kirk near the Space Needle.
• See if you can find garden gnomes taking care of a forest.
• There's a person on a canoe heading towards a waterfall.
• And watch out for campers who have met some skunks and bears!

When the museum lights dim, the tiny street and building lights on the display turn on. It looks just like nighttime! This often happens during demonstrations of the real Boeing 727 airplane hanging above the exhibit.

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