... and the premier gardens are being showcased by New York-based Garden Conservancy, which benefited from today's open house entry fees.
The indoor layout, valued at $2 million dollars and recently donated to the City of Chicago, models Chicago, including the CTA...
... and Wrigley Field...
... and downtown including the lakefront and Millennium Park...
... as well as downstate Illinois. Numerous trains were operating, both inside and outside, and the hundreds of patrons, including lots of kids, were all enjoying the gardens, trains, grounds, and weather.
For those into specifics: This railroad contains: 60 switches, (turnouts), 64 blocks, 2 interactive freight and passenger yards, 61 automations, a missile silo hidden under a city park, 2 custom lift bridges, and a complete prototypical signaling system. It required 36,000 lineal feet of wire and is powered by 8 transformers. The Wandering Tree RR operates 16 trains, 2 trolleys, operating truck and car roadways, an operating drive-in movie theatre, 2 elevated trains, 2 subway trains, 2 helixes, and 54 interactive automations. For more info go here.
2 comments:
That is just incredible, Chuck! I guess she has all sorts of insulating mechanisms for the outdoor portions of the exhibit. Doug Johnson, TV weatherman of yesteryear here in Houston, was into model trains big-time. I wonder if he was there. Did Scott go?
Helen,
Her website states that all her outdoor creations run regardless of weather, just like real railroads, so your assumption is correct. Scott would have loved the trains (vacationing in Colorado now,) but I took many pictures for him.
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