The Great Train Story

In the 1990s, the Santa Fe Railway was disassembled and moved to make room for our Boeing 727 to be installed for Take Flight. Reassembly was hard on the original railroad, leading the way to its closure in 2002 after six decades of service. It had seen several changes over the years as new technologies helped railroads to operate more efficiently. It was also one of the first railroads in the country to run models of diesel locomotives as they replaced steam engines in the real world.

Today, the Museum's railroad exhibit, The Great Train Story, shows a bigger and better view of the modern American railroading industry. The new layout is 50 percent larger than the original railroad and has the ability to operate more than 20 trains, rather than the original 10. Influenced by the progress of model railroading, the new exhibit is more immersive, surrounding you with its scenery and curves as you follow the trains. The Great Train Story follows the winding railroad journey between Chicago and Seattle, passing through the Midwest, the Plains States, the Rockies, the Cascades and into the Pacific Northwest. The more than 20 trains on the track are involved in industries as diverse as grain commodities, raw materials for manufacturing, consumer goods for import and export, lumber and tourism. And various interactive stations allow you to be part of the action!

Waterways depicted in the layout include: the Chicago River, the Calumet River, Lake Michigan, the Platte River, various mountain streams and lakes from Colorado, Montana and Idaho as well as Seattle Harbor.

The exhibit’s designer researched common Chicago architecture (bungalows, a Victorian cottage, two- and three-flats) to accurately create authentic models, going so far as to actually count the number of bricks on one building! Many of our guests who live in the city and surrounding areas will see "their" house in the exhibit. The Red Line subway station at Chicago and State is recreated brick for brick, and is populated to reflect the individuals who were waiting for the train at 1:56 p.m. on April 3, 2002.