Enchanted Railroad rolls through seasons at Morton Arboretum
When the Enchanted Railroad chugs through the Sycamore Room at Morton Arboretum, there's more than the small-scale Morton Salt boxcar paying tribute to the spectacle's host.
And there's more than one railroad.
"We can run up to 12 trains at one time," said Kevin Kell, of the LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago.
Toy railroads wend their way across tracks that traverse winter, spring, summer and fall scenes that echo seasonal scenes at the Lisle tree garden.
"We do try to incorporate different items from the arboretum into the display," Kell said.
Tiny trucks with tiny landscaping crews, tiny tree groves, and tiny re-creations of trails, grass, wood chips, rocks and a scale-sized, flowing waterfall set the scene with help from arboretum staff.
"They bring in the trains and all the track and we work with them on the scenery," said Gina Steele, the arboretum's special events coordinator.
This year is the 15th for the train show, which opened Friday, Jan. 13, and continues through Sunday, Feb. 19. The show was formerly presented in December.
"In the last three years, it's been moved to January and February," Steele said.
She said the change was made to accommodate crowds for both the train show and the Illumination, a tree-lighted spectacle that runs through the holidays.
The railroad was also formerly presented in the Visitor Center, but was moved to an adjacent building a few years ago, Steele said.
Kell said the train show draws thousands each year.
"Last year, we had over 19,000 people come through and view the exhibit," he said.
Kell said club members bring their G-scale trains, along with three club-owned trains, set them up, and work with arboretum staff to create the scenes. The G-scale trains include Lehmann Gross Bahn, or LGB, trains and other brands, he said.
The train sets are placed on two levels, so young visitors can more easily view them, Steele said. The lower level is only six inches off the ground, she said.
This year's display will include an Amtrak train and a set of street cars and trolleys, Kell said.
A Thomas the Tank Engine train, based on a fictional children's book character, is interactive.
"The kids can push a button and make the train run," he said.
Kell said other interactive elements, operated by push-button, include a water fountain, a haunted house and a miniature fireworks display.
"We've got a guy that's really good with electronics," he said.
Train switches are controlled by track motion sensors, he said.
Because the arboretum plans to debut a new metal sculpture exhibit next spring featuring origami-inspired animal shapes, the train show will feature a first-time display of miniature origami animals, Steele said.
Tickets for time-specific admission to the show are available at the arboretum's visitor center. Tickets are not available in advance and a limited number are available for each time slot, she said.
"It gets crowded on weekends, so come early or come on weekdays," she said.
If you go
What: Enchanted Railroad
Where: Morton Arboretum, 4100 Route 53, Lisle
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, Jan. 13 through Feb. 19
Cost: Free with admission of $9 to $14 daily; $6 to $9 on Wednesdays
Info: (630) 968-0074 or mortonarb.org