Join us in the youthful delight of a local collector’s model train set. With a mainline track more than two scale miles, winding along 120 feet of wall space, this hands-on set takes you on a whimsical journey.

Your trip begins in downtown Chicago with a replica of the Palmolive Building, where the owner founded his company, to his home on the north shore of Geneva Lake. Along the way, the train passes the Chicago “L” train, the Illinois suburbs, the Great Lakes Naval Base in Waukegan, chugs through Fright Fest at Gurnee and rounds the traveling circus and an outdoor movie theatre. With a nod to Milwaukee’s industry and the Walworth County Fair, it finally pulls into Lake Geneva, which includes an exact replica of the enthusiast’s home, the Riviera, the Ferro Pavilion at George Williams College, and Geneva Lake itself. Enjoying a fine lake cruise are three classic wooden yachts: the Matriarch, the Normandie and the SeaLark.

This O-gauge model train extravaganza, eight years in the making, is continually being added on to, with treasures from the former old-scale layout that graced the Museum of Science and Industry as well as other online or antique store finds. We hope you enjoy this Little Locomotive Journey.