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Chi-Town Union Station is now the world’s largest O-Scale model
layout. There are layouts in bigger buildings, on larger plots of land,
and a few featuring multiple scales may have more total trackage,
but there is nothing as intense as Chi-Town.
Nowhere is there a layout with more lineal feet of O scale, two
rail track installed and running. And yes, we are aware that
there are several HO layouts that may be bigger than Chi-Town.
Dollars go much farther in smaller scales.
Chi-Town Union Station is also the home of the world’s longest
model train.
On March 20, 2010, Chi-town assembled and ran on a permanent
indoor model railroad layout, with grades and curves, a train
1,112.06 feet in length consisting of 1205 cars and 26
locomotives. The train weighed almost 1400 pounds.
The two-hour long build, measurement and operation was witnessed
by an invited list of local and state dignitaries and licensed
professionals chaired by the Oakland County Executive, L. Brooks
Patterson. The actual measurement was accomplished by registered
land surveyor, Joe Kapelzak, using a combination of computerized
optical and laser surveying equipment.
The route across the Chi-Town layout we selected rose and fell
more than 22 inches. Circumnavigated a great many standard and
double slip switches and negotiated 1,680 degrees of turn per
lap.
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