I'm back from a trip to Chicago last weekend.. I see some great shots of the Chicago Metra posted in this thread as well as some of a nice layout in Cincinnati. They inspired me to include these pictures taken at The Chicago Museum of Science and Indutry's terrific model railroad. My cheapie camera couldn't do it justice but here's a few looks at this large fun layout.
It has along mainlines with several trains running. The brochure claims there are 34 which I guess includes some small switchers pushing strings of cars into industries. Here a long train headed by BNSF units rolls by.
The scenary includes the cities of Chicago and Seattle, the Great Plains, and some tall mountains. This viaduct is at least eight feet off the floor.
There were some fun interactive scenes like this container ship. Pushing a button allowes visitors to activate a crane that unolads one of the containers.
The representation of Chicago was remarkable! They did a great job creating easily recognized landmark buildings but also took pains to maodel details like pedestrians on the street and a working EL running between the towers.
What fun!
Ralph