Photo above: World's Largest O-Scale Model Railroad: world record in Commerce Charter Township, Michigan. Photo`s (2,3,4,5) by Edward Pevos   MLive

"We fill a 10,000+ square foot building in Commerce Township Michigan with more than 12,000 ft. of track stacked many layers deep from the floor to the nine foot level, and our all-volunteer staff opens the doors to the public on weekends from November through early March," the official website says.
 
"With its affiliation with the non-profit West Oakland Railroad Museum, emphasis includes exquisite modeling and our historically accurate and interpreted representation of railroading in and out of Americas largest rail hub, Chicago, during the 1950s and 60s."

"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."

Chi-Town Union Station is also the home of the world's longest model train. 

"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 official website says.

 
"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."

"Packed floor-to-ceiling inside an old supermarket. Hundreds of computers operate 30 to 50 trains at a time, in a landscape of 1950s Chicago," the Roadside America reports.

"The world's largest O-scale model railroad fills a 10,000-square-foot building floor-to-ceiling with 14,000 feet of track. Hundreds of computers operate 30 to 50 trains at a time. A reproduction of the luxury passenger trains of Chicago and its destinations in the 1950s."

"O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scale in the United States and remained so until the early 1960s. In Europe, its popularity declined before World War II due to the introduction of smaller scales." (wikipedia)

"Chi-Town Union Station is home to the largest O-scale model railroad. While there are other scales of model train, no one beats the size of the O-scale track laid down at Chi-Town. While there, you can also see the world's longest model train," the mlive.com reports.



"The largest O-scale model railroad is located inside Chi-Town Union Station at 8275 Cooley Lake Road in Commerce Charter Township."

"Museum of railroad history and artifacts affiliated with the Chi-Town Union Station, world's largest O-scale model railroad layout 10,000 square feet five to seven layers deep, and home of the world record longest model train, 1,112.06 feet (1205 freight cars and 26 locomotives), the Pure Michigan reports.

"Focuses on American railroading in the 1950's and 60's with an emphasis on passenger travel through Chicago. Group are welcome, handicap accessible, admission is $4. Open November to April Friday, Saturday and Sundays."

Local: (248) 613-9471

Chi_TownUnionStation@yahoo.com