I have been given the green light to share with you a project that Chris has been working on since October of 2010 …
A MODEL RAILROAD!
Chris first worked on a model railroad when he was very young. It was a project he and his Dad shared, and that’s when he first fell in love with the hobby. 
Fast forward to the 90s and 00s when he started building sets in his (then our) apartment:
Early Train 1
Early Train 2
Early Train 3
I believe those shots were taken in his apartment on Giddings St. in Chicago. That’s the first time I was introduced to the train. I thought it was so cool!!
Then, after about a year, we moved in together and Chris rebuilt the train:
Chris train 2000
Train detail 2001 - before moving to NYC
We moved out of Chicago to NYC a week before 9/11, and the train remained in storage for about 6 months while we were subletting in the city. When we got our own place, the train came out of hiding again:
Train NYC 2001
Doesn’t that look nice? It stayed that way for a while until it was dismantled for any number of reasons. Then, there was no train. No train at all … until …
2010!
We were all moved into our new apartment in NYC after leaving and moving around a lot between 2005 and 2010. We were getting settled, I was feeling healthier after my long illness and misdiagnosis, and it was time. Time to MAKE A MODEL RAILROAD!
No small potatoes this time. No sir. This layout was going to be as big as he could make it without engulfing the whole apartment. Where could he put it? Why, in the bedroom, of course (completely my idea)!
The beginning
Check it. 8 feet by 3 feet. This is how it began.
Plaster cloth
Plaster cloth, trestle
Paint added; coming together
Adding some height and tunnels
More paint and track
More pieces added
Working on track detail
Matilda checks it out
Matilda had spent months staying away from the bedroom, because she thought it was a snake coming to get her or something. She decided to explore it one day on her own, and was fine after that.
Matilda checks it out_2
Adding some buildings and admiring the work
Tearing it apart to make some modifications
There seemed to be no way for Chris to rescue trapped trains, so he had to pull a chunk out of the platform and modify it. While he was at it, he decided to add some layers:
Making adjustments
Adding elevated track
Fixing and adding hills
The work never truly ends, but in the interest of time, I will leave you with this finished product – for now:
Train!
Two trains
Close up
Finished ... for now ...
Actually, these pictures aren’t the final product. Chris just spent the last hour taking detailed pictures, which I will put together in another post. Then I will regale you with the tale of us moving it out of the bedroom through our 6 foot x 3 foot doorway.
Yeah … smooth …
