Lisle: Morton Arboretum's Enchanted Railroad

Lisle -- Last January, our family trip to Morton Arboretum to see the Husky Heroes resulted in a disappointed boy. Seeing the sled dogs in action was fun, even without snow. Unfortunately, the same crowds that came to see the canines also  the Enchanted Railroad display. By the time we had seen the dog demonstration and returned to the visitor center for our railroad tickets, the room was too full to admit anyone else for the day. For the past year, I have been promising that we will go to the Arboretum on a less busy day and get in to see those trains. Thank you, frigid January temperatures! On a day that no one wanted to be outside, we had a wonderful time seeing this year's Enchanted Railroad with no crowds at all. 

The Enchanted Railroad display features the garden-scale trains of the LGB Model Railroad Club, as well as a specially made engine by "Sean Kenney, artist and creator of the popular Nature Connects exhibit of LEGO sculptures displayed at The Morton Arboretum earlier this year." The model trains wind their way through scenes inspired by the arboretum's features and upcoming events in all seasons. 

My preschooler appreciated the kid-level view of the display. Instead of needing a boost from mom or dad, little kids can see the lowest tier of trains at their own level. For those eager fingers who needed to be reminded not to touch the trains, several buttons do allow visitors to run Thomas's train, set off fireworks, and start the spooky sounds of a haunted house. 

The Enchanted Railroad is open through February 21 and is free with admission to the arboretum. Pick up timed tickets at the Visitor's Center. 

Here is a peek at some of the train cars you will see:

Waterfall with a drive-in movie in the background, starring you!

Lego train 

Lisle: Morton Arboretum

When is a train not a train? When it's a tram! This past weekend we attended an event at Morton Arboretum, which included a tour of the arboretum's grounds on their Acorn Express. For reasons we can't determine, it was not at all what the toddler wanted to do with his day, so trying to convince him that it was a fun choo-choo or a truck with neat people trailers unfortunately did not work. (Thankfully, he dozed off a few minutes into his loud protest.) The older kids, however, enjoyed the chance to sit back and watch the scenery go by. At the arboretum, the real draw for kids is the children's garden, which is where we spent most of our day. The tram is a nice break between hikes, though, and certainly gets families farther into the grounds than most will likely get with young children.

Lisle, or maybe Wheaton: Always have a Plan B

Do you remember that old jingle, "Phone first ..."? That tune popped into my head as the kids hopped out of the car at The Museums at Lisle Station Park and shouted, "Mom, there's a sign that says it's closed." Hmm. You know, a note taped to a window that briskly says, "Sorry for the inconvenience" doesn't really appease a car-load of kids, especially the one who had his heart set on seeing the model railroad layout on the inside of  the farmhouse. So, I can't report much about what Lisle has to offer our young train fans other than the small museum campus has this to tease when the doors are locked: an 1881 caboose and a depot from 1875. (The other structures are a farmhouse, tavern/inn and a blacksmith shop.) Nice, but not quite enough to call the afternoon a success, so on to Plan B. 

We moved up the road a bit to another model railroad display, this one at the DuPage County Historical Museum in downtown Wheaton. The majority of the museum's basement is given to an HO-gauge layout with over 2,000 feet of track and numerous small-scale recreations of local landmarks. Again, we weren't there on quite the right day. Selected Saturdays throughout the year members of the DuPage Society of Model Engineers run the trains for visitors. Alas, we arrived on a Tuesday afternoon. Thankfully, one train can be activated to run independently by the push of a button and there are plenty of scenery details to study from the large viewing windows. There's also a kid-sized train play table and displays on the history of railroads in DuPage County.

A train zips through it's miniature Wheaton landscape

Upstairs, exhibits detail local history, including a current exhibit on the Civil War. My kids liked the station allowing them to sniff the smells familiar to solders. (Conveniently, they had just been listening to the Magic Tree House book Civil War on Sunday on our ride to the museum. Can't beat audio books for keeping young travelers entertained!) Downtown Wheaton is a stop on the Union Pacific-West line, meaning it could be a destination on a Metra ride if you plan ahead. If not, enough Metra and UP trains zip through to give kids a look at the big engines they've just seen in miniature.

Getting back to Lisle, assuming the museums are open as scheduled on another summer afternoon, could also happen via Metra on the BNSF line. Or the family van, which is always more likely. Lesson of the day: when traveling with kids, always have a back up plan and plenty of in-car amusements!

Upcoming: Blackberry Farm Model Train Show

Now that my oldest son has figure out how to read, there's no sneaking past things he will love. Yesterday he noticed a poster for the upcoming model train show at Blackberry Farm in Aurora. It's coming July 21 and 22, 11 a.m. till 4:30. He also noticed a listing for the Museums at Lisle Station Park -- including a historical train station, caboose,  farmhouse, and blacksmith shop. Assuming the heat lets up, we will see you there!