UPTOWN — Behind a nondescript door in the Clarendon Park Community Center is one of the nation's largest model railroad layouts.
This Sunday you can check out the hand-crafted Garfield-Clarendon Model Railroad at 4501 N. Clarendon Ave. for free at an open house from 1-4 p.m.
Built in 1974, the model railroad takes up an entire room with approximately 1,400 feet of hand-laid track, according to its website. It takes over 25 minutes to complete a round trip and is controlled completely by computer.
A streetcar line operates with two cars winding around urban and rural settings, including the Appalachian mountains. The setting is modeled after parts of different states like Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, according to the railroad's website.
The model's name references Chicago's Garfield Park because it was originally built in the Garfield Park Fieldhouse. The Chicago park district later moved the railroad to Clarendon Park in 1963, the website said.
While the open house is free, the railroad club accepts donations.
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