William, the Museum of Science & Industry's Trainmaster

Did you ever wonder who has the dream job of operating and maintaining the Museum of Science and Industry's train exhibit?
William, the man who runs the railroad, takes me behind the scenes of one of the Museum's oldest and most popular exhibits, which has gone from running 2 trains at a time (a Santa Fe passenger and freight) in the 1960's to as many as 27 trains a day now.
I never realized the beating this equipment takes in normal service, and how much of a problem vandalism by museumgoers is. People, for God's sake, don't throw coins and other objects on the tracks! (Shaking my head).

[@rockheadregolith8325]

Took the Garfield 55 bus to the end of the line. Only ten cents back then. The Museum of Science and Industry was free admission. Went almost everyday between 1966 to 1968. I touched every square inch of that Heaven on Earth, including the lagoon at the "rear". Also, the Police "closet", (one Cop for the whole place then). I ventured through the exit of the Coal Mine, a no no you see.

[@JGTVideos]

OH MY GOD.You are very lucky to see a collage of trains from when it opened up in 2002.That's a Rare opportunity.

[@artistmac]

It was the dream of a lifetime, and totally by accident. Couldn't have planned it if I had wanted to.

[@rickklein7792]

Thank you for the memories. I too grew up in the 60s and remember being fascinated by this layout and it was all ours. Thanks! Also just thinking about it, I was mesmerized by the thunderstorm.

[@artistmac]

Seeing inside his office was the high point of an already amazing day. I never realized there was so much involved in keeping those trains running, including the miniature el going around the Loop!

[@rickklein7792]

@@artistmac I'm not a model train expert. Could you tell me what guage the museums layout is?

[@artistmac]

@@rickklein7792 HO gauge.

[@upmodeler73]

Is there a loco that is better at the long running then another.

[@artistmac]

William? What say you?

[@GTSCommander]

Well, yes and no. Each manufacturer has it cons and pros. Athearn Genesis on out mainline because the motors can handle the 8-10 grind without overheating and are the easiest engines to disassemble and repair. Sadly the flywheels and shafts are short lived and we replace very often. Parts can be purchased online and at good hobby shops. Altas engines are strong pullers and can handle the long grind, and with better internal parts they can easily last longer than Athearn but when they fail it can be a hard fail and without warning. The parts aren't always easy to get and it take more effort to repair. Proto1000 is a pleasant surprise, they run well and don't require a lot of maintenance, keep them lubed in the right places and don't let them stall and you will get lots of run time but getting parts can me a monumental task. Kato engines, take good care of them and they will run like a trusty steed. Overall good engines, easy to disassemble and you get replacement part within 48 hrs after ordering online, highly reliable engines and customer service. MTH, Intermountain, Bowser, Walthers are all nice products, sadly they did last long on our layout due to the heavy demand we put on our engines. 8 hours or more 7 days a week 363 days a year.

[@dfwrider3830]

I was wondering where they got that ho scale cta L train. Ive looked all over for one, with no luck. hearing him say it was custom made is going to help me stop looking for a premade one. now if i want a model I guess I will have to make one. Bonus: I humorously envisioned there was a spur track in one of the tunnels, and the inside of the mountain was like his little workshop. obviously I didnt think this was true, but it was fun to imagine.

[@MilwaukeeF40C]

Look at Island Model Works.

[@artistmac]

I'm still amazed that I actually got to meet him and see the inner workings. In the past, going back to the 60's, you never saw who actually operated this train set.

[@trainliker100]

Interesting. I help with a large HO layout (and also an HOn3 layout) at the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum. Things do eventually wear out, but not too often as we run 6 hours per week. I was amused by the question about the 6000 series L cars. I grew up riding the even older 4000 series L cars. I also grew up seeing the old O scale Minton Cronkite "Museum & Santa Fe" layout - many times - that was removed to make way for the HO layout shown here. Visit the museum if you can. And be sure to sign up for the submarine tour. And the coal mine tour is an oldie but a goodie.

[@christiansass]

Excellent job man!

[@artistmac]

Thanks!

[@robadams5799]

I'm near Gainesville, Georgia now, but I grew up close to Midway Airport. The Museum of Science and Industry was weekend excursion that we all enjoyed. Whenever we'd go I'd HAVE to see the big train layout. In my mind you can't have an MSI without the trains. THE TRAINS! In all that time it never crossed my mind to throw stuff at them.

[@Ferrocarril_Chicago]

The Metra MP36 I have and I wish to have more. South Shore stuff, I'd kill to get my hands on. This is an absolutely amazing collection.

[@artistmac]

It was like walking into wonderland. Coming to MSI and watching those trains since I was a kid in the '60's, I never thought I would get to see the inner workings of the operation.

[@Ferrocarril_Chicago]

It's something I know. I remember always going there on field trips when I was in the Chicago Public Schools. Unfortunately now that I'm no longer in CPS, I don't get to come as frequently. But many of the ideas I have for my train layout have come from MSI's layout. I'm modeling parts of the South side, and I'm even including downtown. I started building some of the major skyscrapers such as the John Hancock and the Standard Oil Building.

[@Its_YourImagination]

awesome...great job

[@stevechilders2425]

As much as I loved the old O scale layout of the early 60s, the HO layout is a wonder! Thanks for sharing.

[@blairterry9435]

Do they run steam on the mainline loops like SP 4449 or other steam engines?

[@artistmac]

No, it's all diesel locomotives. It would be interesting to see a model steam locomotive on this layout, and how they would handle the creation of smoke.

[@trainliker100]

@@artistmac Almost all HO steam engines do not have smoke. Only a very few have been manufactured that do.

[@Donnie_Tsunami]

trains trains trains trains trains trains trains TRAINS!!! my favorite

[@ericvondumb2838]

What about the coal mine? That was the exhibit!

[@artistmac]

It's still there. But my dream was never to be a coal miner -- it was to be an engineer on one of the great passenger trains, most of which started and ended in Chicago.

[@Its_YourImagination]

whats his operating budget for the year by chance?

[@artistmac]

Good question -- it's not even broken out on MSI's annual report. Anyone?

[@GTSCommander]

The GTS has multiple budgets. Tech salaries, electrical gear and usage, day to day maintenance, annual deep cleaning, new engines and rolling stock, replacement parts, etc etc. I can't give exact figures (confidentiality agreements) I can tell you this that over the course of running 363 days a year it is well over 100K+. As for the new trains, vehicles, figures, relays, power systems, replacement parts for everything on the layout about 5k ~10K. Add another 2 ~5K for potential vandalism repairs.

[@smokencoffee7680]

First time I seen the trains was back in the early 70s, things have sure changed. Awesome video! Thanks for sharing.

[@alanwbelcher]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

[@artistmac]

Thanks for watching!

[@williamalschuler3239]

I happened on this video by chance and am really happy I did. You did a great job showing the operations and the work behind the scenes. I grew up with the setup, starting in the early 1950s when the gauge was O and there were no skyscrapers. It is great now and was great then.

[@bradhassler1]

Thank you, Very interesting. From what I remember at about 1962, I thought it was O gage at that time.

[@M1CHAZZ]

Great video! Did they keep the old rolling stock & F/E unit engines? You are right about Disney; as I get older all it is to me is a place of long lines, bad overpriced fast food & souvenirs.

[@artistmac]

There were a few, but when they went to the smaller gauge, with limited storage space, I imagine they had to be ruthless about what was kept.

[@M1CHAZZ]

What gauge did they go to? The old layout was O?

[@duusan..q]

+artiakstmac

[@GTSCommander]

The original layout was built by Minton Cronkhite and he used 17/64" tracks as as opposed to 1/4" on his custom layouts and referred to it as "Q scale"

[@GTSCommander]

Some of the original engines and rolling stock are stored away in collections and the rest were given away to founders and board members.

[@toddbehrends1373]

Thank you for the behind the scene. This was very informative.

[@aaronwilliams6989]

Thanks for sharing. AWESOME!

[@inwalktbud]

I love this video. I’m 70 years old and I remember the trains from before the 2002 update of the train display. Thanks so much for recording & posting this. I’ve forwarded to three other people so far, one of whom has a 3 year old son & they’ve recently set up a third generation train set at home.

[@artistmac]

William has the dream job for a model railroading fan. Imagine keeping these trains running nearly 365 days a year!

[@mydashcam6]

this was very cool to see!

[@artistmac]

Thanks!

[@JR-es5zl]

I grew up in Gary during the late 50s and 60s and made a few trips to that museum and remember the train layout well. Thanks so much for an informative and entertaining video!

[@trainliker100]

You would have seen a completely different layout. It was the O Scale "Museum 7 Santa Fe" railroad with the Grand Canyon in the middle of it.

[@vhd72]

With all the steam engines being restored it would be great to see some rolling around this layout or at least the Pioneer Zephyr. Come on MSI!

[@GTSCommander]

The Con-Cor HO Burlington The Zephyr Streamline Trains are no longer in production, we do have one but do to its delicate design it cannot run 8 hours per day, 7 days a week 363 days out of the year. Replacement parts for the trains are non existent, so we can only run it during special corporate events when there is request to do so.

[@vhd72]

@@GTSCommander understood. You guys ever think of running MTH’s or BLI HO steamers? Would love to see them puffing smoke. Now I know smoke fluid would have to added but I bet there would be eager kids (visitors) willing to do so. The Shedd has a guy that feeds the fish you guys should have a guy feeding smoke oil lol. I’m passionate about steam so to see one run would be special.

[@GTSCommander]

@@vhd72 We have Broadway Limited Paragon ATSF 4-8-4 that I let run for a few hours on X-mas or Special Events, but to fragile to run everyday

[@KatoOnTheTrack1]

Wasn’t expecting a Black guy to be running the show.

[@GTSCommander]

Never under estimate the power of the "dark" side of the train force!