Chicago Botanic Garden Spring 2019

e rst year’s success prompted the Garden to continue the outdoor rail- road. Each year, the exhibition’s team discusses what equipment might be needed—the outdoor railroad trains travel more than 22,000 miles each sea- son—and what new elements might be added. “ e rst year we had Wrigley Field and some people complained, so White Sox park was built,” Rodelius said, laugh- ing. Now there’s a Golden Gate Bridge, Old Faithful, Mount St. Helens, and dozens of natural wood buildings depicting iconic American structures. “ e Model Railroad Garden has been a passion of mine for 19½ years, and it still is a passion for me,” he said. “I absolutely love that place. e people who work there are just spectacular.” Although some engines make sounds, said Sirovatka, engineers decided to add more sound. “We have a circus area, and the children push a button and dance around to the calliope mu- sic,” added Sirovatka, who’s been with the team for ve years. All that action on the railroad layout can be demanding. “ e biggest chal- lenge is in the springtime and the level- ing of uneven tracks brought on by the winter frost. at may require the re- pair or replacing with new track,” said Perez, the maintenance technical engi- neer for 15 years. e engineers need to make sure the trains run smoothly throughout the season, which this year runs from May 11 through October 13. at can be daunting. ere are weather challenges and necessary maintenance. “We’re crawling in the dirt, we’re digging holes, we’re putting pipes in, we’re put- ting track in,” said Jacobs, who has more than 17 years with the railroad. “Unless (visitors) just stumble upon us…you see the nished product and don’t realize how much it took to do this.” Every morning, the tracks are cleared of leaves and twigs, trains are set on the tracks, and buildings checked. And with Old Faithful regularly shooting a spray of water into the air, the engi- neers must faithfully re ll the attrac- tion’s 5-gallon bucket with water, Ro- delius said. Even in the o season, there is work to do: Trains and tracks need care and Ap- plied Imagination rebuilds bridges and rejuvenates any sun- or rain-damaged buildings. e bonus for these engineers? ey enjoy working on this railroad, but they treasure seeing the smiles on kids’ faces and the giggles they hear when the Old Faithful spurts water or Mount St. Helens belches a steamy smoke. “ e biggest thing that keeps me going is the kids who just marvel at the trains and their reaction seeing so many,” Sirovatka said. “ ey just don’t know where to look and where to run rst.” Learn more chicagobotanic.org/gardens/railroad Fun fact: The outdoor railroad trains travel more than 22,000 miles each season. Each year, the tracks and trains are inspected and repaired. Generously sponsored by chicagobotanic.org 15