The Toy Train and Village Under the Tree

About seven years ago, I bought a toy train set at Walgreens, the great usurper of classic corner buildings, for $20 marked down from $60. This is a Lionel-size train with a short track. It consists of a steam engine, coal car, cattle car, and a caboose.

What I really liked about the train was that the caboose and coal tender both had the logo of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad (C&N)' a famous line from our area. Dad took this everyday into work when we lived in Palatine and he worked in Chicago at Quaker Oats in the Merchandise Mart.

The cattle car has a Milwaukee Road insignia on it. That railroad provided service out to Round Lake and Fox Lake before Metra replaced it. Metra also replaced the C&N.

After putting it up around the base of the tree, it was decided that a village was needed. Over the years, it has grown to occupy just about the whole area with a barn, lighthouse, winery, tavern, church, a house, blacksmith shop, two bridges, a covered bridge, lots of trees and people.

Making for a Real Christmas Feeling. --RoadDog