Developed across more than two decades in Norwood Park, this extensive garden railway serves as an enduring tribute to late founder William Rustemeyer. His surviving family opens the outdoor display to neighbors to preserve the model railroading tradition against rising equipment costs and waning youth interest. The project demonstrates how a modest hobby can expand to anchor and inspire a local community. Notably, the trains are outfitted with miniature plows so they can continue operating directly through winter snow.
Key points
The Rustemeyer family maintains the miniature railway to honor William Rustemeyer followi…: The Rustemeyer family maintains the miniature railway to honor William Rustemeyer following his death in 2020.
Rising material costs, tariffs, and inflation are making entry into the model train hobby…: Rising material costs, tariffs, and inflation are making entry into the model train hobby increasingly expensive for beginners.
Family members share their backyard display publicly to inspire new generations of hobbyi…: Family members share their backyard display publicly to inspire new generations of hobbyists to begin with small projects.
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What started as a small family hobby has gradually turned an ordinary Chicago backyard into a miniature railway town. The Rustemeyer family in Norwood Park has spent more than two decades building an elaborate garden railroad, transforming a modest patch of grass into a landscape filled with train tracks, tiny buildings, flowers and carefully arranged details. According to Block Club Chicago and WBBM Newsradio, which visited the family home in October 2026, the railway now covers virtually the entire backyard and can accommodate seven trains running at the same time. What makes the project particularly special is that it has grown into a shared family tradition, bringing together generations through a common love of model trains. Scroll down to read more.
A hobby that began with one small stretch of grass
The idea came from Judy's father, William Rustemeyer, who had been interested in model trains for years and initially maintained a railway layout in the family's basement. Towards the end of the 1990s, he decided to take his hobby outdoors and create something that could become part of the…
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