Sept. 21--A Swiss chalet-style mansion in River Forest -- dubbed "The River Forest Express" -- came back on the market Friday for $3.5 million.
Built in 1926, the six-bedroom, 7,747-square-foot mansion has its own outdoor rideable train.
The railroad's 15-inch-wide tracks wend through some 700 feet of length. In 1998, Alan Smiley, who has owned the home for more than 40 years, installed the railroad, which crosses over one concrete and steel bridge and one wooden trestle.
There's also a coach house, six waterfalls, a greenhouse and an in-ground pool.
"This home has so much character," said listing agent Michael LaFido of Conlon Christie's. "Because of the private setting, you don't need to go anywhere to feel like you're on vacation."
Other features include four full baths, two half baths, a grand foyer with a carved staircase, a living room with 17-foot-tall ceilings and a stone fireplace, a solarium, a library with a fireplace, a conservatory, a fur vault, a sauna, a steam room, an indoor whirlpool and two butlers' pantries.
The mansion sits on a 0.85-acre corner lot, an unusually large property for River Forest.
With a previous broker, the estate had been on the market between July 2014 and June 2015, listed first for $5.2 million and later for $4.95 million. Since then the house has undergone some major changes, LaFido said, including redoing the hardwood floors, adding a new deck and assorted painting and landscaping. The owners also held an estate sale, selling 73 animal heads that were prominently featured in previous listing photos, LaFido said.
As he has with other properties, LaFido is attempting to market the property by shooting a "lifestyle film" depicting the mansion and its grounds, including hiring actors to operate the train, play in the pool and frolic on the grounds. He also used a helicopter to shoot some of the footage.
Watch the video here.
