This weekend, we attended an open house at the Model Railroad Club of Toronto (MRCT). The MRCT was founded in 1938 by Harry Ebert and Borden Lilley. The club was originally located in Harry Ebert’s basement, later moved to Toronto’s Union Station, and in January 1946, moved to 171 East Liberty Street, a former munitions factory.
On Sunday afternoon, the doors opened at noon and there was a line up for tickets. The crowd was full of kids, parents, and grandparents. It really was a perfect event for ‘young and old’. Here are a few photographs from our look inside the Club.
A few tips:
The MRCT is housed in a basement-like space. Therefore, strollers need to be left at the top of the stairs.
As the afternoon progressed, the Club became more crowded and difficult to navigate. Go early (noon was ideal).
Bring your own stepping stool. Since the railway layout is at the height of an adult’s waist , it’s difficult for children to see. There are a few benches for the children to stand on top of, but we found it much more useful to just bring our own stool from home. My son was able to view the layout from multiple vantage points.
There is a small snack bar and seating area (with a train video playing on a television).
Children are not allowed to touch the trains or tracks, which can be difficult for little ones. I suggest telling your kids about this rule prior to visiting the club.
Free parking is available on-site.
The Club will host three more open house dates: February 19, 20, and 26 from 12pm-4:30pm
Do you plan to visit the Model Railroad Club of Toronto Open House? Did you already attend? What did you think?
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[...] don’t have any good pictures, but this review has a lot of great pictures, so go check it [...]
Hi all,
As a member for The Model Railroad Club of Toronto for over 40 years, I would like to thank you for your kind remarks. Speaking of family tradition, we have two members whose fathers were members of the Club. One of these members son’s was even a member with the three generations in attendance at one time in the 1980′s.
Multi-generation family visitors are quite common, after all, the Club will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2013, equal to about four generations.
Thanks to all who have visited us and supported the Club. The revenues earned from the Shows, along with our membership dues, fund everything we do at the Club (rent, hydro, projects, etc). We hope you keep your traditions alive and help us keep the Club’s traditions alive as well.
Sincerely,
Stuart Macadam
My husband started visiting this club with his dad when he was a child in the late 1950s. Since then we have taken all three of our children and now our grandson enjoys seeing the trains. It is truly a place for all generations! They even offer to host birthday parties although we haven’t explored that option yet.
Wow, nice to hear that the Club has been a family tradition for years.
Hi Catherine, thanks for sharing your photo’s and visiting tips. How long should one plan to spend there?
Hi Steve,
We spent about an hour and a half at the open house (my little boy and father love trains). There certainly is a lot to see!