You won’t see this next layout at the club.
This is our large portable layout that is only displayed a handful of times each year at outside events.
You can purchase limited-edition Milwaukee Lionel® Railroad Club cars, logo apparel, and other items and apply and pay for club memberships. Some items are currently being offered at special prices. We accept PayPal for payment and ship to the continental United States. Click the banner headline to the left to enter the online store.
Some of the items for sale in our online store are shown in the slideshow below.
location and
Hours of Operation
2721 South Calhoun Road
New Berlin, WI 53151
We are just north of the Calhoun & Cleveland intersection and located IN THE BACK of Parkland Plaza. The club entrance is not visible from the front of the building.
Fridays 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM year-round (except most holidays).
Saturday & Sunday 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM October through April only (except most holidays).
We are also open 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM the first WEDNESDAY of most months.
Call during operating hours to confirm.
NOTE: We do not open when there is a weather forecast
of 3” of snow or greater.
Telephone 262.754.9900
If no immediate answer, leave a message.
Your call will be automatically forwarded to someone who can get back to you.
You can also use the contact page to send us an email message.
Stay up to date with MLRRC activities. Click on the the heading at the left to check out our latest list of upcoming events.
MLRRC Train Show & Sale Events
HELD MONTHLY OCTOBER - MARCH
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
ONE GREAT EVENT IN TWO LOCATIONS
THE NEXT SALE & SHOW DAY IS OCTOBER 20TH.
Thousands of toy train-related items will be available for purchase at the sale venue and there will be special show hours at the club. Click here for complete information.
mlrrc open houseS
The next open house weekend is
November 30 & December 1, 2024.
We are open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM each day.
The MLRRC normally holds two open house weekends each year. One on a weekend that varies in April (usually the first weekend) and the other always on the weekend immediately following Thanksgiving. Click here for club location information.
Be sure to stop by our 3000 square foot facility and see our vintage toy train displays and our layouts in action. You’ll see a large exhibition of toy trains running, often from different eras and different scales and gauges. The main layout includes interactive buttons allowing visitors to operate over a dozen animated scenes. There are also a couple of small layouts where junior engineers can try their hand at operating a toy train and a new operating accessory layout for you to explore. MLRRC logo apparel and related items and limited edition club cars are offered for sale at these events. Here’s more information.
club founder & history
MLRRC founder Jerry Brettschneider
The Milwaukee Lionel® Railroad Club was founded in January 1947 by Jerry Brettschneider. Our club is the world’s oldest Lionel® Club and the second oldest train club in the state of Wisconsin.
See a timeline of the club's accomplishments.
The Lionel® RR Club was founded by six year-old Jerry Brettschneider, in January 1947, during a huge snowstorm that shut down the city of Milwaukee for a couple of days. Jerry and five of his neighborhood friends started the club as a means to pass the time during this storm by playing with Jerry’s new (to him) Lionel® train, which he had recently received for Christmas. This train, a red and silver prewar Lionel® Jr. 1700 streamliner which started it all, is on display in our club showcase today. The club is the second oldest train club in the state of Wisconsin and the oldest Lionel club in the world. In 1949 Joshua Lionel Cowen granted permission for the group to call itself LIONEL® RAILROAD CLUB.
The club grew over the years and finally, it had to move from Jerry's parents’ basement to its first formal club headquarters in 1975 located at North 79th Street and Burleigh Street. In 1984 the club had to find larger quarters, so it moved to 10236 West Fond du Lac Avenue in Milwaukee. Finally, in March 2002, the club purchased its own commercial space and moved to our present site at 2721 South Calhoun Road in New Berlin, Wisconsin. A new hi-rail layout was built, which features the Hellgate Bridge that carries track for Standard Gauge and O-Gauge Trains. This bridge was featured in many local newspapers and in Classic Toy Trains Magazine. We can operate 17 trains at once on our permanent layouts plus several others on our portable units which are often in operation at the club during special events in addition to their use in outside demonstrations.
Other programs and activities that our club is involved in include Operation Lifesaver and the Boy Scout Merit Badge Program, We also have constructed a new large modular portable layout and two smaller layouts for community programs and train show displays. A very popular MLRRC Toy Train Show and Sale (formerly called the Toy Train and Collectibles Show) series has been run by the club since 1976. The event is currently held from the months of October thru March, at the New Berlin Entertainment Center, 16000 W. Cleveland Ave., New Berlin, WI. The event is held generally on the 3rd Sunday each month, from 8 a.m. to Noon. Check the calendar for exact dates.
Founder Jerry Brettschneider did not stop here, after joining the Army Reserves and going on several active duty tours, he started clubs in St Louis, San Francisco, Chicago, and Racine, Wisconsin. Jerry passed on July 3, 2021.
MLRRC history timeline
CLUB HISTORY TIMELINE
1947 - The club forms on January 30th and the first layout is begun in the basement of the founder Jerry Brettschneider’s parents’ home.
1949 - Joshua Lionel Cowen grants permission for the group to call itself The LIONEL® RAILROAD CLUB
1958 - Lionel® Railroad Club basement layout opens to the general public
1965 - The club begins activities with the Society of Model Engineers at MSOE
1971 - The club participates in the first Milwaukee area "Trainfest" show sponsored by the local division of the National Model Railroad Association.
1972 Organizes first shopping center-based model railroad show at Southgate Mall.
1975 The cub move's from founder's home to rented quarters at 7933 W. Burleigh St
1976 The Lionel Railroad Club, Inc. incorporates in Wisconsin as a "not-for-profit" educational organization.
1977 Holds first "Round Robin" tour of member's home layouts.
1982 Club President organizes "Association of Model Railroad Clubs" (A.M.R.C) to promote and coordinate local model train shows.
1984 Club moves from Burleigh Street to larger space at 10236 West Fond du Lac Avenue. Constructs and scenics a large layout for simultaneous operation of five trains.
1996 First participation in local public television's annual fund drives.
1997 First participation in local museum and zoo holiday exhibits.
1998 Club receives 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status for all donations.
2002 Club purchases and moves to a permanent location in New Berlin, Wisconsin.
2007 Layout construction continues in new quarters with three large layouts, including a standard gauge loop and Hellgate Bridge. The design enables the operation of 17 trains at once on the permanent layouts. The club celebrates its' 60th Anniversary with various events throughout the year.
2009 Acquired 500+ piece vintage toy train collection.
2017 The club celebrates its 70th anniversary and replaces its old portable layout with a new modular system that allows four trains to run at once.
2019 The MLRRC celebrates the 150th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Point, Utah completing the trans-continental railroad in 1869.
2021 MLRRC founder Jerry Brettschneider passes on July 3rd.
2022 On January 29th the MLRRC celebrated its 75th Anniversary. It is the world’s oldest Lionel club.
OUR MISSION
"The Milwaukee Lionel® Railroad Club is an educational, non-profit, charitable, and benevolent organization of individuals participating in the spirit of good fellowship by preserving our nation's railroad heritage through maintaining, operating, and demonstrating toy trains in the joy of model railroading and providing educational opportunities concerning railroading, it's influence on history, and our nation's past, current, and future development."
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