The Model Railroad Club of Toronto (MRCT) is an

O scale O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sca ...

model railroad Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

club founded in 1938 by Harry Ebert and Borden Lilley.

History

Originally located in founder Ebert's basement, the MRCT soon moved to new premises at Toronto's

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the railways annexed the space the Club occupied and in January 1946, the Club moved to premises in the basement of 171 East Liberty Street in what is now part of Toronto's

Liberty Village Liberty Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered to the north by King Street West, to the west by Dufferin Street, to the south by the Gardiner Expressway, to the east by Strachan Avenue, and to the northeast by the ...

neighbourhood. Since the mid-1960s the Club has built and operated its layout as the Central Ontario Railway. In the spring of 2013, the club's Liberty Village home was overtaken by

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

of the once industrial neighborhood, and the club has relocated to 11 Curity Avenue, Toronto..

Annual Public Show days

The Club hosts Annual Shows (open to the public) on the first three Saturdays and Sundays of February and on the

Family Day Family Day is a public holiday in the countries of Angola, Israel, South Africa, Uruguay, Vanuatu, and Vietnam; in the Australian Capital Territory; in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and soon New Brunswic ...

holiday.

References

External links

* Rail transport modelling associations Clubs and societies based in Toronto Organizations established in 1946 1946 establishments in Canada {{Model-rail-stub