A fun event for the entire family, the Mad City Model Railroad Show and Sale is coming up in February. This will be the 55th annual show and will expand to cover 100,000 square feet. Enjoy all types of model railroads in all different scales, along with how-to clinics, exhibits, toy trains, and more than 250 vendors.

This year will feature a new layout with new exhibitors and vendors. There will be lots of things to see and do throughout the entire event. Let’s look at the information you should have before you head out to enjoy this event in February.

Exhibits for 2023

There will be many great exhibits to enjoy this year including:

• All Aboard Wisconsin
• Ashton Valley R/R Bldg. Dept
• East Troy Railroad Museum
• Great Northern Railway Historical Society
• Illinois Railway Museum
• Mid-Continent Railway Museum
• Milwaukee Road Models
• Mineral Point Railroad Museum
• Morrisonville Depot Preservation Society
• National Railroad Museum
• N-Scale Lift Crane Display
• Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad
• Wisconsin Operation Lifesaver
• And more!

All of these exhibits will be available for all those in attendance to enjoy.

New Layout & Returning Layout for the Show

The new layout this year will feature another 8 options including:

• Bluff City Modular Layout - Denver Union Station and HO scale Midwest
• WisLUG - LEGO with bridges, carnival, city, and beach
• Northwest Traction Group - HO traction layout
• Midwest Mod-U-Trak - HO scale based on the ATSF Illinois division from 1959
• Dave Schoedel Layout - O-27 and Lionel O post war
• Milwaukee Lionel Railroad Club - Lionel O-27 allowing the kids to run the trains
• European Train Enthusiasts - European trains of all types
• Santa Fe All The Way Modular Layout - HO scale of the Santa Fe mainline from the late 1950s
• Along with these new layouts, there are many returning layouts including:
• Capital City "N" Gineers
• Junction City Model Railroad Club
• Milwaukee-N-Southeastern Model Railroad Club
• Northwoods Model Railroad Club
• Rusty Rails
• Junction City Model Railroad Club
• Ron Schlicht American Flyer Trains
• WIS-ILL Modular Railroad Club
• The Royal Train
• And more!

Many of the layouts from past events will be back for everybody to enjoy.

Event Information & Tickets

The 55th Annual Mad City Model Railroad Show & Sale will happen on February 18th and 19th. It will be held at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. The hours will run from 9am to 5pm on Saturday and from 9am to 4pm on Sunday. Each day four HO train sets will be given away.

Tickets purchased before the event will cost $13 for adults with two-day passes costing $17. Children age 5 to 15 get in for $5 per day and kids under 5 years of age get in for free. You can get discount tickets at the Hobby Shop in Madison ahead of time.

There are 100 free adult tickets for Veterans from VetTix.org, as well. If you wait to buy tickets at the gate, the cost is $1 more per ticket. You can also get a family pack of tickets the day of the show for $36. This will include two adults and two kids.

Seniors 65 and over get in for $13 the day of the show and active-duty military can get in for $11 per ticket.

Find out more about the Mad City Model Railroad Show and Sale by visiting the official website.