Our History

Before the 1930’s, there were no common standards pertaining to model railroading. It was a time when one manufacturer’s equipment would not necessarily work with another’s or would not work on another’s track. Many modelers built to their own standards or designs. It was very difficult to run your locomotives and railcars on someone else’s layout, if not nearly impossible. It was not a good situation for the hobby at this time.

Then in 1935 the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) came into being right here in Milwaukee, WI. It started with a gathering of individuals such as Al Kalmbach, Bill Walthers, and Frank Ziegler to form a national organization to bring model railroaders together and share ideas. With their insight into founding the NMRA, they were able to bring order out of the chaos that existed in the model railroading hobby industry. Standards were developed as a way to help insure that equipment could be interchanged between one model railroad and another.

Since that time, many of the standards remain unchanged. There have been things added and refined. The NMRA has played a large roll in the standards of DCC, Digital Command Control, for example.

The NMRA celebrated its 75th Anniversary in Milwaukee during the summer of 2010. There are over 150 NMRA divisions throughout the world in 17 NMRA Regions across the globe.