Trainfest

To foster WISE's primary purpose of stimulating public education and interest in model railroading, WISE presents Trainfest, America's largest operating model railroad show. Normally this show would be held at the Wisconsin Expo Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park, a 200,000 square foot facility. In 2020, this facility was turned into a Covid19 hospital and was unavailable to us. No other facility in the area can provide the square footage we need plus the pandemic made it impossible to carry out our plans. Our fiscal year calendar causes some expenses and revenues related to Trainfest,to carry over from one fiscal year to another.

The WISE Division sponsors meets open free to the public and held on a Sunday afternoon at a local hotel on designated months from Sept. to April. These meets are conducted by volunteers and are intended to present to and educate the public in the history of railroads and model railroading. Each meet includes a program presenting slides, demos, or Power Point on historic railroading, model building or other aspects of the model railroad hobby. The meets also include a model contest room where modelers display the models or photos for judging by popular vote in various categories. The WISE Division also brings its DVD lending library to the meets. Members can borrow, at no cost, up to 4 items at a time. This program was has been suspended due to the pandemic.

In a normal year, we rent buses to take members and other guests to model railroad shows and related entertainment

This very popular program with excellent attendance and guidance was terminated at the request of the NMRA Headquarters Board.