Last Friday I drove up to Wheeling for the MEGOMeet at The Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum. I’m going to bring you photos from that event later in the week, but right now we’re going to take a quick photographic tour of one of the coolest tourist attractions in the state: A museum filled with toys from all eras.
The Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum is currently open 7 days a week, starting at 9am with the last admisson by 4pm. Call 1-877-242-8133 for more information. In a few weeks they will open their new slot-car racing room, which promises to make for an even more exciting visit.
The Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum is conveniently located not too far from the Elm Grove exit of Interstate 70. Just don’t follow the directions that Google Maps gives you. You basically just follow the signs until you’re on Kruger Street. You should see the large, colorful sign (right) and if you miss that, you’ll probably see the building with a bright yellow full-size caboose in the parking lot (below).
This weekend, Kruger Street is playing host to the National Marx Toy Collectors Convention, which includes JohnnyCon, a sub-group devoted to Johnny West. I went up for the Marx show last year, and had a blast, but this year FestivAll duties will prevent me from attending. That doesn’t mean you can’t go.
Last Sunday I posted some of their videos, and I may have a few more videos, which I shot myself, ready for Friday’s PopCulteer, but for now we’re just going to take a leisurly stroll through the museum. This is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the cool stuff you can see at Kruger Street, so you can expect to see more ultra-nifty images here in PopCult later in the week.
On entering the museum, the first thing you see it a large Christmas Tree, which is a refreshing sight on a humid day in June.
1970's era Barbie camping equipment from the massive Doll Room.
This shot only captures part of splendor of the Vehicle Room.
The Millenium Falcon soars overhead.
I still think it would be cool to take a driver's exam in one of these.
The Miniatures Room is filled with cool classic toys like The Great Garloo and MEGO Plaet of The Apes.
Cool Stuff from the Marx Toy Company.
A wall of cool tiny things.
Another wall of cool tiny things.
Here's a random glass case filled with some of the coolest toys ever made, like Rock'em Sock'em Robots, Etch-A-Sketch, Rubiks Cube, Mr. Machine and more.
It's Dick Cheney's Pinball Machine!
Tiny Wheeling.
A wall in one of the train rooms.
One of the massive train layouts.
Another angle of the train layout.
A display of rare MEGO Fighting Yank figures--a popular knockoff of GI Joe.
More extremely-rare Fighting Yank stuff.
Tomorrow PopCult will feature the first batch of photos from last week’s MEGOMeet.
These pictures of toys are so inviting… they make me want to play with something other than myself.
IT LOOKS GREAT MUST COME. PLEASE SEND ANYTHING ON THE MUSEUM IF YOU LIKE.