As part of its celebration of our country’s 250th anniversary, the Mount Prospect Historical Society (MPHS) will host a model train display from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25, 2026 inside their 1896 Central Schoolhouse structure at 103 S. Maple Street, Mount Prospect. The display will be provided by model train hobbyists from the Midwest Division of the Train Collectors Association (TCA) Modular Group and sponsored by Mrs. P & Me restaurant in Mount Prospect. Admission will be free, but please sign up for timed-entry here to help minimize your wait time.
The hobbyists’ model trains will represent those which have run on American tracks since 1920, according to Jim Kleinschmidt of the TCA. But most will represent trains seen during the 1940s and 1950s. The entire schoolhouse will be filled with running model trains and experts will be on hand to answer questions and point out unique features.
Snacks and souvenirs will be sold in a neighboring Society building and attendees will be given vouchers good for a $5 discount on a food (but not alcohol) purchase of at least $30 (lunch or dinner through November 30) at the historic Mrs. P & Me tavern which is just across the nearby tracks. Historic photos of both Mount Prospect and railroad operations adorn the walls of the restaurant.
Several weeks later the MPHS will present another related program called “Railroad Ties” at the Mount Prospect Public Library on the evening of November 9. It has been developed in cooperation with the historical societies of both Des Plaines and Arlington Heights and covers how the three communities cooperated and developed along the train line.
The local division of the TCA was formed in 1960.
Mrs. P & Me was built in 1902 and originally known as Behren’s Tavern. Henry Behrens Jr.’s establishment became a gathering place for farmers who stopped by for a drink and a chat while their farm goods were loaded onto a train headed for Chicago. When Prohibition took effect in 1920, Behrens changed his menu from beer to ice cream, soda and cigars. It was eventually sold to William and Sophie Kruse, who owned it for 40 years and called it Kruse’s Tavern. The restaurant got its current name during the 1970s when it was sold again; and now it is co-owned by Chris Bozonelos and Chris Figaro.
