The Milwaukee & Northern Railway Historical Society

also known as the Neenah-Menasha Model Railroad Club

The Milwaukee and Northern Railway Historical Society (MNRHS) was founded in 1964, to perpetuate and share the history of one of Eastern Wisconsin’s and Upper Michigan’s historic railroads.

Housed in the Milwaukee & Northern’s 1882 Neenah, Wis., depot, it includes the Neenah-Menasha Model Railroad Club.

The Club loosely models the Milwaukee & Northern in O Scale, primarily the Menasha Branch.

The Menasha Branch, which runs from Hilbert Junction, Wis., to Menasha, Wis., was completed in 1871. The branch was extended to Appleton in 1880 and Neenah in 1881.

M&N letterhead circa 1873
1889 M&N Pass
M&N pass from 1889
Neenah Depot
A CN local passes the former M&N Neenah depot on 17 June 2018. Photograph by Tom Bruss.
Vetter Sash & Door Co. at Sherwood
Wally positions a SOO switcher near the Vetter Sash & Door Co. facility at Sherwood. Photograph by Richard Hopfensperger.
Open House (20211002)
Open house on 2 October 2021 for NMRA Winnebagoland Division Fall Meet. Photograph by Tom Bruss.
Pembine Depot
A CN train passes the union depot at Pembine, Wis., on 30 Sep. 2014. Photograph by Tom Bruss.
Iron Mountain Depot
An E&LS train passes the former CM&StP, or MILW, depot at Iron Mountain, Mich., on 23 July 2021. Photograph by Tom Bruss.
Neenah Depot
Model of our 1882 M&N depot at Neenah. Photograph by Tom Bruss.
Channing Depot
The former M&N depot at Channing, Mich., on 26 June 2021. Photograph by Tom Bruss.
HC 101 at St. John
HC 101 at St. John in October 2021. Photograph by Richard Hopfensperger.
Menasha Enginehouse
The former M&N enginehouse at Menasha, Wis., circa the 1960s. Photograph by Larry Easton, co-founder of the MNRHS.
Neenah Foundry at Neenah
Neenah Foundry Co. at Neenah on 24 November 2021. Photograph by Richard Hopfensperger.
Menasha Depot
The former M&N depot at Menasha, Wis., circa the 1960s. Photograph by Larry Easton, co-founder of the MNRHS.
Menasha Depot
A model of the MILW Menasha depot on our model railroad as seen on 17 June 2020. Photograph by Tom Bruss.
Appleton Depot
The M&N depot at Appleton, Wis., circa the 1960s. Photograph by Larry Easton.
Bergstrom Paper at Neenah
Bergstrom Paper Co. at Neenah on 24 November 2021. Photograph by Richard Hopfensperger
Plymouth Depot
A WSOR train passes the former MILW and C&NW depots at Plymouth, Wis., on 13 March 2021. Photograph by Tom Bruss.
Hilbert Junction Depot
The M&N depot and yard at Hilbert Junction, Wis. Photograph Courtesy of the Oshkosh Public Museum.
St. John
Scene at St. John in October 2021. Photograph by Richard Hopfensperger.
Sherwood Depot
The circa 1899 MILW depot at Sherwood, Wis. Photograph Courtesy of the Oshkosh Public Museum.
Open House (20191215)
Our annual open house on 15 December 2019. Photograph by Tom Bruss.
Neenah Depot
The former M&N Neenah depot in December of 1961. Photograph by Larry Easton, co-founder of the MNRHS.
Levenhagen at Neenah
Levenhagen Oil Corp. at Neenah on 24 November 2021. Photograph by Richard Hopfensperger.
Stiles Junction Depot
The former M&N/C&NW union depot at Stiles Junction, Wis., ca. the 1960s. Photograph by Larry Easton.
Channing Depot
The former M&N depot at Channing, Mich., ca. 1912. Photograph courtesy of the Dickinson County Library and the Upper Peninsula Regional Digitization Center.
Model Railroad-Menasha
Scene near the Menasha depot on our model railroad on 9 December 2019. Photograph by Richard Hopfensperger.
Buettner Depot
Buettner depot along the Appleton Branch on 24 November 2021. Photograph by Richard Hopfensperger.
Neenah-Menasha Model Railroad Club

Latest News

UPDATE – About Us

August 20, 2023

The 18 August 2023 edition of Neenah News included a nice article about us. We made the front page! A local journalist compiled the article after a recent conversation with Wally Rogers. You can check

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