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Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum Celebrates 25 Years of Fun and Games

Eric Ayres

WHEELING -- The Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum in the Elm Grove neighborhood of Wheeling is more than a sprawling showcase for many decades worth of nostalgic childhood memorabilia -- it's a glimpse into history. And on Friday, the museum marked a chapter in its own history.

A reception was held Friday evening at the museum to celebrate its 25th anniversary, marking a quarter of a century since Allan Robert Miller and his son, Allan Ray Miller, opened the local landmark on Sept. 1, 1998, in the former Kruger Street Elementary School building, circa 1907.

While the toy and train museum's history spans 25 years, the history contained within the museum's display cases and exhibits come by way of a treasure trove of eye-popping toys, trains and other collectibles.

The elder Miller -- dressed in full railroad engineer attire -- told stories to guests and shared tidbits and details about many of the toys ... and about the museum itself. He, his son and his wife, Leona, were sitting around the kitchen table thinking about what they could do to help.

"You can't bad-mouth your childhood," he said. "We had a lot of things we just wanted to share."

The Miller fellows had collected toy trains since the 1970s, and that interest grew into collecting classic toys - from the locally manufactured Marx toys to other iconic playthings from different eras. By the time the museum opened, they had amassed an extensive expertise about toy trains and other classic toys. Over the past 25 years, they've taken on a number of other people's collections and have become curators of a massive array of toys that can jar visitors from any generation back to nearly forgotten memories of their childhood.

"We want people to enjoy it," Miller said, noting that he particularly admires the meticulous details of old model trains and historically accurate toys, along with the seldom-told stories behind them. "I personally get a thrill out of what makes something tick - the real bottom line."

While the displays are eye-popping and consume three entire floors of the old school house, the exhibits represent only about 10 to 18% of the collection the Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum has.

"The rest is in storage," said Rebecca Gerlak, IT manager who for many years served as a tour guide at the museum. "We do rotate the displays on a regular basis."

In the lower level of the museum is an impressive, seemingly endless display of Snoopy and Peanuts memorabilia from the renowned collection of Dr. William Mercer. On the third floor, there are displays showcasing local history as well as the Millers' world-class collection of toy trains and working layouts of different scale models of trains.

There are also entire theme rooms dedicated to dolls, games, miniatures and toys about transportation - from old metal Marx trucks to Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars.

"We probably have one of the world's largest collections of Monopoly games," Gerlak noted. "There are about 400-500 of them -- with most of them donated from a private collection."

The museum also has a K'nex room, more modern toy displays and the world's largest commercially made puzzle -- assembled by teams of volunteers in 2019. The Disney themed puzzle has 40,320 pieces and is on display on a huge 6-feet by 22-feet panel behind glass.

The Millers may have caught the collecting bug through the toys they have amassed over the years, but it is clear to those who come to the museum that they are true history nuts at heart.

"You start out collecting toys, but as you become a more seasoned collector, you start to see the nuances," Allan Ray Miller said. "We over the years interviewed dozens of former Marx employees to find out how and why they did what they did."

The Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum is currently open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through the first week of January. For more information about the museum or to check out some of their upcoming events, visit www.toyandtrain.com.