Recommended Train stores in NYC

[Anonymous]

I'm headed to NYC next month for a visit of family and am curious if anyone can recommend some nice train stores to check out. Areas to include, Queens, L.I. and NYC, Scarsdale. Anyone have any suggestions?

[thor]

Trainland in Lynbrook, just over the border past Queens is THE train shop to use. Its right by an LIRR station too. I live in Woodhaven, Queens. Be happy to help if you want a ride provided you dont mind being in a motorcycle sidecar!

I've checked out quite a few hobby shops but Trainland is my favourite.

[lynbrookyankee]

I definitely second the recommendation to visit Trainland in Lynbrook (I live in Lynbrook so I am either lucky or unlucky - I can rarely stop in without buying something). A little bit further east in Freeport is Nassau Hobby Center - it is worth a visit if you come to Lynbrook (its only 10-15 minutes away and literally a straight drive east).

[Anonymous]

OK thanks, is it Trainworld or Trainland?? I'm being told both names.

[thor]

Theres two of them Trainland and Trainworld - both the same organization. One store is in Brooklyn and the other is in Lynbrook. I havent been to the Brooklyn one partly because its a bit out of the way for me but also because I used to live in Valley Stream, the town next to Lynbrook and I got used to Trainland. The two stores advertise in the model railway mags every month, two page spreads. HO as well as O.

[dougdagrump]

Aren't they going to have a big "In House" sale at the end of this month. [:(]

[lynbrookyankee]

Yes, all day March 25. I'll be away for the weekend so I wont be tempted to stop in.

[Anonymous]

The Trainworld is in Brooklyn it is under and acros the st from the Ditmas stop on the F train. It is not so bad a trip. If you want you could continue on to Coney Island.

I will be there this weekend after I see the Whitney Biennial.

Also see the MTA Shop in Grand Central. Nearby is the Manhatten Train Shop and The Red Caboose. Both on 45th St. The Red Caboose is the shop mentioned in the Sam Posey Book. The owner is pretty cranky. But he knew all the old school NYC dealers. The shop used to be the Polk shop. On 14th St is the Styvisant Train Shop. All Lionel. A little small space wise but he is a nice guy. See the MTA muesum in downtown Brooklyn. In the Bronx is another shop that has good prices in O but I forget the name and it is hard to get to by public transit.

Have fun.

[mitchelr]

Anything in Manhattan that is must see? I will be in NYC area in April.

[thor]

Well now I can thoroughly recommend Trainland in Lynbrook. They had a sale today, we went there and I chose an MTH flat wagon with two 50 Chevy tow trucks, that was $20 and I bought a FastTrack remote switch (works beautifully) a FastTrack to O conversion piece and a large oval of tubular track $8. It came to more than we had so I dumped the wagon and the guy asked what our budget was and when we said $75 he threw in the wagon anyway!

What a difference that made. I can now run two trains or I thought I could but the switch doesnt isolate the siding when switched to main. Never mind I can put fiber pins in on the tubular extension and use a toggle switch.

Those two Atlantics I got for 20 each with Pullmors run like champs and make that wonderful smell too! So we're pretty much set now. We can run trains from one room to another and have them run round in circles too, what more do you need?

I like the way the old track makes the clicketty clack sound, I'm seriously thinking of taking a swiss file to my FastTrack to cut tiny V's so I get that noise.

I could have spent a fortune in Trainland today!