Whats your LHS like?

[Fergmiester]

One's in a Mobile Home. Amazing what you can get in one of those puppies!

And the other is in an historic building and has about 1400 square feet. 500 of that is the train section. Again they've packed a fair bit of stuff into it. I don't think we have the population or the interest to have a truly train devoted LHS. Someone trid it several years ago but folded.

[Javern]

very mom & pop, door propt open in summer and they wear coats inside in winter as they refuse to heat/cool the place. Stuff stacked everywhere with little or no organization, however when a customer calls and inquires about a product they ( the owners ) know exactly what they have and know where its located.

Depending on what time of day you go there they are eating their meal or evidence of a eaten meal right on the counter. Grandkids are there sometimes making a mess and friends stop by and sit on folding chairs and gossip. Old wooden floors and old light fixtures with just enough lit to see your way around.

[Anonymous]

My LHS closed. It was something like Madego Trains. It WAS in North Little Rock, but closed sometime around the mid 90s. [:(] I bought my SP SD9 in black widow paint from him. [:)] It was a small store but the owner knew his stuff AND he did advertise in Model Railroader.

There are several hobby shops in Little Rock. The only one I have been to, well, let's just say I was not impressed. The others are a drive that I don't care to make. (If you live in NLR you tend to like to stay on THIS side of the river.) [;)]

To be honest with you, I now consider my LHS to be Battlefield Station in Springfield, Missouri. That is where I purchased my entire fleet of Frisco passenger cars (both blue/silver heaveyweight and red/silver streamlined) and all 3 of my Frisco E8/9 units. Plus my FA1/FB1 set came from there too. Now THAT is a good hobby shop. They have tons of stuff to choose from and carry all scales. Plus they also carry RC cars and planes, plus book, vids, mags, well you name it, they have it. [:D] It is an out of state drive but at least when I go I can get a home cooked meal from my parents. [:D] (Fried fish is one of my favorites too and they like to make it for me. [:D] [:p] [:D] )

[n2mopac]

Since I live in smallville USA my LHS looks a lot like a computer screen/web browser. Boy I sure miss those shops in Fort Worth and Dallas though.
Ron

[jeep35]

Living in the Baltimore area, the best place for HO and N scale is M.B. Kleins (modeltrainstuff.com) on the tnternet.
The store is chock-full of trains and supplies. So much so that moving around the store can be difficult. Excellent selection and prices.

Jim

[tstage]

There are two LHS in my neck of the woods that I frequent and both are very good. Both are authentic hobby shops - in the true sense of the word - and I visit and patronize each of them for entirely different reasons.

While one has a better and wider selection of stock (and cheaper prices); the other has a good selection of stock but a very knowledgable train guy who can answer my questions and fix things, if I need him to. While one has an extensive line of modeling books and magazines that I can peruse through; the other has some but is more specialize in the modeling aspect. Even though I might be able to pick up an Accurail kit for a buck or two cheaper at the first store, I'll spend the extra amount at the second store because of the help that I've received from them that day, or in the past.

The real plus of any LHS is the personal contact that you have and establish with them as a customer. The other is the ability to be able to see, touch, hold, and compare the product - and STILL BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS IF YOU NEED TO!!! [:D]

I am very grateful for both of these LHS. Each of them has been very helpful and treat me well as a customer. I will continue to give them as much support as I can reasonable afford. With the economy and the hobby the way it is, any good LHS worth it's weight in gold is going to treat its customer base well - or it won't be in the busness for much longer.

Tom

[darth9x9]

My LHS is excellent! Very knowledgable staff with at least one person dedicated to each scale. They can order just about anything I can provide a manufacturer and stock number for. They even shipped me stuff while I was deployed to Bosnia. My LHS's name......M.B. Kleins! www.modeltrainstuff.com

[Anonymous]

I have 2 LHS locatated near me with in 5 mins each both have there good points. Neither has a large stock but I can order almost anything I need. My favorite is Trains Etc in Cuyahoga Falls the owner is nice and knows me by name. Chuck is always helpful and he even lets me borrow his train videos with out a rental fee. was in there today and one of his guys gave me a history lesson on a old round house location that I never even had a clue about. I wont take my train needs anywhere else you just cant get that kinda service in most places. They are just too customer friendly!!!

[Anonymous]

I live in Germany. So my "LHS" is near 200 kilometers away. US modelrailway shops are not often here and with an excelent service I had find only one.

So I must sa that All American Trains at Kaarst is my LHS.

My next shops are in the U.S., thousands of miles away.

[Anonymous]

polozi- I enjoy spending time with John (the one telling the Roundhouse story) He's a wealth of information. My two favorite stories are about the steepest grade and about helper service in Akron. I've learned a lot from him. He's also learned some from me about modern railroading.The problem I have with the other store is they don't seem to recieve new stock very much. Though I do like the worker there, though youo must prove yourself first.
Andrew

[Anonymous]

I've got 1 20 minutes away, pretty much a Walthers catalog with a door.
I've got 2 35 minutes away. One is a huge Walthers catalog with a door, One is an old school shop, with brass and parts galore.
I've also got one 2 minutes from where I work.( 1 hour from home) Not much train selection, but lots of styrene and brass raw materials and paint.
Not too shabby, all in all![:D]

[Dayliner]

We have a number of good hobby shops here in the Greater Vancouver (BC) area, and not just general hobby shops, but good train stores. Central Hobbies gets most of my business. (You know they're good when the awning over the door is shaped like a CP Royal Hudson!) It's right under a massage parlour and the atmosphere inside is positively Dickensian, with an almost unnavigable clutter of the best train stuff you will ever find. The folks--both buying and selling--are pretty Dickensian, too. Best part? Walked in today and Bill said "That decoder you wanted is in."

"Where everybody knows your name."

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock
The next one out, in the suburbs but still technically in town, is Bruce's Trains, which is the descendant of a hobby shop I've been visiting for about 25 years. Wide selection of items, staff incredibly helpful and willing to have their brains picked, prices reasonable if not fabulous.

The third one is actually in a nearby city about 20 miles away, Riverside Hobbies in Roseville. It's not quite as big as Bruce's but the selection is quite good and the staff very friendly. Prices tend to be very good, a little lower than the prices I see for things in the Walthers catalog, although the extra drive makes up for the price difference--unless I'm out in that neck of the woods anyhow I usually won't make a special trip.

There is some R/C hobby shop nearby that has some G-scale stuff, but I don't do G scale--neither my wallet nor my garage (nor my backyard) has the capacity for those behemoths...

Bruce's? Fabulous prices? I don't hink so. Everything in that store is MSRP. Except the HO steam which is -10% but plus 8.25% which brings it back up next to MSRP.
The staff is pretty freindly, except for one guy.

Railroadhobbies needs a wider selection, but has a nice enviroment.

Riverside Hobbies is not for moderl railroaders. Mostly LL garbage and a few random Accurail kits. they cater to mostly RC and airplane people.

[jrbernier]

I live in a town of just under 100,000 in total population. I have 1 LHS that sells trains, R/C and plastics. It does not have a great selection of detail parts in stock, but they can order what I want and usually get it in a week. I do get a nice discount, so a lot of my purchases go to the LHS rather than mail order.
About a year ago, the owner died, and the shop operation was in question. His wife and his brother have kept the shop open, and have actually expanded the train section. They carry the usual Athearn/MDC/Accurail/Walthers items, and also Spectrum Steam, P2K, Kato, and BLI engines. I live about 75 miles from a major metro area that has several well stocked shops, but tend to order via my LHS....

Jim

[Anonymous]

In my area, there are six trains-only hobby shops. Another has a wide selection of trains but also carries airplane and car plastic kits. The owner of this shop and the hangers-on tend to be really skilled narrow gauge modelers and the store's train stock reflects that. They also have the really well organized, large stock of detail parts.

Of the group of six, two cater almost exclusively toy train and G enthusiasts. The others have varying mixes of product.

Some owners are very knowledgeable about the product, one is very knowledgeable about how to do and build things, being and MMR. This same one (and the only one of all seven) is really knowledgeable about DCC (primarily Lenz but carries the others).

Pricing tends to mostly be at list, with two exceptions. At one, I can buy sound decoders at nearly the same price I could be on-line.

I seldom have anyone order anything for me, but they all offer that service, with varying degrees of timeliness from 2 weeks to never.

My one gripe with all of them is if I buy a product and find it defective, it is my problem to deal with getting a replacement or a repair.

[bogp40]

I am located about 6 miles south of Boston, beside the biggies in the metro area, there are few very good shops within a 30 min drive. These shops are of the one man plus helper variety.- friendly, knowledgeable ,multi scale and have a good selection. One in particular is a fairly new store of about 3yr The Platinum Spike in Cohasset, Ma. My fellow club members as myself, really enjoy this LHS since the owner is one of our members. The new store is 99% completed. It is actually located in the origional baggage/ freight house along the old New Haven line from Boston to Plymouth. The Old Colony Commuter rail, is restoring rail service as I write and will pass within 30 feet of the store. As I was finishing some of the restorations to the building I asked if he would like me to add a large picture window @ trainside to place the bleachers. A 150' demo loop of Lionel and HO is now up and running. Many orders are taken on a meeting night and goodies delivered to same if you like. Even though our club is HO, his shop caters to all scales.

[simon1966]

K-10 model trains in Maryville, IL (about 18 miles from the St. Louis arch, is a fantastic LHS. A small store, but packed to the rafters with a good assortment. Prices are always in the 20% below Walthers. Also, Ken sells radio control cars, so is already a Horizon dealer and continues to stock blue boxes. The hobby shop has odd hours, but they are ususally open when i am out of work. Behind the store is a huge HO scale layout. Ken is really good with advice and there are always a lot of very knowledgable folk hanging around. http://www.k-10smodeltrains.com/default.htm

The web site has a lot of pictures of the layout on it, well worth a look.

[Anonymous]

Well I don't think I can really call the one in my town a hobby shop as all they want to do is order what you want and carry a few things which they want an arm and a leg for, so that reason I either have to drive 45 miles to the next HS that carries about all you want or order from Standard Hobby Supply which I do both of alot.