Hello Everyone,
I am staying in Phoenix, (Peoria actually) for the week and although I have found a few stores online, I'm not sure which one(s) would be worth going to. Any opinions out there?
Thanks!
RJ
"Something hidden, Go and find it. Go and look behind the ranges, Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go." The Explorers - Rudyard Kipling
http://sweetwater-photography.com/
An Affair With Trains is across the street from the Deer Valley airport. (area just west of 7th street and a mile or so north of the 101) Alan and Bob are helpful and generally most items are lower than MSRP. They are open 10 to 5 every day, till 8 on Friday.
301 W Deer Valley Rd#4 Phoenix, AZ 85027
Paul
Other than An Affair With Trains that has already been mentioned, the only other one I know of is Roy's Train World on Country Club in Mesa if your interest is HO or N scale. The last time I ever shopped there everything was full MSRP.
For Lionel O and G scale items exclusively, there used to be a shop on McKellips Road in Mesa, but I don't recall the exact location or name.
Arizona is a disaster area as far as hobby shops that cater to model railroaders are concerned -- only one in Tucson, which is the closest to me (70+ miles). There used to be at least 6 in Tucson. Phoenix is a 4 hour one-way drive for me, so I never shop there.
duckdogger An Affair With Trains is across the street from the Deer Valley airport. (area just west of 7th street and a mile or so north of the 101) Alan and Bob are helpful and generally most items are lower than MSRP. They are open 10 to 5 every day, till 8 on Friday. 301 W Deer Valley Rd#4 Phoenix, AZ 85027 (602) 249-3781 Paul
Apparently, they moved, because the last time I was in Phoenix, An Affair With Trains was on Bethany Home and the Black canyon.
When I built my first permanent layout, the BEST place for model railroad equipment was Val's Hobby Hangar in Glendale. I sure do miss Val; he was a real straight shooter.
There is also Litchfield Station, since you're staying in the west valley. But, most of their business is in DCC. I've heard great things about their decoder and sound installations. Litchfield Station
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
The Hobby Bench has a train department, and two stores.
The Bell Road location is out where you are.
Roy's is the best of the lot overall. It's a full list price store though.
Non Profit Train Video Review Information.
William
I realize that it has been quite some time since you posted your comment, but just in case you still happen to venture to The Old Pueblo for your model railroading supplies, I thought I would provide some information to you. You likely are already well aware of this information, but if you are not aware yet, then you might be happy to know there is a second source of supplies located in Tucson. This source has new and used items for sale, and several of their new items are under MSRP. The place, to which I am referring, is Gadsden Pacific Division Toy Train Operating Museum. The only problem is that outside of a couple special events each year, they are only open on Sundays, and their hours of operation are between 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. A short window indeed, and which I have easily missed several times, and I live in Tucson! Although the following link is currently not functioning, I will leave it regardless because I'm hoping that is only a temporary condition: gpdtrains.org They do have a facebook account, but with me not using facebook, I'm not sure how much information they have on it compared to their website: https://www.facebook.com/GadsdenPacificDivisionToyTrainOperatingMuseum/
They do charge a fee to enter the museum, but I have never had to pay for merely shopping at their gift shop.
However, just around the calendar corner, they have their annual(?) Tucson Toy Train and Collectible Show coming up on Sunday November 12th, 2023 from 9:00 am through 2:00 pm. So, that's a longer window of opportunity than one of their regular days, 5 hours as opposed to 3 hours. However, I believe the 2:00 pm end time is for the trade show only, and their museum and gift shop will remain open until the usual closing time of 4:00 pm. They will allegedly have 70+ tables of trains, toys, and collectibles to browse. Best of all, besides the show being free, the museum will also have free admission for the day.
If you were previously familiar with the museum in the past, and although it has been some time since, they have relocated to their current address which is 3975 N. Miller Ave, in Tucson.
I hope this information helps somebody!
One important detail I had forgot to mention is that the museum does close down over the summer months. I can't recall the exact dates, so for anybody this information may affect, just be aware of it.