I went to the "Golden Spike" annual trains show yesterday at the Tampa Fairgrounds before heading home.
.
I did not buy mkuch at the train show, I think I was all shopped-out!
This morning I laid out everything I bought on the trip... what fun! I spent a little over $500.00, which is not bad for visiting 9 hobby shops and a train show.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
drgwcsThat would be Lindy's trains right? Found some great deals at the one at Catawba River outside of Charlotte NC.
Yes, this is one of Lindy's remaining locations. My favorite one was in the Big Peach Antique Mall in Warner-Robbins, but he closed that location. He does have the treasures if you are willing to stop in and look around for them.
ROBERT PETRICKWhile you're buzzing around Atlanta, why not head a little northeast of town to Buford? There's a hobby shop there called Trainmaster Models run by Mike Devaney
I have been to Trainmaster many times. I have found countless treasures in the "used items aisle", including two years ago when I bought this Bowser 16" turntable that made my dream layout plan possible. I love that store. I usually need to make a hard choice when I leave Atlanta whether or not to visit Trainmaster because they are in the wrong direction.
SeeYou190 I an Henderson's has a huge dealer that sells olf trains. It is mostly Lionel, but I scored some good deals. I found an Athearn #1200 undecorated 40' boxcar for $3.00, an Athearn billboard for $5.00, a Hobbyline Berkshire kit for $4.00, and a resin retaining wall casting for $2.50.
I an Henderson's has a huge dealer that sells olf trains. It is mostly Lionel, but I scored some good deals. I found an Athearn #1200 undecorated 40' boxcar for $3.00, an Athearn billboard for $5.00, a Hobbyline Berkshire kit for $4.00, and a resin retaining wall casting for $2.50.
That would be Lindy's trains right? Found some great deals at the one at Catawba River outside of Charlotte NC. Jim
Hey Kevin-
While you're buzzing around Atlanta, why not head a little northeast of town to Buford? There's a hobby shop there called Trainmaster Models run by Mike Devaney, who used to be an N-Scaler, but the latest rumor I hear is that he is now doing O scale. He's pretty knowledgeable (world-renowned regarding C&O) and a really decent modeler.
Fully stocked brick-and-mortar LHS. Well worth the trip.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
drgwcsPS is anyone else having trouble with the quote function?
I could not get it to work last night, but it seems to be OK now.
Today I went about 60 miles East of Atlanta to Ian Henderson's Antique Mall. This is in Monroe, Georgia. If you ever get anywhere near Monroe, it is a great city for checking out antique stores.
There was this neat steam power unit outside.
"ahh, nothing better than going to the Museum of Science and Industry on a school day when all the little rugrats are let in for free...by the busload. I cannot recall, but I think that Tuesday is the free day. A few years ago, my wife went there on a weekday when there were no kids there and almost had the place to ourselves including a one-on-one tour of the submarine."
Understand that- going on a free day is a minefield and really isn't worth it. We homeschool and treated it like a fieldtrip but tried to plan when the school groups weren't there so we could get some teaching in- how's that for irony........
Jim
PS is anyone else having trouble with the quote function?
Well, I broke free from the office and went to Riverdale Station just South of the loop in Atlanta.
This is a great store that I get to visit fairly often because I have an office in Atlanta. The store is full of the goodies a builder needs, NWSL parts, Tichy Windows, Replacement Motors, Brass Details, and more. I love browsing around the small space.
If you are ever near Atlanta, this is a great stop. The owner is an older lifetime model railroader that knows everything. Very friendly atmosphere.
SeeYou190 I think the new layout depicts Chicago to Seattle. While I was in the museum, there were about 10,000 school kids in there. I could not read the explanations of most of the layout scenes.
Alton Junction
Glad to hear that you had a great time. Been following the thread but unable to log in. The current layout at MSI follows the BNSF from Chicago to Seattle. The Chicago citiscape is really amazing and well done. Most of the buildings are custom built in that portion. It is neat from above too in take flight in the aircraft above. I had seen the original one as well- If I remember right it was built by Milton Cronkite (sic) The zephyr is really neat to go through too- excellent restoration. Just have to share this story about it. In the baggage compartment they have an audioanimitronic Zeph the donkey that talks with the tourguide. The first time we went through it our eldest was three or four. The other kids really thought it was neat- the problem was Jimmy had just heard the story of Baalam and the Donkey in Sunday School the week before. He thought he was in trouble and started crying, then to compound the situation in the next car there are statues that talk that are all white. Not sure how the Sunday School teacher described the angel but it must have been a man in white......... Total crying fit.......... Took us a little while to find out what was wrong. Everytime we went there afterward we all laugh about it. Jim
Lone Wolf and Santa FeThe model railroad was different however back then. It was an O scale layout which ran from Chicago to Los Angeles. It was one of my first encounters with model trains and made a huge impact on me. I had to go see it every time I went there. I’m glad you got to see the new HO scale layout. I’m sure it’s pretty nice.
I think the new layout depicts Chicago to Seattle. While I was in the museum, there were about 10,000 school kids in there. I could not read the explanations of most of the layout scenes.
It is an impressive display, but it is in need of serious dust removal!
dknelsonI'm glad Kevin had such a great visit to the upper Midwest -- there are shops in Milwaukee he didn't get to but would have liked
Thanks Dave.
I wish I would have had more time to spend, but it was an unplanned trip and I had an awful lot of stuff I needed to do while I was there. I went to absoluely as much fun stuff as I could squeeze in.
Hopefully I will get back to the Wisconsin/Illinois/Indiana area again and have less stress and more time.
I'm glad Kevin had such a great visit to the upper Midwest -- there are shops in Milwaukee he didn't get to but would have liked -- but really, we have to get that lad a jacket or coat!
Dave Nelson
SeeYou190 Still getting around the Chicago area. I also went to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. They HO layout was impressive, but no one told me they had a Zephyr in there! That was quite a treat. . . . I will keep on making my way around Chicago. It is still real cold, and I still am freezoing in all these outdoor pictures. . -Kevin .
Still getting around the Chicago area.
I also went to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. They HO layout was impressive, but no one told me they had a Zephyr in there! That was quite a treat.
I will keep on making my way around Chicago. It is still real cold, and I still am freezoing in all these outdoor pictures.
The Chicago museum is truly a great museum. I haven’t been there since I was a kid but I remember loving it. The Zephyr and the U-Boat were there back then and so was the coal mine exhibit. The model railroad was different however back then. It was an O scale layout which ran from Chicago to Los Angeles. It was one of my first encounters with model trains and made a huge impact on me. I had to go see it every time I went there. I’m glad you got to see the new HO scale layout. I’m sure it’s pretty nice. They also had a dam exhibit that was a pretty neat model of a working dam, lake and river. Back in those days the downtown department stores always had electric train displays in their front windows this time of year. Good times.
SeeYou190Well... time to hed back South... towards Atlanta. Hopefully it will not be freezing.
Well, that did not work. It was freezing this morning. There was patchy ice on the overpasses this morning in Atlanta. Schools had a delayed start due to the weather.
I think I need to make a trip to a good old Atlanta hobby shop to make myself feel better.
I finished the week with a trip to Mr. Muffin's Trains. Mr. Muffin used to be in Carmel, Indiana, but they have moved to a new location in Atlanta, Indiana. They also have a separate cafe and shop now.
Mr. Muffins is a magnificent display of three rail Lionel O scale. It is really something to see. They do not have the layout fully put together yet, but it is still great.
On to Atlanta (Georgia, the real Atlanta).
I finished my trip around Chicago with a Northward run to Wisconsin where I stopped to visit the offices of our hosts, Kalmback Media.
Everyone was very friendly, and I had a great time. The work that goes on in the Kalmbach offices is truly impressive. What a great team these people are.
The highlight for me was seeing the only remaining GORRE & DAPHETID locomotive, 4-10-0 number 34. What a beautiful item. I was so surprised to find that it was not kept in a secure vault with armed guards.
I stopped at the Walthers Showroom, but did not get a picture, whoops.
Then I went to South Side Trains, which is a very small shop. In spite of the small size, I still managed to spend over $150.00 in there. Lots of good stuff for sure.
Well... time to hed back South... towards Atlanta. Hopefully it will not be freezing. I managed to survive a week by the Great Lakes without ever putting on a jacket, or even long sleeves.
zstripeYou mean You did not go in the coal mine at the museum?
I went into the coal mine, but after repairing mining equipment for two decades, it was one of those things that was too close to work to be enjoyable.
Some pictures of me when I was young, slender, and muscular:
My specialty, the Manitowoc Model 4600 Synchronized Drag Line. I know this magnificent beauty inside and out from top to bottom and one end to the other. These were good times for me.
Kevin,
You mean You did not go in the coal mine at the museum? Was one of the first gotta see/experience exhibits since the thirty's. One of My favorites.......
https://www.msichicago.org/explore/whats-here/exhibits/coal-mine/
Take Care!
Frank
Stopped by RAM on the way home tonite. Sign in window says closed during week for now, but open fri & sat 10-3 and sun 11-3. At least gives you an idea of when to call.
richhotrainKevin, if you like to visit museums, head out to the Illinois Railway Museum this weekend. It is a 1 hour drive northwest from Chicago. This time of year, it is only open on weekends. Quite a place
Thank you for the suggestion, but this will not be possible this time. Hopefully when I come back through in April/May 2019.
Saturday will be spent in Lafayette, Indiana, and then I will head towards Atlanta.
mlehman SeeYou190 I also went to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. They HO layout was impressive, but no one told me they had a Zephyr in there! That was quite a treat. That would be a pleasant surprise if you didn't know it was lurking. IIRC it is a rather recnt addition like in the last couple of decades. There's also a submarine. The whole place is not to be missed. At one time, the place had a connection to the Chicago Tunnel Co RR, too.
SeeYou190 I also went to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. They HO layout was impressive, but no one told me they had a Zephyr in there! That was quite a treat.
That would be a pleasant surprise if you didn't know it was lurking. IIRC it is a rather recnt addition like in the last couple of decades.
There's also a submarine. The whole place is not to be missed. At one time, the place had a connection to the Chicago Tunnel Co RR, too.
Rich
SeeYou190I also went to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. They HO layout was impressive, but no one told me they had a Zephyr in there! That was quite a treat.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Kevin, glad to see that you made it to Lombard Hobbies and Walt's Hobby Shop.
Two of my favorite places.
I went to a couple more hobby shops. I started at Lombard Hobbies. Found a whole bunch of Walthers code 83 rail joiner that I had been looking for. That was a good stop.
Also made a stop at Walts Hobby Shop. This was an excellent example of a full line hobby retailer. Great store.
Has anyone been to RAM Hobby in the past several months? When I've called during his typical business hours, all I've gotten is a recording about being closed for now, due to health issues.
RAM is usually a regular stop on my gang's annual Chicago hobby shop run, but we bypassed it this year in favor of Zientek's, based on the phone recording.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
It's Chicago in December. Grow the beard, invest in a coat. Pneumonia is lurking just around the corner. That's in the better parts of Chicago. It gets worse near the yards...
I made time to get to DesPlaines today. This was a great store. Even though I had never been there before, the whole staff treated my wife and I great. Everyone and everything about this shop was A+.
Even though it cost me $12.00 in tolls, it was still worth it.
I picked up a couple of automobiles and a bunch of detail parts.
Yes, if you are in the area, you must stop here.
I am freezing in this picture. It is so cold outside!
Oh... and I shaved!
richhotrain drgwcs There are ton's of great shops in the Chicago area. That might be a bit of an overstatement. There used to be a ton of hobby shops in and around Chicago, but not anymore.
drgwcs There are ton's of great shops in the Chicago area.
There are ton's of great shops in the Chicago area.
That might be a bit of an overstatement. There used to be a ton of hobby shops in and around Chicago, but not anymore.
I guess it is all pretty much relative- loved the variety of shops when we lived there and got spoiled. (may not have been as many as there used to be but it was way more than I was used to.) The trade off was a little apartment with little room for a layout. Now I have room but the closest hobby shops from Danville VA are in Raleigh and Spencer NC about 1 1/2 hours away. (there was a small one here that closed just before we moved here due to the owner's health) That has been the story of where we have lived through the years. We are generally an hour away or more from a hobby shop. The only place where we lived where there was a hobbyshop close besides Chicago was when I was in Bible College years ago in Springfield, MO. (although one could argue that with Chicago traffic even a hobby shop 20 blocks away could be an hour....) Strangely I have always found a club or group of modelers wherever we lived though. We have a great club in Danville.
drgwcs I couldn't tell if if it was a hobby shop with a hoarding problem or a hoarding problem with a hobby shop..
I really think it is a hoarding problem with a hobby shop. I saw stuff in there I will never understand.
richhotrainI will once again point out that Walt's Hobbies in Crest Hill, a suburb on the north edge of Joliet, is one huge shop catering to model railroaders. To me, for anyone making a trip to the Chicago area, Walt's Hobbies is a must stop
I will echo the sentiment. Walt's has been my 'goto' place for decades now. If Bob doesn't have it in stock... he'll get it for you. Scores of locomotives in all scales, shelves of all manufacturer's freight/passenger cars, paint, supplies and everything you will need for your hobby. Plenty of RC equipment, plastic model car/plane kits and a decent selection of literature. It's also the unofficial 'official hobby store' of our railroad club.
Len S