Hobby stores in Chicago

[rockisland4309]

Hello Everyone!! I'm flying up to Chicago for Thanksgiving to visit family and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good hobby store in the Chicagoland area which has good selection of HO scale. Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Depends on where in Chicago. The actual city or the suburbs? Park Ridge has Hill's Hobbies which is pretty good. Actually that's the biggest one I know of right now. I think my dad may know another one but I'm at work right now and can't get a hold of him. Walthers has a link on their web page where you can search their registered hobby shops list you could try there.

Good luck!

-Dale

[rockisland4309]

I was looking at both in the city and suburbs. My sister lives in Aurora.

[Anonymous]

That's 40 miles a little south and then straight west of Downtown Chgo.

You problably want the Western burbs.

[Anonymous]

Al's Hobby Shop in Elmhurst is very good and is real close to the Metra station. You would have easy access, the store is just around the corner on the north side. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I have not been there but look at www.lombardhobbies.com. (Lombard Illinois)They are just west of Villa Park, which is west of the Elmhurst Metra station . All three communities are on the same track .

[Anonymous]

Hate to tell ya, Lombard Hobbies is not one of what I would call acceptable. I live in Lombard but I go to Al's in Elmhurst.

[Jetrock]

I highly recommend Chicagoland Hobbies, especially if you're into traction. Hill's Hobbies in Park Ridge was great as well--and there's a hobby shop in LaGrange Park (on LaGrange Avenue, a bit south of the railroad tracks) which is terrific but I can't recall the name (though I think it's LaGrange Hobby.)

I went on a trip to Chicago this spring and hit as many hobby shops as my wife would permit me to visit--about a dozen. I also *VERY HIGHLY* recommend visiting the Museum of Science and Industry--their new GIGANTIC HO layout (depicting much of downtown Chicago and Seattle, with points in between, including Chicago's METRA, subway and El system)--it's a mind-blower! It will make you wish for a warehouse and a couple million bucks to blow on something of similar scope...

[Jetrock]

Oh yeah, one I forgot--there's one in Franklin Park (on Franklin) which specializes in N scale, and has a magnificent N scale club layout in the basement. They're also next to the railroad tracks, and they have an old interlocking tower on display that I think is sometimes open for tours.

Chicago in general is great for train-watching--lots of working yards, Metra and El trains, that lovely union station downtown...oh yeah, the Museum of Science and Industry also has a fully-restored Burlington Zephyr!

[AltonFan]

I highly recommend Des Plaines Hobbies http://www.desplaineshobbies.com/ in Des Plaines, in the shopping center at Lee Street (Mannheim Road) and Oakton Street. I also like Chicagoland Hobby http://www.chicagoland-hobby.com/ on Northwest Highway in Chicago.

Lombard Hobbies http://www.lombardhobbies.com/ has a lot of HO at discount prices, but selection might be limited. If you're after plastic locomotives, this would be a good place to look. But the place has weaknesses as a general hobby shop.

Hill's Hobby Shop in Park Ridge is overrated, unless you're into O scale, or Lionel. (They do have a nice selection of brass engines in HO.) The place used to be a real cool hobby shop, but about ten or fifteen years ago, their focus shifted from trains to collectible toys. The place is weak as a general hobby shop. However, because of their long-standing reputation, and because they offer cash for used trains, Hill's occasionally has a nice selection of good used stuff. It also has the advantage of being within five minutes of my workplace.

End of Track Hobbies in Franklin Park is only worth visiting if you are in N scale, or to see their layout. Everything other than N scale is a sideline. I visit there only sporadically, but I haven't seen much in the way of new stock, even when I go months between visits. (I speak as an N scaler.)

There is also a small railroad oriented park around the back of End of Track hobbies, with the old Milwaukee interlocking tower and IIRC, a caboose. Not a bad place to watch Metra commuter trains and some freight operations. Canadian Pacific's (former Milwaukee Road) Bensenville yard is a short distance away from this place.

If you are looking for older building kits, you might try RAM Hobby on Higgins Road in Chicago. However, the stock is basically stacked from floor to ceiling, and not in any particular order. Also the owner is a character, and has a bit of an attitude. When I was there last, he only accepted payment in cash or by VISA, and would only take checks from people he knew, and he will tell you that he doesn't know you.

I hope this is useful to you.

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rockisland4309

Hello Everyone!! I'm flying up to Chicago for Thanksgiving to visit family and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good hobby store in the Chicagoland area which has good selection of HO scale. Thanks in advance!

Well I don't know how far you wan't to drive while you're in the "area", rockisland, but about 90 miles or so southwest of Chicago is my LHS which the owner, a former one time Rock Island emplyee states, is the "Home of the Rock Shop".

Have I piqued your interest? [:p]

[Anonymous]

For HO scale selection, it's hard to beat Des Plaines Hobbies. Wide range of manufacturers, and lots of limited run items. If you're looking for detail parts, this is definitely the place for you.

[Anonymous]

I just happened to visit one today in palatine. It was a neat little shop with CNW seeming dominant. plus the real trian runs right through there if you wait long enough(Metra, I beleive) the setting is a neat little area which appears to have been a station at one time now decorated in railroad attire and cobblestone. It is on Slade st.

[AltonFan]

QUOTE: If you're looking for detail parts, this is definitely the place for you.

And Ron Sebastian (the owner of Des plaines Hobbies) is taking a big risk by putting the stuff out where everyone can see it, get a good look at it, and decide if he needs it. Very few items are sequestered in locked cases.

But that's why I like doing business there.

[Anonymous]

I guess I have to plug my own shop as I am the new kid in the neighborhood. Try stopping by Grayland Station, 5514 W. Devon, Chicago, IL 60646. I have railroad models & memorabilia as well as airline models and memorabilia. N-scale is dominant at the moment, with Ho a close second, and all discounted. For directions:
www.graylandstation.com or call 773-594-1906.
Thanks

[Anonymous]

Hill's Hobby in Park Ridge has a "long-standing reputation," alright. Let's just say that the "Help Wanted" sign in the front window seems to be a permanent fixture -- I've seen it there all year, for many years. This is because employers keep getting the kind of help that they keep hiring. BE CERTAIN that you get a proper receipt for anything which you purchase at any store -- don't become the patsy for a clerk who's "skimming the till," no matter how the kid fusses and fumbles and pretends that the cash register is out of paper. Be especially watchful a few minutes before a store's closing time, when supervisors are often busy elsewhere and can't see what's going on in front -- and when polite customers feel rushed to get their merchandise and "let everyone go home." If you say, "Oh, that's OK," and walk out the door without a receipt, the clerk will pocket the proceeds without having rung the sale -- and will, when the shortage comes to light, point at the hapless patron as the thief. Protect yourself- ALWAYS GET A RECEIPT!

[Anonymous]

If you plan to visit Chicago later in the year, try America's Best Hobby Shop in Itasca, Illinois. I believe it's a family-owned and operated business (make sure you say 'hi' to grandma--she's a great gal and seems to always be helping out behind the check out counter!) and the atmosphere is pleasant. Nice selection to choose from. The staff is courteous and they always seem eager to help you.

[eshoben]

Anyone have any other ideas for detail parts and trucks? I've been to Des Plaines Hobbies (and will go again although the shop is strictly MSRP), but I wondered if anyone had any other suggestions. Anybody know any place that carries Bethlehem parts?

Thanks for the help.

[Green Bay Paddlers]

I grew up just outside of LaGrange and LOVE the LaGrange Hobby Shop. Great hobby store! Al's in Elmhurst is fantastic as well!

[Jetrock]

I just got back from Chicago and found some nice things--the stop at Chicagoland Hobbies resulted in the largest cash layout, incurred after going through their half-price box and finding many useful traction-model components. Next most expensive was a trip to LaGrange Hobby where i picked up an N-scale Bachmann trolley, either for conversion to an HOn30 Climax or for use as a "background" model on my HO scale trolley layout.

I also stopped at Hill's Hobby in Park Ridge, where I came *this* close to buying a Baldwin-Westinghouse steeplecab (it didn't run well enough for my taste) but bought a bunch of books. My final stop was at Des Plaines Hobbies which had so much stuff I didn't have time to look at it all--they have a *lot* of stuff. I heard about a place called Golden Spike but didn't have a chance to check it out. I spent most of the two-day trip home on the California Zephyr reading railroad books and snapping photos out the window. We were detoured through Wyoming, which must have disappointed some hoping to see the Rockies but gave me a chance to shoot some neat trackside stuff on "rare miles" that passenger trains normallly don't see, including UP's Green River depot.