To be honest, I really dislike ordering online, and prefer shopping locally, I mean ordering online just isn't the same as being able to see, hold, and have it that day.
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
The "Nobody plays with toy trains" line was pretty unfortunate. I have been in several specialized (i.e., RR) hobby shops when a person comes off the street and asks for products for a different hobby. The general response has always been to explain that those products aren't available here; but the sales person refers the visitor to another shop where they do sell the item the person wants. It's simple professional courtesy. For someone to refer to someone else's hobby in an insulting, dismissive way is just plain rude, and a poor excuse for customer service. I admire the efforts of people who follow other hobbies, even if I don't share their particular passion.
As for LHS's, I'm fortunate to live within reasonable driving distance of several. I'm closest to Main Line Hobby, in Blue Ridge Summit, PA; and that's where I do most of my hobby shopping. I can't recommend them highly enough! They're always friendly, well informed, well-stocked, and willing to exchange ideas. I would be shocked if I ever heard they ever showed that kind of rudeness to someone who pursues another hobby. Being a bit of an old traditionalist, I still frequent Pro Custom when I'm in the neighborhood.
Tom
BRAKIEI spent all my Christmas money there-$50.00. That was the first year I got $10.00 instead of silly gifts from five of my aunts and uncles.
Larry,
They must've figured you were finally old enough to deal responsibly with sudden wealth
But we know better
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
dknelsonIt was a great time for the hobbyist buyer (the N&W Y6b 2-8-8-2 was $19.95 at Woolworths; list price was $35) -
I recall that because I got a Y6B for $9.99,a IHB 0-8-0 for $8.99 and several AHM cars for 99 cents during Woolworths after Christmas sale...I spent all my Christmas money there-$50.00. That was the first year I got $10.00 instead of silly gifts from five of my aunts and uncles.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I've been taking a quick read through this thread, and I have to agree - too many "hobby shops" don't have much in the way of model trains. HobbyTown USA used to be a pretty good place for model trains - my first set of freight cars were bought at the local one. Today, you're lucky if you can find a handful of RTR freight cars and a building kit or two. At a HobbyTown in Ohio, I saw and Atlas kit that must have been buried in a back room for 15 years - one of three kits on the shelves.
Two really good hobby shops are Trains and Lanes Hobbies in Easton, PA ( https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trains-Lanes-Hobbies/113460138713331 ) and Iron Horse Hobby House in Reading, PA ( http://www.ironhorsehobby.com/ ). Both have an excellent selection, and Iron Horse is willing to place orders for items. Trains and Lanes has a great selection of older hobby materials, and has decent prices. Iron Horse regularly has items for a couple bucks less than Walthers list prices.
Long live the Local Hobby Shop!
S&S
Modeling the Pennsy and loving it!
Cacole.
Forty two years ago when I was stationed at FT. Hauchuca (spelling correct?) there was some kind of a store on main st. in Sierra Vista that had some trains and other stuff train related for sale. The store was just outside the gate and near the RR Xing. It was the first time I saw any N gauge trains. Guess it's gone too.
narrow gauge nuclear Like Mike L., I am into narrow gauge, so, I have zero expectations of any LHS. Our last truly great LHS went under over 15 years ago. The last hobby shop that specialized in MR went under in June of this year. This leaves 4 other LHS in the area with none in the MR biz to any degree. So, I am just used to doing biz with Model Train Stuff via internet and having to travel 150 miles to the Timonium train show to actually touch and feel the stuff of several good NG dealers there, 4 times a year. I can combine the Timonium train show with a walk-in at Model Train Stuff, (Kleins), as they are about 2 miles down the road from the show. Richard
Like Mike L., I am into narrow gauge, so, I have zero expectations of any LHS. Our last truly great LHS went under over 15 years ago. The last hobby shop that specialized in MR went under in June of this year. This leaves 4 other LHS in the area with none in the MR biz to any degree. So, I am just used to doing biz with Model Train Stuff via internet and having to travel 150 miles to the Timonium train show to actually touch and feel the stuff of several good NG dealers there, 4 times a year. I can combine the Timonium train show with a walk-in at Model Train Stuff, (Kleins), as they are about 2 miles down the road from the show.
Richard
Funny you should mention that, Richard. I was looking at the future Great Scale Model Train Show schedule and contemplating traveling up there to combine the show with a trip to MB Klein. The last time I was in that shop they were in the heart of Baltimore, in an area that I didn't feel like I wanted to be as the sun started to go down.
Down here, the closest hobby shop is 38 miles from my driveway. It is a small store, but I can always find something to bring home and the owner is a nice guy. Blue Ridge Hobbies is probably about 45 miles from me, but he has all but abandoned the retail business (the last time I checked) because he could not get his hands on inventory. We used to have a general hobby shop here in Hooterville that closed (owners may have retired). They didn't have much of interest in the way of trains, but adhesives and more generic supplies, including MRR paint, were always in stock.
Alas, I have a business trip to the Bay Area next month and will try and make my schedule conducive to a trip to the Train Shop in Santa Clara and Just Trains in Concord while I am there. I used to live out there and always enjoyed visiting those stores.
- Mark
And, if you like pierogies, Forgotten Taste in either Cranberry or Wexford is also worth a stop.
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
tstage dominic c Also there is a fully stocked hobby shop in Cranberry PA. On RT 228. The Hobby Express. Great guy, Harry owns it. It virtually has everything from N to G. You should try it. It's right off of RT 79 Jim, I can vouche for what Joe said. I was there 3 years ago on my way back from visiting the Western Pennsylvania Model Railroad Museum in Gibsonia - just SE of Cranberry. It was chock full of model railroading stuff. Tom
dominic c Also there is a fully stocked hobby shop in Cranberry PA. On RT 228. The Hobby Express. Great guy, Harry owns it. It virtually has everything from N to G. You should try it. It's right off of RT 79
Jim,
I can vouche for what Joe said. I was there 3 years ago on my way back from visiting the Western Pennsylvania Model Railroad Museum in Gibsonia - just SE of Cranberry. It was chock full of model railroading stuff.
dominic cAlso there is a fully stocked hobby shop in Cranberry PA. On RT 228. The Hobby Express. Great guy, Harry owns it. It virtually has everything from N to G. You should try it. It's right off of RT 79
If I can't fix it, I can fix it so it can't be fixed
You know guys, this is not all that recent a phenomenon. Linn Westcott when he was MR editor made the point that a serious model railroader might come into a hobby shop, stay for an hour, and leave with a 15 cent tube of glue, some strip wood, a few parts costing a buck, and a set of Athearn trucks that cost fifty cents -- stuff for a project that might keep that guy fully occupied for weeks, and that no store can stay in business catering to that market particularly if that same customer was going to buy his brass articulated (when that was a $50 item by the way) through the mail order places.
I can recall years ago, in the 1960s, when hobby shops would boast of trains on their sign, maybe have a listing in MR, claim to have the "largest" and "most complete" selection and you'd get there and ask "this is it?" A Tru-Scale work train set, Athearn rubber band F units, Lindberg trucks, and some Life-Like track cleaner and grass mats? Really?
One problem back then was in part that so many general hobby shops that used to have trains bought the hype that slot cars had "replaced" trains, never distinguishing between trains for kids and model trains for, well, not-kids. Nor did they focus on trains as a year round hobby versus something to be shown at Christmas. Some of them did not realize any distinction between Lionel or American Flyer and scale model trains, and between the very different customers those trains would attract, and what it would take in the way of inventory to make them return.
I remember the year when it was not the internet that was killing them, it was the year AHM over-estimated the market and positively dumped their surplus trains on local Woolworths "five and dime" stores selling for next to nothing, while the LHS had the very same stuff for which they had paid AHM's full wholesale price. It was a great time for the hobbyist buyer (the N&W Y6b 2-8-8-2 was $19.95 at Woolworths; list price was $35) -- until they found the LHS had disappeared or had sharply reduced their train offerings. Some of those same hobby shops were stung yet again when some slot car makers dumped their stuff on the market, selling through dime stores, and the catastrophe was completed. Lots of nice hobby shops disappeared back then.
My own view, for what it is worth, is that a general or generic hobby shop that has a savvy "train guy" in some position of authority will do OK, but without a train guy it is rare for a generic hobby shop to know enough about how to make the train departnent pay its way. A true "train shop" is preferable but with the enormous quantity of stuff out there, and with Z, N, HO, S, O, and Large all fighting for shelf space, with huge varieties in list prices going to the moon in the upper range -- yet be inventory that nobody buys for years --a train shop could be the size of a Wal-Mart and still not have exactly what it is YOU need when you walk in. This is not hyperbole - if you get to Milwaukee, visit Walthers and ask them to show you the warehouse shelves behind the sales counter. It is as large as a Wal-Mart. And they are out of stock of plenty of stuff, as some posters have pointed out in these Forums from time to time.
There is another risk with a true train shop. They fail if the owner or owners allow their own obsessions and notions of what a "real" model railroader is control their choice of inventory. There was a wonderful train shop near Milwaukee that failed because the owners, who were all excellent contest level modelers, assumed that their primary customers were like them -- steam meant brass and only brass, diesels meant undecorated models to which they would add hundreds of dollars worth of after market parts, then paint and decal expertly and have the engine sit on a shelf because they were not operators and had no layouts. When they had their going out of business sale at 70% off it was instructive to see all those Details West, Cal-Scale and other parts sitting there unsold, together with bins that bulged with decals, cartons of Floquil paint -- the ONLY paint in their opinion.
Oh they carried the other stuff if reluctantly and it probably kept them in business, and was all gone in that 70% off sell-off, but they were both purists and idealists, not a great combination for business success, and their unsold and unsalable inventory at the bitter end told the story.
Dave Nelson
Jimmy_Braum Same with a certain hobby shop around Pittsburgh PA. The original owner was a great man from what I heard, and loved the trains. Then a couple other family members took it over, and basically threw the model trains to the backof the store. The last time I was there, the whole back was cars, locomotives, kits,scratchbuilding stuff,etc. But a friend of mine went to it recently, and said they had nothing model raiload. I shop Legends Coin and Hobby in Belle Vernon, not the goldmine of stuff, but I can usually find a kit to build, or scenery stuff I needed, plus the owner is really nice. Otherwise, I buy online
Same with a certain hobby shop around Pittsburgh PA. The original owner was a great man from what I heard, and loved the trains. Then a couple other family members took it over, and basically threw the model trains to the backof the store. The last time I was there, the whole back was cars, locomotives, kits,scratchbuilding stuff,etc. But a friend of mine went to it recently, and said they had nothing model raiload. I shop Legends Coin and Hobby in Belle Vernon, not the goldmine of stuff, but I can usually find a kit to build, or scenery stuff I needed, plus the owner is really nice. Otherwise, I buy online
Hey Jim
I live in the Pittsburgh Area as well. Are you talking about AB Charles? Also there is a fully stocked hobby shop in Cranberry PA. On RT 228. The Hobby Express. Great guy, Harry owns it. It virtually has everything from N to G. You should try it. It's right off of RT 79
Joe C
WE have several GREAT LHS's around here and I'm grateful since I know some don't. Plenty of stock--except maybe Atlas track--LOL. Anyway, one of them just finished having a huge sale and swap on their site to help us guys out who want to upgrade.
What Rich posted is so true, and well put. Here in the SE part of WI, we're pretty blessed with hobby shops, and one of the more popular shops around the metro Milwaukee/Waukesha area has said before that the "internet is killing them". The other shop I use embraces the internet, and uses it on a regular basis for sales and has an Ebay store.
I'm also lucky to be within 40 miles of Walthers, which is another big user of the internet.
I do occasionally use a Hobby Lobby or Michaels for some supplies and tools, and some scenery scratch building items.
Maybe as long as I'm online, I'll go check Ebay and see if the cylindrical hopper I bid on has been shipped .....
Mike.
My You Tube
There's an LHS in Alexandria I used to go to. They had several aisles and a wall filled with model train stuff from N to G with most being O and HO. Over the last five to seven years they've moved RC cars, helicopters and planes and the train stuff, what there is of it has been pushed into a corner at the back of the store. I've seen this happen at other shops and it was almost always the death knell of that part of their operation. Since then I've seen no reason to make the 120 mile round trip. And why should I? I can get everything I need on the internet and be able to get more as I would have the money I would have spent on gas. It would have cost me about $40 in gas alone. My old van only gets ten to eleven miles per gallon.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Count your blessings and do your best to patronize any LHS that does stock at least some model RR products. Our LHS is about one step better than the one the OP was describing as so disappointing. Full price, "Sure we can order that..." but pretty much it's glue, a little paint and a few odds and ends they happen to have on hand. We also have a primarily RC online store that you can order some train items from ($50 minimum) in the morning and pick up late in the afternoon.
Kind of amazing there are such limited options in Horizon Hobby's home community. You'd definitely get the impression that model railroading is primarily an online market -- and you'd be right around here. Drive an hour or a little more and there are lots of options in several directions, but it's just cheaper to expect the mail or brown truck to bring exactly what you want rather than risk the price of a tank of gas on browsing.
And that's for standard gauge HO. Being big on narrowgauge, my expectations are decidely different for such a minority interest. But what's Blackstone, chopped liver?
At least some people have a local hobby shop in their area --- the nearest one to here with anything even remotely related to trains is 70 miles away in Tucson, Arizona. There used to be six in Tucson and two locally, but all have closed over the years. The next closest is way away in Phoenix, so we are basically being forced to shop on-line for everything.
A new Hobby Lobby opened here a couple months ago, but their selection of model railroad related items is very dismal -- only a few Woodland Scenics trees.
73
Bruce in the Peg
BRAKIE I was in one R/C hobby shop and asked about model trains and the reply was simple enough-nobody plays with toy trains today.
I was in one R/C hobby shop and asked about model trains and the reply was simple enough-nobody plays with toy trains today.
And, therein, lies the truth of the matter. That "nobody plays with toy trains today" comment typifies the attitude of today's "hobby shops". And, perhaps, their experience bears that out. For us model railroaders, the Internet killed the LHS, and the Internet saved the hobby.
Rich
Alton Junction
Some of the Hobbytowns I been to had a nice selection of cars and engines from Atlas,Athearn and Bachmann while others had a very limited selection of Bachmann trainsets,cars and track and nothing else..Woodland Scenic products was in the Roll Playing Game area.
tstage Yep. Don't go back. There is a Hobbytown USA that I only go to if I'm desperate. Otherwise, I have three other LHSes I give my business to. Tom
Yep. Don't go back. There is a Hobbytown USA that I only go to if I'm desperate. Otherwise, I have three other LHSes I give my business to.
Tom, you took the words right out of my mouth.
Hobbytown USA is just one several retailers that advertise train-related hobby products. But, about the only things that I can find there are a few ground cover products, white glue, and maybe some Testors glue.
LHS - RIP.
Ok, close to Christmas so I'm thinking this OTHER hobby shop should have some good sales, so I get in the car and head out. Get there and......what, where is all the trains stuff!!!!???. I look around and what they do have is not even minimal but just a joke. Not even a bigginer would find enough to inspire. Now I know this shop caters to Rv but they advertise as a train shop in print and commercials. I do have a preferred shop that is a hundred times better stocked and better service but since brick and mortar are less and less found I think I should at least try to support as many as I can. Well this is it for this one, I will never go back , rather stick to the one tried and true shop. Just needed to vent :)