drgwcs There are ton's of great shops in the Chicago area.
There are ton's of great shops in the Chicago area.
I 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. And, as Jim mentioned, Lombard Hobbies is a pretty good shop with discount prices.
Rich
Alton Junction
In the two years that I lived in the area I never caught York's open- looked in the window and I couldn't tell if if it was a hobby shop with a hoarding problem or a hoarding problem with a hobby shop.....
There are ton's of great shops in the Chicago area. Of course Des Plaines was already mentioned. There are many other great ones Zientek's model trains on 18th in Pilsen is a haven for old and out of production stuff and an absolute must stop. RAM hobby shop on Higgens is very good but with irregular hours. On the north side is Chicagoland Hobbies on Milwaukee. Also on the northside is Grayland station on West Devon- hours are a little irregular- check their website, small shop but absolutely packed to the gills- great selection of N scale too. Golden Spike was in Burbank- but Google maps is marking them closed. I had never made it out to Lombard Hobbies but heard it was good. In Indiana G&G hobbies in Griffith was a smaller shop but was good for basics. There is a smaller shop in Crown Point- the one in Dyer closed. There are some others in the western suburbs but did not get out there much.
Hope these suggestions help.
Jim
mbinsewi Maybe check out Lombard Hobbies. They used to have a booth at Trainfest, in Milwaukee. They had great deals on NOS Kato locos, which is out of your time period, but just maybe? a place to check out? Lombard is a town/suburb West of down town Chicago, about 12 or 15 mi.? https://lombardhobby.com/ Mike.
Maybe check out Lombard Hobbies. They used to have a booth at Trainfest, in Milwaukee. They had great deals on NOS Kato locos, which is out of your time period, but just maybe? a place to check out?
Lombard is a town/suburb West of down town Chicago, about 12 or 15 mi.?
https://lombardhobby.com/
Mike.
dknelson ...What I like best about Des Plaines is that you can find stuff there that was issued long ago but they still have on the shelves, which are groaning with stuff....
I was rather impressed with it, too, but, unfortunately, was not driving a Brinks truck on that occasion.
I stopped-in mainly for their Viking roofs...
...but to save the drive, now order from them on-line (for more of those roofs).
Wayne
Lombard is well worth a visit as is Des Plaines Hobbies. What I like best about Des Plaines is that you can find stuff there that was issued long ago but they still have on the shelves, which are groaning with stuff. Chicagoland Toys and Hobbies is also one I like to visit when I make the trek down there.
Dave Nelson
My You Tube
I went to a Menard's as I was leaving Indiana.
.
They had an impressive holiday display with HO scale train sets, three rail O scale freight cars, and HO & O scale built up structures. It kind of reminded me of Christmas Past and the displays at department stores.
Very nice.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Well, I have no excuse for this one. I went on Google and looked for hobby shops in the Chicago area. One of the places that popped up was York's Trains in Highland, Indiana, just across the state line.
This place had terrible reviews, and I could not believe that any hobby shop anywhere could really be like that, so I jumped in the explorer and checked it out.
I have never said anything bad about any local hobby shop online, and I am not going to change that policy today, but I will say this... You can believe the reviews.
Shame too, because it looked so promising from the outside.
On the plus side: I went to a place called Schoops Burgers in Hobart, Indiana for lunch, and it was amazing!
I plan to do a lot more hobby shopping and train stuff this week.
You cannpt tell from the picture, but I was freezing! I need to shave.