What is the toy train industry comming too!!!!!!!!
I do not know how many people have had this same type of luck or not.
This is just my personal opinion. It relates to stores & the manufactures.

I do repair work for a store here in Michigan. My Father has been doing repair for the last 40+ years & I have been in training/doing repair for the last few years. We have been doing this out of our homes during this time. My dad has done this full time 7 days a week for his time in it. I know now why my dad told me to stick with the repairs of old stuff & leave the new stuff alone.

I picked up a box of repiar work from this store. Among the items to be fixed where 3 newer engines with the electronic reverse units & sounds. 1 of them was a simple fix, The other 2 required to be sent in. No problem as the store I do the work for is a sevice station & has been for years as my dad was fixing them for them when he was younger than I am & I am 37. I guess I thought wrong!!!!

It would appear that they have been canceled out & any payments or parts sent in for service are to be taken in lue of monies owed. Well nice of the store to fill me in on this. Now I have 2 engines with no boards in them do to the the fact that they have been given to the store to be sent for replacement. Bottom line I have to now explain to my customers who own these that I have failed them.

How can we as a group of toy train loving persons premote the hobby as the greatest when it seems to me that the industry is shooting the very people who keep them running on the rails in the foot.

I have talked to the major makers of toy trains & asked how dose one become a service station.
I did not know fixing toy trains to keep them going for the next generation involved a circius act.

1, You have to have a store front.
2, Must deal in or sell what they concider a good number of what they make.
3, must have a display set up.
4, Must be what they concider a value added seller.
5, Some one to do the repair.

Well I do have all but the top 2 items on the list. Mind you we have been selling new & used out of our homes for some time now. We have a large customer base for what we do.

My Father & I are the only ones in our area who do fix model trains the next service centers are around 100-150 miles away from us. Other than the store I do or used to do the repair for no one else sells quality toy trains in our area.

So tell me this how is it that this can stay being or even be premoted as the worlds greatest hobby if the manufactures are killing the very people who work so hard to keep it the worlds greatest hobby. We have not the resorcues to have a store front or the funds to buy the amounts they require to have a store.

We are literally just a small Father & son shop run out of our homes. But we do the type of service people would expect from a store.

What are we to do ?

Buy old never buy new ?

Thank you for your time & sorry for stepping on any ones toes.