Train Express is closing

Sad news... I bought from them periodically when I lived in Indy over a decade ago. From what I hear, they had scaled back in recent years.

What is going on with all the Train stores closing? Is it the Bay?, the inter net? Or are people just not buying trains like they use to? I guess when you look at the price of a plastic box car with metal trucks, coupler and maybe a ladder or two people are saying $79.99 is just to high a price to pay. I am guilty of not buying from a hobby shop. I will wait a few years and then buy it on line or at a show for a lot less then retail. I can get close to what I want for sometimes half the retail cost that way.

Train Express stopped advertising in the train magazines years ago. I think that that was their ultimate undoing, unless they just wanted to sell locally.

Same thing with "Owen Upp" back in the 1990s; they stopped advertising themselves and that was the beginning of the end for them, too.

There is no ONE reason for any retail brick and mortar store closing. It can be a number of things. Many of the reasons for train stores closing are the aging of the store owners and the hobbyist.  Selling a hobby shop at a decent value is a tough sell.....many easier ways to make a buck....you need to LOVE the hobby biz.

COST.....like everything costs are going up......buildings, electricity, insurance....both liability, inventory and the new regulations around health care. Margins are thin and many no longer think it's worth the 7 days a week it takes. 

The changing retail landscape.  When was the last time you went to a record/music store??? I know of one I have been in over the last year. Or the last Stamp and Coin shop....we had 3 in Charlotte growing up.....I do not know of one anywhere now. Retail is changing drastically and fast. More to come too.

So it's a perfect storm if you will......but still good stores out there to support.

There is another thread about the closing.  

Do a quick search and it'll answer a lot of questions about Train Express.

When I was televising the 500, I would always stop at least once during the month and pick something up. 

Yes, yes, and yes...plus other factors such as owners at retirement age, owner health issues, a changing economy (and not necessarily for the better), overproduction of toy trains since the mid-1990s, and, for many consumers at least, an already satiated desire for a continuing flow of more product.  There are other factors as well, but when you put them all together, you end up with something of a perfect storm.

My feeling is that a substantial number of existing/successful brick-and-mortar dealers will benefit from this situation over the long haul for various reasons (including the fact that there's nothing quite like having a local dealer where you can gain hands-on experience with what the hobby offers), but that the existing trend of closures will likely continue for all the reasons cited above until some hard-to-predict level is reached.

I have to say, I find myself buying more and more on-line (and I don't mean trains necessarily). Prices are good, less hassle, and a lot of retailers and ebay sellers are offering free shipping. I still like going shopping, but there are so many alternatives now to brick and mortar and you can let your fingers do the buying.

Very sad!  They were a pleasure to deal with.    

Speaking of advertisers what happened to: Red Caboose, Train Collector's Warehouse, Toy Trains of Yesteryear, Bookbinders Trains Unlimited, Toy Train Heaven; etc.  These were once ubiquitous in the toy train magazines...

Mike Moore of Toy Trains of Yesteryear passed away. His family closed the shop soon after. 

I am a dissenting voice on Train Express. I purchased many item from them soon after getting back in the hobby. Their customer relations were so poor that I swore they would never get another cent from me. 

Here's the other thread.

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...ress-in-indianapolis

The problem sounds like they did not have enough people at the store to cover all the operations required for phone-mail order business.

They did not have easy on-line ordering compared to other retail establishments that are supposed to have a national reach.

Andrew

Mike:

Regarding Toy Train Heaven (“Where Angels Get Their Trains"), Dave Dansky is now doing business as and advertising under the name of “David’s Toys, LLC” (“Where Angels Can Still Get Their Trains").  I do remember all of the other advertisers you mentioned and they seem to have faded away.

Bill

I'm sad to hear this.  The first engines I ever bought with myown money came through Train Express.  Lionel Alco powered/dummy units from the mid 90's in the classic WM fireball scheme.

They were great to deal with.  

Instead of speculating or believing rumors, some of you should contact Larry directly and discuss the issue.  Then again, he doesn't really have time to deal with drama considering he has a fully stocked store to sell out by the end of the month.  Got some great deals there last week.  Thank you Train Express.

I talked in depth with him about it last week and I can tell you that none of you are correct in your 'predictions' of why they are closing the store.

Once again, it surprises me how quickly everyone 'knows' the reason for this.  What hasn't been mentioned is they were in business for over 40 years, survived a fire in the 90s, and was one of the Midwest's best train stores! 

It's a loss to our hobby this shop is closing!

Times change.  I remember when i first subscribed to OGR how many hobby shops advertised in the back of the magazine.  The business climate has changed so much, it is hard enough for small businesses to just keep the doors open.  They are in a catch 22, they have no business so they need to advertise but they have no business so they have no money to pay the ad bill.  I avoid internet sales 99% of the time unless it is a sponsor of OGR.  Some people want to retire, if that is the case enjoy, if not, thank you.  40 years is a long time to be in business.

I cut this post down just a tad bit, but this right here hit the nail on the head. Why do ppl speculate about something, without actually knowing the reasons behind the why?

I also know the reason for why, but I was told in confidentiality, and thus it is not my place to say anything. I have spent quite a bit of money in the store, and my kids always had a blast visiting. Train Express will be missed.

Actually, the reason he is closing--and there can certainly be many reasons--doesn't matter all that much.  The fact that the business is closing is really all that does matter because it possibly leaves one more part of the country with a void as far as hands-on access to the things of our hobby is concerned.

The silver lining to this cloud is the fact that Steve & Liz Nelson have opened a dynamic new retail train store (Mr. Muffin's) and is a Forum sponsor in the Indianapolis area.

With their energy, expertise, and love of our hobby, they have the ingredients for success.

quote:

Speaking of advertisers what happened to: Red Caboose, Train Collector's Warehouse, Toy Trains of Yesteryear, Bookbinders Trains Unlimited, Toy Train Heaven; etc.  These were once ubiquitous in the toy train magazines...

I have seen Bookbinder listing on Ebay.

Is Train Collector's Warehouse owned by Morgan P.? If so, I've seen their listing on Ebay, and I thought they were in their usual spot at York,

A quick internet search brought me to the Train Collector's Warehouse site.

It is indeed a sad occasion when any LHS takes the decision to close its doors!

Its a sad day for the industry.

Mike Maurice

The owner of the train store that is nearest to me has announced that she will retire when the lease expires in mid 2016.  The store will close unless she can find a buyer.  I don't know how the search for a buyer is going.  

The store is large and is profitable but the owner just wants a different life.  It is mostly a HO / N store but it does have a vast selection of hobby materials that can be used by all scales.  

Joe

Touched upon above several places, and I know NOTHING of the internal workings of

Owen Upp, Train Express and the others, but sometimes people just get old and retire,

or die. These aren't big corporate enterprises with lives of their own - their "lives" are

the lives of the owners. By the time the old guys are ready to go, their kids, if any, have mostly long since followed their own paths in life, and have no interest, time and/or talent for it. Not everything has to do with China, international or domestic politics or video games.

I bought from Owen Upp and Train Express. Haven't thought about either for a while.

But so long as the stuff is made and we buy, someone will sell. Hopefully competently.

I have a local Railroad hobby shop to me, and the only thing I buy in the store is from their used section. I have my dads old lionel train setup, so I find myself buying the old tubular 027 track and all the model 1122 turnouts he has. No one else wants them, but I do!  

Likewise, I love doing business with Train Tender.  Call him up, tell him the part numbers I need, he tells me to send payment once I receive the parts! 

To me, this is much more of a hobby of keeping the old stuff working, and throwing my electronics hobby into the mix, bringing the latest tech to 50+ year old toys. 

I guess to say, with the exception of a decent O gauge GE44 ton locomotive from MTH or something from RMT, there is nothing new I really want to buy. There is just way too much good used stuff out there that no one else wants.

Train Express has posted a final list of items for their clearance sale.

The Lionel Holiday Boxcar is listed as 90 in the quantity column. That boxcar has "Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year." on the side. The year 2006 on the door can be covered with a taped or glued piece of plastic for any year.

Andrew

Sad to hear. Twenty years ago my bride completely surprised and bought me the Great Northern passenger set for Christmas. (Delivered 12-24!)

Still my favorite passenger set!