There were a LOT of GREAT hobby shops devoted to trains in the Chicagoland area.
Stanton Hobbies was a long standing great hobby shop on the Northwest side of Chicago, The Hobby Chest in Skokie, Illinois just North of Chicago easy to get to from Chicago if you took the Skokie Swift. There was one in Niles Illinois on Golf Road which was there for many years but when the owner suddenly died of a heart attack around 2008-2009 the wife sold off everything.
The only one left is Horthwest Hobbies off of Northwest Hwy on the North end of Chicago near the Northern suburbs.
Mostly O-Gauge but he has all the other hobbies to keep him alive and well. I have picked up a lot of gems for great prices and was just in there before Christmas and found a nice un-used new in the box PRR Trolley car it's a beauty!!
The owner opened the package for me I don't think it had ever been opened and it ran without a hiccup- I made him an offer and he gladly accepted and I found some other gems and Christmas was awesome for my son(and me too)!!!
