Great stories, everyone......as I grew up, I knew about Madison Hardware on 23rd St from passing it in a car and from their ads in Model Railroader....I did get to visit there in December, 1983. I purchased a 6572 REA reefer that day.
Some years ago I bought an early PostWar collection from a colleague's Dad. This was a sticker on the 1954 catalog cover:
Never heard of it and obviously, never been there.....but I'll bet some of you PostWar "Jersey Boys" may have heard of it.....
Peter