Madison Hardware in New York City.

I greatly miss Barry's train shop in Elizabethtown,PA. Barry was a great guy and his shop was a fun place to visit! Wherever I was living at the time,I considered Barry's my LHS.

daylight posted:

Jim's Train Shop in Homer City, PA

Purchased my first engine there.  A MTH Rail King Milwaukee Road Hiawatha;  fell in love with it's looks, smoke and sound.

We also share an interest in "do-wop" songs of the 50 and early 60's.

That one is a big Yes for me.  I miss Jim's calls at midnight when he saw me posting about something on the OGR forum.

As a kid it would be Child n Son in Northampton Ma.  Never was anthor Lionel train store like it.

Hobby shops and trains stores used to dot the landscape here in the Eastern USA. In Manhattan there were five or six train stores alone that we patronized in my younger days like Julies and Madison Hardware on 23rd st  until they closed. I forget the names of most of the other stores in NYC but I certainly do miss them.  Also miss Steve Vargas hobbies  (New Brunswick, NJ ) and Wholesale Trains (Lances Hobby) that I patronized often.  If you look at why a good percentage of the train stores closed, it is based on a number of factors;, the shifting demographic of the buyers, the ballooning rents, the internet stores and the drastic change of the train importers, marketing policy on supporting their sales channels.  

As a kid it would be Child n Son in Northampton Ma

I never made it to Child's.
Some years ago I purchased a bunch of NOS stuff with Child's price stickers from one dealer at Springfield.
I don't know whether it was the store, of just someone who purchased a lot from them.
One time I was in the area and found the store, but it was empty.

leapinlarry posted:

Yes, of all the Hobby Shops I have been fortunate to Have Visited, Davis Electic Trains in The Cincinnati Ohio area, was the Largest, most Complete Model Train Store, Fully Staffed, that I ever visited.  They carried most everything in Lionel, MTH, Weaver, K-Line, G GUAGE, LGB, HO, N, Whatever.....They have been out of business for many years....But, The Memories, Their Displays were simply Amazing....WOW...Great Thread, Thanks for Posting....

I started buying 3 rail Trains from Joe Davis in 1994, and kept going there until his Son David Davis closed the Door's, I actually worked for Joe and David in the O Scale Department Part time, Still the Best Train Store in Southwestern Ohio 

Doherty's Whistle Stop in Summit, Nj and the Millburn Train Store in Millburn, NJ !

Yes, C&O Railroader, that was my most favorite Hobby Shop, great folks to deal with, an Inventory like no other store I have ever visited....It's hard to believe they closed their doors...Things Happen...

Charles Wood's shop in Warren Ohio. It was a shop in a huge house. Two large rooms of tinplate trains awed visitors.  

Hammers Hobbies, Decatur, Illinois. Closest shop is 40 miles away.

Another good store that is gone: Blasdell Hobby. This was a real store that was in the basement of a house in a residential neighborhood. The owner, Russ M. was a pleasant fellow to deal with.
I didn't discover the store until the 1980's, when I was in Buffalo visiting my wife's family.
One of my co-workers grew up in Blasdell (1960's) and was a regular customer.
As I recall, his wife told me the store was opened right after he returned from WWII.

Two more Buffalo NY area stores that I think are gone:
Don't recall the name, it was upstairs from a glass shop. The train store and glass shop were owned by Vic. It was on Eggert Rd.
K-Val hobbies: They had just a bit of "O" gauge, lots of HO and N. They'd always run their display layout for my kids. First time I was there, I purchased an armature for a 1946 Turbine. So, while they didn't have a lot of finished Lionel items, they must of had parts.

For those who are interested in how the newspapers covered the toy train scene in the 1990's to the 2000's, here are 2 articles which include today's present day Red Caboose. I think both of them really give a glimpse of what it is like to run such stores in this extremely high rent district. I liked the LA Times quote from owner Alan Spitz where he says: "Sometimes my patience is a bit shortish--and being a New Yorker, why not?" 

From the Los Angeles Times, I found this one today from 1994: http://articles.latimes.com/19...39042_1_model-trains

I have two paper copies of this 2003 original article from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01...stomers-dwindle.html

Tom 

This may seem strange but I miss CALDOR, a northeastern discount chain.  Yes, they sold Lionel trains and not just box sets.  You could buy freight cars, automated cars, accessories, track, etc at discount prices.  For a kid it was great, close to home with stuff a kid with a few earned bucks could afford.  Then of course, there was Madison Hardware.

Amer's in Youngstown Ohio my grandfather bought my first train set for me 6 months before i was born (Lionel 675) I still have it. when i visited my grandparents we always went there.

Since i lived in Chicago I miss Hill's in Park Ridge bought my first Brass loco there US Hobbies K4. All-Nation I was part of the "lunch group" that invades the store daily.  Cellar hobby shop in Northlake always had a great inventory of post war items. Toy and Hobby shop in Des Plaines Rick the owner was a super guy. Al's in Elmhurst, Stanton's on Milwaukee Av, Glen's in Akron Oh and Hobby House in Cleveland Oh.

C W Burfle posted:

K-Val hobbies: They had just a bit of "O" gauge, lots of HO and N. They'd always run their display layout for my kids. First time I was there, I purchased an armature for a 1946 Turbine. So, while they didn't have a lot of finished Lionel items, they must of had parts.

K-Val closed up about 2 years ago, and the owner passed away this past Easter Sunday at the age of 96. I didn't know him well, but we had a lot of mutual acquaintances.

I started going over there in my HO days right after the store opened in the early 1970's. Originally, it was a tiny part of an old-time pattern works (with antiquated machinery) and as the pattern works failed the train store gradually took up the space and eventually occupied the whole building. It was a pretty significant presence in the Buffalo area for a long time, at least in HO. Last time I was there, maybe 3-4 years ago, it was obviously "running on fumes" and the inventory was spotty, but I did pick up a bunch of Fastrack O-48 pieces.

I think the best remaining O gauge shop in the Buffalo area is Aurora Hobbies in East Aurora. A strange space to be sure, but I never leave empty handed. Plenty of Lionel and MTH rolling stock.

Pecos River Brass, the retail store in Lewisville, Tx. (Dallas area).  This was , one of the premier hobby shops in the southwest. For many years, all scales were sold and serviced there. In later years, John Smith, the owner, focused only on O scale. If it was not in stock, and there was a LOT of stock, he could get it in short order. Over an almost 20 year period, I never missed a week without at least one visit to the store. You could never tell what nationally known model railroader, might show up there on a Sat. morning.

Jeff

Choo Choo works that was on SW highway here in Illinois closed years back,

The fella that used to work on trains pre and postwar in back room used to show me a few things back then.

Owner was going thru divorce and in process closed the store.

NCT posted:

Anyone remember

Yes I do, in fact I have a Train 99 Box car at home. When Paul and Lou split, that brought about the birth of Loco Louie's in Collingdale, on Mc Dade Blvd. But more then that little shop across from the McDade Strip Mall I remember it's owner Lou Caponi and his right hand man Doug. Lou was a board member and ex president of the LCCA and a great Go-to guy for thousands of toy train folks. But most of all I remember him as a friend. I spent many hours talking to Lou and Doug at that little shop. Hours  that I will always cherish.

ns1001 posted:

The Great Train Store (in Union Station) DC. Used to take Amtrak  from Richmond, VA and arrive in DC about 1030. Look at what was on display in O, HO, and N. Then take Metro Red line in the basement to where I wanted to go. Come back in the afternoon and buy what I had been thinking about all dey. The carried the full Lionel line which was sometimes on sale. They were always playing railroad video's. They went under about 2000. It was fun to ride the train back to Richmond clutching my train purchases.

We use to have a "Great Train Store" in the King of Prussia Mall outside of Phila, I loved that little shop. I never bought many of my trains there because of my friendship with Lou Caponi, see Loco Louie post above and Chris Gains of Nicholas Smith. But, my son and I would always pop into there when my wife was shopping and we must of spent thousands on Thomas items. Most of them he still has stored away even though he is in college now.

As for the store the chain had in the Union Station in DC I been there a number of times. When Mike was growing up every couple of years we made a point of taking him to see DC and Amtrak was the only way for us to go. So needless to say a train store was a must stop on a train ride.  

gladstone23 posted:

Doherty's Whistle Stop in Summit, Nj and the Millburn Train Store in Millburn, NJ !

Millburn still there, right?

Big John Henry posted:

Hobby Models - Evanston, Illinois

Bentys Toy & Hobbies- Chicago, Illinois

Weitz TV- Chicago, Illinois

Toy Craft - Norfolk, Virginia

Loco Louies - Pennsylvania

H. L. Childs - Northhampton, MA

Dougs - Des Moines, Iowa

Downtown Hobbies - Denver, Colorado

Hi Steve, I knew this thread would pull you out of hibernation.

Purkey's Toy Trains in Sykesville, MD.  Wiley Purkey was a really great guy who was really excited about the hobby.

Downtown lock and electric is train depot in mt airy md. They split in half back in the day. The train side moved to mt airy md and has been there ever since. It's Lionel service station #20 which may be one of if not oldest left. It was an original service station , pretty neat. Tons of postwar and prewar parts. Has about 5 repair guys full time for lionel and American Flyer. They have changed ownership just recent but same name and same repair guys.

Growing up in NYC, my favorite was Polk's on 5th Avenue.  They always had cool stuff and it was literally a hobby "depratment store".  They had trains, tin soldiers, boats, you name it.  They also had a store on Front Street in East Meadow on Long Island.  Another haunt of mine was Model Railroad Equipment Corp. in the basement on 45th Street.

I'm glad to see that Kenny Jr. is carrying on the love of trains at Trainland in Lynbrook.

Trainman52 posted:

Growing up in NYC, my favorite was Polk's on 5th Avenue. 

I'm glad to see that Kenny Jr. is carrying on the love of trains at Trainland in Lynbrook.

I went there annoying the heck out of my mom........lol

What I thought was the only train store and by far I think the best ever, from the owners and folks that hung out there you could not beat it, NONE Better Catoctin Mountain Trains of Thurmont Md. Miss you Paul and Marcie wishing you all the best.

Growing up in NYC, my favorite was Polk's on 5th Avenue.

Polk's was an interesting store. Multiple floors (I think it was five), with each floor dedicated to specific areas of interest. I don't think I ever purchased anything at the store though.
Nat Polk used to have tables right by the door as you entered one of the halls at York. I think it was the Purple. I purchased an NOS Lionel 220 Volt HO transformer from him, and some other odds and ends. He had a load of them.

For me its BARRYs TRAIN SHOP in Elizabethtown, Pa.  BARRY and his crew were always there to help and great place to talk trains.  You couldn't beat the deals that BARRY gave you.  He always had a sale going on.  Great GUY, I really miss him.  His health problems are really keeping him from going to YORK, but his GUYZ were there giving great deals.

I consider myself very fortunate that I have a LTS about 10 minutes from my house.  A store that would be a go to place at any time in my life.  What I miss mostly is the experience of days gone by.  The days when you could be in a department store and they had Lionel trains on display.  Sears and a local chain called Two Guys come to mind.  At Christmas, it was even better.  I remember Sears in Trenton having a very nice display for Christmas.  Later, there was a small chain here in NJ called Branch Brook.  They were a seasonal store but they always had a good stock of Lionel.  They had an after Christmas sale between Christmas and New Years where they discounted 25% to get rid of the excess Christmas stock.  For some reason, they included the Lionel stock in that sale.  They already had a small discount below MSRP, but the 25% off sale was great.

And let's not forget the Service Stations that have disappeared.  I had a guy that I went to all the time when I lived in Mercer County, NJ; Main Line Train Repair.  He had a decent stock of Lionel rolling stock and parts going way back.  I don't really know what happened to him but my guess is the electronics age did him in.  His business was in his basement.  I remember calling him on Christmas Eve once because one of my engines had a few flat tires.  Come on over he said.  He met me at the door with the parts and told me I could pay him the next time I was around.

Tony

Tony_V posted:

Later, there was a small chain here in NJ called Branch Brook.

Ah, Branch Brook!  Although I had Lionel since before I was old enough to have memories, activity was somewhat dormant.  In 1975 my wife and I happened to stop in the Hazlet Branch Brook. They had the 75th Anniversary Set on sale. I want to say it was right at $100. Bought it on the spot and re-ignited the desire.

As mentioned above, can't say enough about Barry's 

OSSEO SPORTS & TRAIN WORLD

Sadly they closed after being a Lionel dealer in the area for a number of years. They sold Deere small mowers / sales- service and various snow machine products up here in the north country. 

The owner was always very kind with FREE Lionel catalogs to patrons and had a back warehouse full of RR stuff. It was fun to wander there and hear the stories of the olden days dealing with Lionel through the years.

Lionel still carries the address listing on their web site database .. I'll write the marketing group and ask them to update their dealer lists. I would guess many small players have vanished. 

Two of my favorite destination shops were overseas but are long gone... there was a terrific O Gauge shop in Zurich, near the river and the Grossmunster church. Another great shop was 'House of O Gauge', outside of London, near Wimbledon.

Carl Orton posted:

Tony_V posted:

Later, there was a small chain here in NJ called Branch Brook.

Ah, Branch Brook!  Although I had Lionel since before I was old enough to have memories, activity was somewhat dormant.  In 1975 my wife and I happened to stop in the Hazlet Branch Brook. They had the 75th Anniversary Set on sale. I want to say it was right at $100. Bought it on the spot and re-ignited the desire.

While "Two Guys" was the store I visited most often (because I could get there by bicycle), Branch Brook was my local favorite when I was growing up.  During the period in the late 1960s/early 1970s when many others stopped selling trains, those guys were faithful throughout.

Because Branch Brook sold pools and outdoor items in the summer and Christmas and indoor items in the winter, they always had a good amount of space devoted to Lionel trains during train season.  For those of you who never went, picture what you could do with the space formerly occupied by two or three above-ground demonstrator pools taken down for the winter season...that was Branch Brook.  They used to have shelves along the back wall of the Hazlet, NJ store that showed the sets exactly as they were in the catalog which made this young boy drool...even though the sets were uninspiring by then.

For all who have mentioned H.L. Childs in Northampton, Mass, I agree also.  The mural of the train on the side of the building made the trip worth it all by itself.

Steven J. Serenska

Hiramo, I know the store in Zurich, bought my first European 0 scale there over thirty years ago. Two other great stores in Europe were Victors in London and the legendary Markschaffel und Lennartz in Hamburg, Germany.

Miketg

Buffalo in the ’50s: South Buffalo’s beloved ‘Spoonley the Train Man’

86TA355SR posted:

Train Express, Indianapolis.

Lots of memories as a young boy dreaming of all those trains.  Larry was a great guy also, made me some  deals during the final sale.

 

I too have fond memories of visiting Larry’s store. First as a youngster with my Dad and brothers and later with my own son. I definitely miss that store but grateful that we have Mr. Muffin’s Trains here in central Indiana. 

SJC posted:

Fred Brenek posted:

Mail order:  Jim's Train Shop - PA, Ma & Pa Junction - MD, Just Trains - DE, Island Trains - NY.

Local: Ted's Engine House - Pennsauken, NJ == M & G Hobbies - Delran, NJ == J & B Trains - Delran/Maple Shade, NJ.

Fred

Just Trains is most certainly still in business - alive and well I'd say. They have a wonderful brick and mortar store as well as a very good mail order operation. 

Yes but a shadow of what it was when Captain Kirk was at the helm.

Just Trains old location which I liked as there was a Goodwill two or so doors to the left and I would go browse their records:

I also miss Moose Caboose n/w of Baltimore and M.B. Klein's old location on Gay St. in downtown Baltimore.

The original Nickolas Smith on 11th and Arch Sts, in Philly.