Are Hobby Stores all closing down in your Area??

I will try to get a picture of Iron Horse Hobby Shop for you all to see. It is very close to me.  Thanks again, Jeff

The Iron Horse has been closed for close to if not over 10 years now. Bad management after Frank Hare passed and the business was sold.

Hobby Express in Cranberry is still open.

Correct, Frank Hare sold me my very First Lionel Steamer. #2046 Hudson 4-6-4. Very nice 0-27 steamer, boxed with Tender boxed. The 2046W Tender. Here is a picture of my 2nd most prized Steamer. My 726 Berkshire 1946 w/2426W Tender, Boxed Locomotive. No box for Tender. Still looking for that box. Here is the picture...

Yes and No - I see some come and go.

When I moved to the next town over 5 years ago a NEW Hobby Shop that specialized in Trains & R/C opened on the main street.

They have a great inventory of Lionel New & Old. Demo Layout, does good repair work.

I love to go browse but it never seems to end with just browsing. :-)

With High rents and limited customers - most of the customers flocking to on line purchases, the Only hobby shops that seem top survive are well established with a good customer base, OWN their own building, and have a good web store that allows On line purchases.

During the last Century, almost every big town had some type of hobby shop. Now, good luck and support the ones that you still have around!

When I was growing up, the nearest hobby shop was Ralph's Toys and Hobbies in Boise.  My dad and I would go to Boise to look at planes and trains.  Unfortunately they closed some years ago.

My dad passed away ten years and a month ago.  Just after the first the this year, I was helping my mom clean out some boxes of my dad's.  I found a BRAND NEW Lionel Union Pacific Hudson Jr. #673.  It was still in the box, and it had to have been from one of the last trips we took to Ralph's.  Still had the price tag of $100 on the box.

It's nice to order online to save money, but if possible I order from local shops.  Even if they are local shops 2000 miles away.  Ralph's Toys and Hobbies gave me some great memories of my dad.  Ten years after his death, my dad surprised me with a brand new locomotive...........

Stock photo from Lionel of my engine.

Iron Horse was a great shop.  When I got back into the hobby, I would make a trip there two or three times a year, looking for NOS and whatever struck my fancy.  Later, those trips would be made to Imperial Trains (moved) and Mercer Junction (now just a fond memory).  Now those train shop day trips are spent going to Hobby Express in Cranberry, Chippers Trains & Collectibles in Washington, PA (in Washington Crown Center Mall), Patrick's Trains in Wheeling, WV, and T and K Train & Hobby in Bridgeport, OH.  The last three can easily be visited in one trip with proper planning.

Just East of Pittsburgh, we are still fortunate to have a number of train shops to choose from, including Niedzalkoski's Train Shop in Jeannette, Len's Train Shop & Custom Diecasts in Irwin (rural Irwin address, not in the town itself), and Brady's Train Shop in Greensburg.  We had a fourth, Dick's Train House in Jeannette, but unfortunately, the owner passed away a couple of weeks ago.

Andy

@Lioneljeff,

The bay has repro boxes for your 2426w. It also has some used boxes.

I would use the word closed, not closing.

Despatch Junction in East Rochester, NY is still going strong with the states largest selection of used trains, track and accessories. Selections include new and older prewar and postwar Lionel and Marx, Kline, MTH, and Williams O gauge individual items and sets.

Located along the main line of the CSX/Amtrak NYC to Chicago RR. (Drone view)

There weren't a lot of hobby shops in this area to start with (Northern NJ) for a long time. Walker Hardware in Totowa (a bit east of me) closed several years ago. There is a small hobby shop in Kenvil west of me,not a lot of train stuff.  There is one store near me that has been around a long time, the Train Station in Mountain Lakes, it is in its second or third generation at this point, and they seem to be making a go of it. They have a lot of post war plus they do sell modern stuff and is a pretty big store, and they do repairs as well. The downside is price wise you are paying MSRP or near MSRP on new stuff, and the older stuff, well, let's just say it is at the high side of prices. Still it is nice to have it around.

We only had one in Seymour IN.  When Jack Spencer passed away,   two years later his wife closed it.  Sometime in 1990 if memory serves.

The nearest hobby shop is in Greenwood IN. A trains.

Ah yes, the nostalgia of our favorite hobby shops from yesteryear. During my 10 years in Escondido, California, I was a regular customer of Frank the Trainman's hobby shop in San Diego's North Park district as well as Gladys's Toys and Trains. Then during my 30 years in Hawaii, I fondly recall Honolulu Trains and Hobby. I believe this is where Alan Miller met Frank Sinatra when he was there. All of us have fond memories of our favorite hobby shops where we'd buy our trains in person and with great in-person customer service.

But fast forward to the 2020s now and how things have changed! As previous posters have stated, it's a different ball game now where the majority of train purchases are done online. Unfortunately, only the big hobby shops with a strong online base are the survivors nowadays. But I miss the old days.

Hobby shops in the Arklahoma region where I've lived for the past 50 or so years have always been a tough sell.

Traditionally, the thing here was "huntin' n' fishin'". However, with more and more out of state people fleeing the cities and moving into this region, that will probably change. Sadly, likely along with our way of life.

Over the decades there have been several train hobby shops that came and went. The longest lived train shop was owned by my friend David McDonald: "The Golden Spike".

David opened the Golden Spike in the late 1960s (I met him in '69 during my first visit to "The Golden Spike") and the doors stayed open until about 2004 as I recall. David is now 90 years old and still up and going. I get to see him once a month at our monthly "Modeler's Meeting" we have at the Fort Smith Western Sizzlin'.

During that same span of time, there have been many train hobby shops that have come and gone. Some of the names of those shops I remember, others I do not. As best as I can recall, the following have come and gone in my region:

* A train shop over on Main St. in Van Buren, Arkansas.

* "Tractive Effort" up in Fayetteville, AR. (That was a pretty good shop, too.)

* Another shop in Fayetteville, AR.

* "18th St. Train Shop" (or something like that) in south Fayetteville, Ar. (It's still gasping air, I think.)

* A combination craft/hobby store down on a strip mall off Dixon St. in Fayetteville, AR.

* A train shop in Dardanelle, AR.

* A train shop in Clarksville, AR.

* Hobbytown USA in Ft. Smith, AR. (Had been on life support for a long time, but closed its doors for good a couple months ago.)

As of today, only "Hobby Lobby" in Ft Smith, AR is the only place that offers anything model train related.

When it comes to train-related hobby shops, my region is a burnt over field.

Yes, I certainly miss "The Golden Spike" and the impromptu BS sessions we'd have as a few of us would have a serendipitous BS session there on a Saturday morning as we stopped get modeling supplies.

With today's stupid-level gas prices, I wouldn't think of making a trip to Fort Smith for only hobby supplies now. I would wait until we had several tasks to attend to, and dovetail a stop at Hobby Lobby among them.

Andre

What is this hobby store you refer to.....none of those around here....

Henning's Trains is still going strong.  They do have a strong on-line presence, a necessary addition to a brick & mortar store in this day and age.  They also manufacture a wide variety of parts that account for a significant part of their sales volume as well.

There haven't been any hobby shops that carry trains in the Hudson Valley of NY where I live for years now.  And a few south of me across the border in NJ are gone too although NJ does have them a little farther down.   There are some that carry RC.

John

have not had one in our area for years.

Ancient history.  I entered the hobby four years ago in St. Louis, MO.  There's almost no shops here (handling O).  There are a couple nice stores that handle used trains.  There is a locally owned, all purpose, hobby store near me.  For years, they have the same Lionel engines and faded-box-rolling stock gathering dust at full MSRP + tax.

We still have Brasseur's in Saginaw, Mi. It's about a 45 minute drive for me. I haven't been there in quite some time. My last visit I couldn't get help or waited on. I tried and was just short of jumping up and down. Seems the one guy working cared more about his BS session with one certain couple. I know they need to shmoos clientele but this went on for well over a half hour.

There was a hobby shop in Bay City, Mi called Robby's Hobby's. They mostly carried RC and modeling supplies. They closed the doors over 10 years ago. I went there as a young lad and always enjoyed talking with the owner. He took good care of customers. Even gave me a few free parts and repairs but he knew I'd be back.

@Rick Rubino posted:

have not had one in our area for years.

Rick we have two in the Rochester area actually..... Despatch Junction, and Dan's Crafts and Things.  I know neither is completely what we'd like them to be, but they are there nonetheless.  Dan's is crazy with their pricing, but I try to support Despatch as often as I can.

I’ve lived in a fairly rural area of Pike County PA for just over 25 years now and there are no hobby shops in the  area that I am aware of. For my train needs, I need to head over to the Scranton area - between 35 and 75 minutes west, depending on how much construction is being done on I84/I81

There were two stores of note in Scranton… Grzyboski’s and Scranton Hobby. I don’t consider Grzyboski’s a “hobby shop”, but a train store (almost exclusively O) - they moved just south of Scranton around 10 years ago and are still going strong. To the best of my knowledge, Scranton Hobby closed in the last year or so. There is a Hobby Lobby in Dickson City, just north of Scranton, but I don’t remember seeing much in trains when I visited there. For the most part, forum sponsors and the internet have become my “area”!!!

all gone here closest if 100 miles or better

@Doug-Sr posted:

all gone here closest if 100 miles or better

I had 4 of them , with in an hours drive, of me, all gone,  The next 2 are well over 100 miles away

" Despatch Junction, and Dan's Crafts and Things"

Also in the Rochester, NY area-- radio control airplanes, cars and boats plus rockets/plastic kits/paint ball at Performance Hobbies in Webster (home of NCE DCC) and Fantasy Raceways in Greece (slot cars).  Plus a few smaller places you can find through Google.  A bit further down the road is the home of Gargraves Track (North Rose, NY) and Gardner the Train Doctor.  There are also several hobby shops in Buffalo (about 60-70 miles to the west) and Syracuse (to the east) that specialize in O gauge trains.  Western and Central NY upstate is in pretty good shape hobby shop-wise, even if the number of remaining shops is small.  We have hobby shops in smaller cities and towns too, such as Geneva NY (Lake City Hobbies) mid-way between Rochester and Syracuse on shores of Seneca Lake (one of the larger Finger Lakes) and tiny Wellsville (East Dyke Depot) in Southern Tier closer to the Pennsylvania state line.

Hobby shops have been in poor shape many years in the south.  They had MSRP prices and not used trains or model plane motors.  In the 1960s I had to buy by mail from Sig balsa wood and others for model dope.  We had a music store that sold a few models and Testor's glue.  Trains were not much in the sticks of south Texas.  We even took to making our own model airplane fuel as we had adults, that worked chemical plants, with access to methanol and nitrobenzene and a friends Dad owned a drug store for castor oil.

Prices for all hobby stuff is sky high.  I just went to Hobby Lobby with the wife and no kid can afford anything they have.  Our local hobby shop is well stocked with lots of planes, plastic models and model car stuff with a couple of Lionel cheap low end train sets and a few HO things.  Best deals there are old out of date model paints.

We do have a good O gauge train shop, Electric Train Depot, in Ponchatoula, LA, with three layouts but is only open, 10 to 4 on Saturdays.  They have a good selection of new and used trains.  I hope they make it.

It current times with kids and adults messing with devices, TV and sports, most do not have the spare time it takes to have a hobby like model trains.

Charlie

recently lost a military hobby store, specialized in plastic models. brick & mortar guy couldn't compete with on-line and show sales.

In the Myrtle Beach SC area we have No Train Shops. The nearest one that I know is in Summerville SC about 90 miles away. There is a Hobby Lobby but that’s it. I do all my Train needs online.

Southern Maryland has always been an O gauge desert.  There were a couple hobby shops around Waldorf that had some, but mostly HO and N.  They are gone.  There was a small shop that had O gauge over on the Chesapeake Bay but I think it is gone too.  Side Track Hobbies, way south, is still open but with a much smaller inventory than years ago.  They started to go mostly Tin Plate; wonder how that is turning out considering recent events.

Not much where I live in the San Francisco bay area. As a young man (16 years old) I worked at a great store in San Mateo called "Trains Nothing But Trains", but the owner Bart Austin passed away a number a years ago and the store did not survive long after his passing. We got a lot of hobby greats in there including John Allen and Neil Young, both of whom I met personally. Also, Bart had been friends with Gordon Varney (before my time).

Until recently we had Talbots which handled a fair amount of Lionel, but they closed shortly before the Covid shutdowns. I miss both stores and their employees greatly - I've lost count of the times Talbot's helped me out. I do think Talbot's "fibbed" once - they told my wife I had ordered something which I hadn't and she paid for it and brought it home. They were spot on, because I would have bought the item in a heartbeat and when my wife presented it to me at the end of a busy work day I was thrilled.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Henning's Trains is still going strong.  They do have a strong on-line presence, a necessary addition to a brick & mortar store in this day and age.  They also manufacture a wide variety of parts that account for a significant part of their sales volume as well.

I just had my first experience (on line, of course) with Henning's; first rate! 👍

Mark (way out) in Oregon

I still have the price tag on my #2046...Price was $395 cash with tender. I mowed lawns all summer to get this locomotive.

No, The Chicagoland market is going strong including OGF sponsor

Berwyn's Toys & Trains

Ok, what Hobby Stores.  In deep south Texas our Hobby Store is called the internet.

@Craftech posted:

There haven't been any hobby shops that carry trains in the Hudson Valley of NY where I live for years now.  And a few south of me across the border in NJ are gone too although NJ does have them a little farther down.   There are some that carry RC.

John

Toms Trains in Ardsley has a great Lionel selection and in Mahwah there is National Equipment also has a large selection of trains

@Lioneljeff posted:

Hello all, I have an issue with all my hobby shops closing down here in the Pittsburgh, PA area. The only one I noticed that is still around is Hobby Lobby.  Any idea why they are closing down?

@Lioneljeff,

They already did.

Unfortunately this trend is nothing new.  The damage was already underway long ago.  The closures started after internet sales exploded, almost 30 years ago now.  Brick and mortar became obsolete quickly.

My favorite stores, those where I live, have been gone for nearly 20 years.  They had existed for 50, 60, or 70 years before that and were institutions in their communities.

This is not going to turn around.  Savor the memories.

Be thankful in places like Chicagoland.  You have a rare situation.

Mike

No,  Trains and Toys Claymont DE, Nick Smith Broomall, PA, The lionel Store St Georges DE, Just Trains Newark DE.

Each within a 30 minute drive.

Tom, you're cheating.  We kinda' live in model railroading Mecca here.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Tom, you're cheating.  We kinda' live in model railroading Mecca here.

Yes, you do. The demographics information I've seen over the years, although there never has been much of it available, indicates that New York state and eastern Pennsylvania are the regions that have the most model railroaders.

In the Houston area, there are 3 that I'm aware of;

1. Papa Bens in the Meyerland area.

2. G&G Model Shop, in the West University area.

3. Trains, in the Spring area.

I've only been to Papa Bens, he has a good selection and is helpful.  The prices are okay.  I've not been to G&G.  I've heard about Trains from a friend.  His review after visiting the place was like many online reviews, the place appears to be quite disorganized, but people keep coming back.

Back in the 80s/90s I used to go to JR's Hobby, but it is gone.

I remember years ago when speaking to Mr. Boyle at OGR concerning advertising,  if I recall accurately, he shared with me the concentration of subscribers back then here in the Northeast US.

Another thing that drove RR interest was the generational RR employment of many families in this part of the country.  RR identity also drives affinity down through the years which in turn can express its self in model train purchases,

Of course there is population density to also consider.  At one time  in the 1960's billboards in Cleveland Ohio stated that 50% of the US population was within 500 miles of Cleveland Ohio.

I would venture to say that there is a local or regional train show frequently in our tri-state area.  Almost every week end in the fourth quarter.

Many times there is a line at checkout in Nick Smith.

Another fantastic shop is Hennings.  About an hour from me.   Unbelievable stock of parts, plus their knowledge and ability to fix anything.   You can ask for almost any part from their hundreds of drawers and the response may be something like, " Which version do you need?  Right hand or left hand?  Prewar or post was?  Command or conventional, etc, etc,..."

.The place is absolutely a gem !!  Decent pleasant folks.

You are right John,  we are totally spoiled here.

@Dave Ripp. posted:

No, The Chicagoland market is going strong including OGF sponsor

Berwyn's Toys & Trains

There are three large hobby shops in the Chicago area. I can't complain.

@Landsteiner posted:

" Despatch Junction, and Dan's Crafts and Things"

A bit further down the road is the home of Gargraves Track (North Rose, NY) and Gardner the Train Doctor.  There are also several hobby shops in Buffalo (about 60-70 miles to the west) and Syracuse (to the east) that specialize in O gauge trains.  Western and Central NY upstate is in pretty good shape hobby shop-wise, even if the number of remaining shops is small.

Gardner the Train Doctor and Jr Junction Train & Hobby (us) in Syracuse is alive and well.  I don't think there are any other stores in all of upstate NY sells a full selection of new O gauge trains.  I know we serve customers from northern, southern, western and the Mohawk Valley in our Central New York "destination location".  Our internet sales are strong too, which quite frankly is the only way to stay in business in this era.

Back in the 70's, 80's,90's and early 2000's we had about 6 different train/hobby stores within 20 minutes of my home in South Jersey.  Now we have one, Triple A hobbies in Magnolia, which today is kind of light for model trains but much heavier in the plastic model area and other hobby supplies.   The two closest train stores are located in Trenton, New Jersey about an hour's ride north of here and Galloway township about a 45 minute drive from my home.   Of course,  there is also Nicholas Smith's in Broomall, Pa. which is also about an hour's drive.  Obviously we are faring somewhat better than some other posters on this thread but it certainly isn't as good as it used to be especially when it comes to hanging out at your local store and swapping stories with the proprietor and your train buddies.  

Here in the REAL southern NJ on the west side we had several. Bridgeton - Walnut Street Hobbies closed years ago along with the two that were in Vineland. Actually , the one on Weymouth Rd sold out to Alloway Trains and Things which closed 2 year ago and took down a layout that was fabulous. It was in O Gauge Railroading Magazine too I believe. Now we have Nicholas Smith in Broomall Pa, Just Trains in DE, Holly Beach Hobbies in Wildwood.  I saw future back in this forum that someone listed Trains and Toys in Claymont DE but never been there, Also listed The Lionel Store in St Georges DE but also never been there. I know there are some more in central Jersey also. We are definitely in the hot zone for hobby shops but they are getting fewer and fewer. If they do not have a web presence then they do not last long. And as mentioned there is Hennings and a couple others in Philly area.

When I go to Nicholas smith I notice there is less in the store,  still a lot but not what it was.

Rumor running is Nicholas Smith owner is thinking of retiring. I know his top guy is moving on. I sure hope not as they are fantastic store to deal with and within an hour drive.

Yes, the three I used to visit and buy my items are all gone. The nearest one to me are 50 miles away and $20.00 in tolls.

Big kid,

Stopped going there a long time ago. Bid store, lots of products but way over priced and its a 50 mile ride. I’d rather spend mt time searching for newer items from the dealers on the form. They do have a large selection of post-war products but I find those to be expensive as well.

Nice folks but not worth the ride bless you want to see the layouts which are very, very nice.

Nothing really left in NE Ohio, of course there are a few but nothing like it was even 20 yrs ago. Heck, we even had Lionel Service here for a few years!!!!

With a job that ricosheted me around the Midwest and west (sadly, l have made it to few of the NE shops, then or now,) l managed to visit, once, several of those listed above, such  as Seymour, Indiana, but many more that no longer exist. It is very difficult to get even supplies but has been for a while, and even an internet supplier of modeling materials l bought from has vanished.   I have laughed at how others described the similar greeting attitude they received, "Don't bother me, l am busy ignoring potential customers." But l also have heard from a long time area train show dealer who tried to open a shop, and have it staffed while he worked a paying job.  COVID staffing problems are not new.  Guess now?

When I moved to Tampa Florida back in 1973 there were three dedicated train shops and at least two trains and other items hobby shops. 39 years later we have none that I can think of. There are about two across Tampa Bay in Pinellas County

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

"...We kinda' live in model railroading Mecca here."

Yes, and another often overlooked place is Bussinger Trains (MTH), which just moved from their location in the old Ambler train station to a new larger location just two blocks away on Main Street.

@Andy Hummell posted:

Iron Horse was a great shop.  When I got back into the hobby, I would make a trip there two or three times a year, looking for NOS and whatever struck my fancy.  Later, those trips would be made to Imperial Trains (moved) and Mercer Junction (now just a fond memory).  Now those train shop day trips are spent going to Hobby Express in Cranberry, Chippers Trains & Collectibles in Washington, PA (in Washington Crown Center Mall), Patrick's Trains in Wheeling, WV, and T and K Train & Hobby in Bridgeport, OH.  The last three can easily be visited in one trip with proper planning.

Just East of Pittsburgh, we are still fortunate to have a number of train shops to choose from, including Niedzalkoski's Train Shop in Jeannette, Len's Train Shop & Custom Diecasts in Irwin (rural Irwin address, not in the town itself), and Brady's Train Shop in Greensburg.  We had a fourth, Dick's Train House in Jeannette, but unfortunately, the owner passed away a couple of weeks ago.

Andy

Surprised no one has mentioned that just 10 miles north of Pittsburgh is C.T. McCormick Hardware in Zelienople. C.T. has mostly retired, and it's a real hardware store, but his son Jeff sells a lot of trains from the front of the store!

Southerland Station in Huntsville, Alabama, has been gone for several years, so I have to mail order most items.  I have been to JR Junction on a business trip and it is awesome.

When we moved to Central PA in 1999, the area was swimming with train stores.  I've crossed out the ones that are gone:

• Maxwell's Trains - Harrisburg
• The Train Shop? - Palmyra
• Draud's Derailment - Lebanon
• Blue Mountain Hobbies - Annville
• Barry's Trains - Elizabethtown
• Cool Trains - Salunga
• Hobbytown - Harrisburg
• The Station - New Cumberland

Back in the Pittsburgh area, the biggest and best train store is undoubtedly Hobby Express in Cranberry Township.  (And I'm not saying that just because I used to work there).  It has a very large selection of Lionel and MTH locomotives, freight cars, track, transformers, and scenery products.  They repair trains as well, and the staff is very knowledgeable and helpful.

George

@PRRrat posted:

Surprised no one has mentioned that just 10 miles north of Pittsburgh is C.T. McCormick Hardware in Zelienople. C.T. has mostly retired, and it's a real hardware store, but his son Jeff sells a lot of trains from the front of the store!

Yeah, I missed a few.  C.T. McCormick was always combined with trips to Mercer Junction and Hobby Express.  Another still-active shop in that area is the Underground Railroad Shoppe in New Castle (definitely worth visiting).

Also forgot to mention one of the best day-trip-from-Pittsburgh train shops that is also a fond memory -- Jim's Train Shop in Homer City, PA.

Andy

Hobby Express's website doesn't even mention trains.

@Frank Mulligan posted:

Hobby Express's website doesn't even mention trains.

Hmm.  I'll mention that to them.  But they do have trains, track, accessories, scenery, and just about everything else you might need.  Take a look.

Here are photos of the Hobby Express train section (not all of it) in the store.  It's about 35% of the store.  They carry O, HO, N, some S, and some G scale items.  For O-gaugers, they carry a wide variety of locomotives (Lionel, MTH, Atlas, Williams), track (Lionel, MTH, Atlas, GarGraves), transformers and power supplies, command components (DCS, Legacy, TMCC), starter sets, scenery items (Woodland Scenics, Scenic Express, others), and buildings (pre-built and kits).  They also carry lots of wire, smoke fluid, and accessories of various types.  And they have people who know how to advise you on their use.

See what I mean? 

George

The Raleigh Durham area has Nick's Trains, lots of postwar and supplies.  Also Hanger 18 in Cary.  Not much in trains, but plenty of scratch building stuff

They also host our model car club (Misfit Modelers). 

None here in Seymour or Columbus Indiana. Closed down years ago.

Hobby stores have been closing since at least the 1960s.  Living in the sticks 25 miles from a hobby shop, I did my share by buying balsa from Sig and airplane dope by mail also.  First it was TV getting peoples spare time, now is the machines.  We are all members of a dying bred, hobbyists.

The one good sized hobby store here in Baton Rouge, LA is hanging on with remote controlled cars being the most active at the store.  A great train store, Electric Train Depot, with a couple nice layouts is 30 miles away in Ponchatoula, LA and only open on Saturdays.

Charlie

Here's the most bizarre story of how a hobby shop recently got a new lease on life.

Tech-Toys is a hobby shop in a strip mall on Route 46 in Parsippany, N.J. If you blinked when you drove by, you'd miss it. It was just another shop in one of the area's many strip malls.

About a year ago, Progressive Insurance filmed a couple of TV commercials in that strip mall, showing the front of the store and the Tech-Toys sign. Once the commercials started airing, the place became very, very popular.  (Link to news story below).

P.S.  Tech-Toys is an authorized Lionel dealer, although I don't know if the shop carries much Lionel inventory.

https://www.roi-nj.com/2021/03...ational-ad-campaign/

Like most stores, between Amazon and Walmart, they have been squeezed out. I would have never thought I would miss radio shack so much. Ah, gone are the days of the enjoyable hunt, scrolling through the yellow pages finding a list of stores specializing in your need then going to each one to find the best price and or product.

HobbyTown USA is the last man standing locally, there is HobbyLobby, but they don't really have things for the electronic hobbies I am into. We do have some boutique shops in Downtown Fredericksburg that carry train sets but they don't specialize in it. And a few sprinkled throughout the nearby reagion. I do my best to support the local stores, most of my RC purchases are done at Hobbytown. But for these trains, I don't think I can now.

I just went through the worst buying experience Ive had in quite sometime from a Lionel Dealer a couple of hours away. Would not replace my defective model, I was buying for my dad for fathers day, on my first request was told to contact Lionel and that I could find another dealer to spend my train dollars at. Went back and forth via email, since no one returned my call, with two different people that had very different attitudes on the matter. The owner was, well if I posted the emails, it would probably make you scratch your head.

I even bought another loco from them so I could get my Dad a train, for the day after Fathers Day. And still, met with extreme resistance to make things right on the first loco. Thankfully I paid with PayPal and was able to get my money back via dispute minus the $30 for the free shipping I got, if I were to take the word of the owner it would seem that PayPal fees are taking food off of his family's table. I was half expecting him to tell me his woes of the rent he has to pay for his store. I think this stores saving grace is probably the gentleman who seems to be spearheading the online sales.

I was seriously thinking about just ditching this train hobby after that experience. I'm trying to give myself a cooling off before deciding if I'm going to bother writing a review online, just in the interest of being fair and trying to help small business.

@Don Winslow posted:

Not much where I live in the San Francisco bay area. As a young man (16 years old) I worked at a great store in San Mateo called "Trains Nothing But Trains", but the owner Bart Austin passed away a number a years ago and the store did not survive long after his passing. We got a lot of hobby greats in there including John Allen and Neil Young, both of whom I met personally. Also, Bart had been friends with Gordon Varney (before my time).

Until recently we had Talbots which handled a fair amount of Lionel, but they closed shortly before the Covid shutdowns. I miss both stores and their employees greatly - I've lost count of the times Talbot's helped me out. I do think Talbot's "fibbed" once - they told my wife I had ordered something which I hadn't and she paid for it and brought it home. They were spot on, because I would have bought the item in a heartbeat and when my wife presented it to me at the end of a busy work day I was thrilled.

The Bay Area of California was once a hot bed of train stores.  (Much the same in SoCal, including San Diego, as well).

The ones in SanFran proper were always pricey - as in often "over-list".  Trains Nothing But Trains in San Mateo was an outstanding store with just about everything in/for O Gauge.  The owner was a bit grumpy, but that wasn't uncommon with train shops.  There was the Engine House in Sunnyvale, housed in old Quonset huts as I remember, that had more Lionel trains than I ever saw anywhere even to this day.  The owner?  Yep.  A qualified grump as well. 

My all-time Bay Area train shop was Schmidty's in Santa Clara.  The owner was a joyful guy, pleasant and knowledgeable.  He worked at the Sunnyvale Lockheed plant as his real job, and managed the train shop in the afternoons and on weekends.  He always had a pot of coffee for the trainheads and a deal for this young (at the time) operator/collector each time I walked in.  Hank Schmidt was the guy ... he introduced me to TCA and TTOS and was my sponsor for both organizations.  Hank passed in the late '70s.

There was also the Red Caboose (?) in Redwood City.  Interesting chap who ran/owned the store.

Hard to believe Talbot's closed - leaving almost nothing on the SF Peninsula.

All gone.  Sadly.

There have been several stores over the years in Burbank, CA, which is a distance from me. 

The one standing to this day is The Train Shack.  An excellent store.  They do sell via their web-site.  Always worth a visit if in SoCal.

Greg Bosak who owns Chicagoland Hobby on Northwest Highway recently sent out an email stating that the store which was started by his dad decades ago is for sale. If there are no buyers then it may be gone as well.

I am pretty lucky my local shop seems to be going strong but there seems to be less and less trains and more and more other hobby stuff.  They seem to have a lot of RC and those sections are taking over the train aisles.  But I am lucky within 30 minutes there are two other only train shops and one other good sized hobby shop with a lot of train stuff.

It's not a true hobby shop, but if you're looking for a place that's loaded with O Scale (new and used) equipment, and you're in Northwest Indiana, you need to visit the "I Love Toy Trains" in Michigan City.   It's owned by Tom McComas (TM Productions) who has produced almost every video on O Scale that I can find.  If you make the trip, stop by on a Saturday, and you might bump into Bob Phillips (aka the Lionel Whisperer), the star of the "You Can Do It" DVD series.  Most likely, he'll be at his bench repairing someone's postwar Lionel engine (but he'll always find the time to help you out with any questions).  This place is a true hidden gem.

@Raptor Rails posted:

I am pretty lucky my local shop seems to be going strong but there seems to be less and less trains and more and more other hobby stuff.  They seem to have a lot of RC and those sections are taking over the train aisles.  But I am lucky within 30 minutes there are two other only train shops and one other good sized hobby shop with a lot of train stuff.

You sir are spoiled!! :-)

With the P&D Hobby Shop closing in the Metro Detroit area by the end of this month, I can only say I have Great Lakes Toy & Hobby in Sterling Heights, Whistle Stop in St. Clair Shores, and a modest selection of antique stores left.

I'm just gobsmacked that although we have online shopping at our fingertips, we're also contributing to the downfall of physical stores. My siblings and I were at a family dinner in downtown Detroit to celebrate my great-grandparents 101st wedding anniversary, and my mother's cousin, Skip, showed me my great-granddad's journal from 1964. (Well, I got to share it from him to be honest.) Similar to the way we post things through social media and text messages, journals were a way of describing day-to-day activities; however, I only did journal entries for schoolwork, not to mention I briefly did a one-line journal essay about one of my trips in Torch Lake for myself, and I have a Mickey Mouse journal. But, I'm no big journalist.

@Andy Hummell posted:

Iron Horse was a great shop.  When I got back into the hobby, I would make a trip there two or three times a year, looking for NOS and whatever struck my fancy.  Later, those trips would be made to Imperial Trains (moved) and Mercer Junction (now just a fond memory).  Now those train shop day trips are spent going to Hobby Express in Cranberry, Chippers Trains & Collectibles in Washington, PA (in Washington Crown Center Mall), Patrick's Trains in Wheeling, WV, and T and K Train & Hobby in Bridgeport, OH.  The last three can easily be visited in one trip with proper planning.

Just East of Pittsburgh, we are still fortunate to have a number of train shops to choose from, including Niedzalkoski's Train Shop in Jeannette, Len's Train Shop & Custom Diecasts in Irwin (rural Irwin address, not in the town itself), and Brady's Train Shop in Greensburg.  We had a fourth, Dick's Train House in Jeannette, but unfortunately, the owner passed away a couple of weeks ago.

Andy

I know this post is a little old but I googled dick’s and there are some recent reviews. Maybe someone else is running it now?

We moved back to the area in 2020. Just up the hill from where iron horse was. So many shops are closed from when I was young. There was a small one in McMurray by Donaldsons crossroads. I think AB Charles was the name on the one on McFarland in dormont? JC out in pennhills

@Jmurr posted:

I know this post is a little old but I googled dick’s and there are some recent reviews. Maybe someone else is running it now?

Alan's two sons took over and were running it (and going to York and some Greenberg shows), but they were forced to close their doors recently due to family issues.  Some of the guys in my club were regular customers there, and none of them have heard if Alan's sons plan to continue the business in a new location or in some altered form.

Andy

Metro Phoenix has 1 hobby shop, Obie's and he is mostly servicing HO and N scale, he has 1 rack of O but nothing to be excited about. For a population near 7 million, it sucks not having a LHS. Once the older owners of the great LHS passed or had health issues, doors closed. Now it is online or a trip to Tucson 2 hours away.

I live in a small town, at one time we had 2 hobby stores, now 0.

Brick and mortar stores of every type are losing out to online stores. There’s almost no way a LHS can compete on price with the big retailers. If we’re not willing to pay a little more for products we are going to lose them all.

On Long Island:

Trainworld in Brooklyn, Internet only  (Yes, Brooklyn is on Long Island)

Trainland in Lynbrook  (Brooklyn- Lynbrook, get it?)

Nassau Hobby in Freeport, Trains models, rockets and lots of RC stuff

Willis Hobbies in Mineola

Kross Hardware in No. Babylon, a real hardware store with a toy train problem

Hobby Lobby in Bayshore, not sure if any trains are sold there

NY Electric Trains in Manorville, opened over a year ago and seems to be doing well selling only trains old and new and hobby supplies

Seven locations spread out over 70 miles west to east.

I've lived in the west for 60 years.  What the heck is a hobby store?

I do not think Maine has any O/S gauge train stores left Internet only. I used to try buying local but 90 miles one way and he  always had to order what i wanted at full MSRP.

Gunny

Guess i'm blessed where i live. 4 train stores within a half an hour of me. uncle rays to the north in sheffield lake, depot train and hobby in cleveland, ormandys in medina, and stockyard express in oberlin, Ohio. 2 other hobby stores within 5 minutes of me. One just slot cars and other is mostly rc cars and trucks

Pretty much so - drive 80+ miles to one 2 states away that's 1/2 out of stock of the supplies that I'm looking for.....so doubly noncompetitive.

Used to visit 4 stores up in the valley, they are all gone now. I now have to drive to Tucson from Casa Grande since the only thing I have in town is a craft store (Micheal's),

@Darrell, what store are you visiting in Tucson? I haven't been down there in a bit, but the only one I knew of was the one connected to the Ace Hardware. Is that the one you are going to?

I think that's the one, its been a while since I went there last.

In Waco, Tx the last one closed about 2 years ago.  It was partially trains along with model aircraft and was a storefront in a small strip mall.  Just disappeared one day with little notice or fanfare.  Not replaced.

Don

Never had one to begin with in this Town! The Town 45 Miles away still has A Hobby Shop !!