I got word on F.B. that the long time Baltimore Shop M.B. Klein is closing its doors on Dec 15th 2023 and going to online only.
I'm going to miss them as I bought Atlas O from them time to time.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
@prrhorseshoecurve posted:I got word on F.B. that the long time Baltimore Shop M.B. Klein is closing its doors on Dec 15th 2023.
I'm going to miss them as I bought Atlas O from them time to time.
How solid is this info? Are they planning to continue in on-line form as Model Train Stuff? The website gives no indication that I can see that they're closing -- it was only a few weeks ago that they discontinued their COVID-era policy of providing curbside in-person pickups -- could the FB chatter just be a misunderstanding of that "closing" (they apparently haven't had a showroom since moving to Cockeysville from downtown Baltimore years ago).
@prrhorseshoecurve posted:
Ain’t nothing we can do with that link, ….it’s a private group, ….what’s that supposed to tell us?
Pat
I used to go there as a kid when they were still in downtown Baltimore a block from City Hall. They moved out of the city a long time ago now -- their old building is gone and it's now a parking lot. I visited their Timonium store front probably six or more years ago to buy some last minute smoke fluid right before Christmas when we ran out.
I'm impressed with these small retailers who continually find a way to compete against the Internet big guys -- even moreso with those who somehow maintain a brick and mortar shop for people to visit!
The company has exisited as M.B. Klein and Model Train Stuff at least in search land for quite awhile now. Perhaps they are just retiring the M.B. Klein name/linkage to operate solely as Model Train Stuff?
We can only hope.
They're just going all on-line like a lot of other places.
After more than 100 years, toy train store closing, going exclusively online
Nothing to see here, business as usual at ModelTrainStuff. 
Frequented their store in downtown Baltimore on Gay Street for years. It was a classic rabbit warren of rooms with shelves stacked floor to ceiling. The floors creaked and it had a smell. But a good one. 
One of those places where I always felt compelled to buy something every visit even if it was just a piece of rolling stock or a structure kit. Ah, great memories.
Visited the new location a few times when they still had the "showroom." I used to buy quite of bit of LCT tinplate from them.
They live on in cyberspace!
I was a very frequent customer way back when I lived in Laurel, MD, and they (MB Klein) were in their downtown Baltimore location. Have still been buying a good amount of Z scale from them in recent times via their online store. Good folks to deal with.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:They're just going all on-line like a lot of other places.
After more than 100 years, toy train store closing, going exclusively online
Nothing to see here, business as usual at ModelTrainStuff.
They did that a number of years ago. The place used to be jammed every time there was a train show at the Timonium Fairgrounds which was right down the road from where they relocated even more years ago.
I suspect that the OP may have seen that old announcement and took it as new news, not recognizing it was a change of operations announcement.
I checked recently just to make sure this information wasn’t a secret, but Model Train Stuff was purchased by Hattons Model Railways, based near Liverpool in Great Britain, several months ago. It marked a targeted expansion of Hattons into the American market — obviously as an online retailer.
It was confirmed by Hattons in this thread recently:
@harmonyards posted:Ain’t nothing we can do with that link, ….it’s a private group, ….what’s that supposed to tell us?
Well, to start with, so far it appears this is just another unvetted internet rumor, rather than actual information. Unless the Model Train Stuff folks are members of that private group, I'm skeptical that such a rumor is grounded in fact. By all indications, the web site is showing the expected holiday sales, and if they were in fact closing about a week from now, I can't help but believe the site would be plastered with "Going Out Of Business!" offers.
I say again, what is the basis for this supposed information? Who is saying it, and what is behind it? More to the point, why is an established, long term business being rumored to supposedly be shutting down?
@Steve Tyler posted:I say again, what is the basis for this supposed information? Who is saying it, and what is behind it? More to the point, why is an established, long term business being rumored to supposedly be shutting down?
Sorry, I reacted to an earlier post before reading all the rest of the responses -- GRJ and others have already adequately answered my question! 
I just spoke to Jeff at Hatton''s (owners of model train stuff) the Cockeysville location is indeed closing but not the web site it is moving to Nebraska in the near future.
The great sale is a result of that and the prices are great!.
Gunny
@Jim R. posted:I checked recently just to make sure this information wasn’t a secret, but Model Train Stuff was purchased by Hattons Model Railways, based near Liverpool in Great Britain, several months ago. It marked a targeted expansion of Hattons into the American market — obviously as an online retailer.
It was confirmed by Hattons in this thread recently:
Thanks for providing reliable information.
Hatton's was at an April York meet - I can't remember if it was 2022 or 2023. They were located in Orange, they looked a bit lost, and nobody was visiting their booth. Since I have an interest in British model trains, I spent some time talking with them. They were disappointed in the lack of interest. Tried to explain that the typical TCA member is unlikely to be familiar with them and there isn't a lot of interest in British trains among the 3-rail crowd. Also, I told them that the October meet is much larger than April. I tried to be encouraging, but they didn't seem happy and I haven't seen them since.
I'm hoping this means that it might be more convenient to get British items here in the states.
I received an email from modeltrainstuff.com saying they were ending their rewards program on Dec 14. so I guess it's true their present business setup is going away around the middle of the month. It's a shame as I bought layout supplies from them frequently. They usually had a good sale on trees once a year.
Found out I had $25 in rewards so I had to buy something to use it, but a lot of stuff shows out of stock. Also preorders also seem to have disappeared.
Ken
I don't think they're going out of business, I found a discussion and a post with an email from the company that bought them saying they were going to continue the business. I'm sure they didn't want all the rewards baggage from the old company, so it makes sense those would be discontinued.
FWIW, I just noticed that Model Train Stuff has a full page ad (back cover) of the just released issue of CTT.
They are moving the operation to Fremont Nebraska as I stated earlier. I only hope the order handling time improves.
Gunny
Again, Model Train Stuff isn’t going out of business. The M.B. Klein hobby store is closing. We’re talking about an online business that doesn’t have a sales floor where people can browse in person and shop.
I’m not sure why Hattons hasn’t ever really announced the acquisition and pending changes, but it is a fact. Hattons itself transformed into a warehouse type operation outside Liverpool some years ago after operating out of a small storefront for decades in Liverpool and then a larger store in the 1990s. Kind of like the evolution of M.B. Klein.
@Jim R. posted:Again, Model Train Stuff isn’t going out of business. The M.B. Klein hobby store is closing. We’re talking about an online business that doesn’t have a sales floor where people can browse in person and shop.
I’m not sure why Hattons hasn’t ever really announced the acquisition and pending changes, but it is a fact. Hattons itself transformed into a warehouse type operation outside Liverpool some years ago after operating out of a small storefront for decades in Liverpool and then a larger store in the 1990s. Kind of like the evolution of M.B. Klein.
Some folks replied without reading the link in your previous post. 
O.K., quick update: I just got off the phone with MTS, and gleaned a few nuggets:
Yes, their Rewards program *is* going away in a few days, as reported and noted in their recent announcements/emails. Also, their ban on earning *new* Rewards points during recent sales has been extended through the end of the program, so whatever points you currently have is all you'll ever have.
I was stuck at a little over 1,000 points, short of the 1,500 needed to get to the $15 certificate, the lowest they offer, so I called in to see what I could do about that. The very pleasant person I spoke to said I couldn't add any more points, but offered to give me a "manual credit" for $10 instead, which I immediately applied to a small purchase. So, if you have too few points for their smallest "certificate", don't despair -- call in . . . before the 14th!
In that conversation, I bemoaned the recent demise of their COVID-era curbside pickup option, whereupon he said they'd let me pick up my current purchase, the only difference being I'd have to ring the buzzer at the door, rather than text when when I arrived, any time M-F during business hours. So, if you're in the area, ask, and they may be willing to let you pick your order up . . . at least for the near future!
OTOH, he did confirm that the Cockeysville location *would* be closing soon, and that their on-line business would continue from their two other locations, in a manner that he characterized as ultimately being "better for the customer." He wouldn't answer a direct question about whether the Cockeysville staff was either being laid off or relocated, but did say my two proffered options sounded "reasonable", which I took as a "yes". I offered my condolences and wished him and his colleagues all the best, and hastened to pass on the info I'd gotten!
For those who have never been to/seen the Cockeysville location, here it is:
We had just left and I had decided to take a photo for my hobby shop photo file.
Attachments
Images (1)
Now we’re going to have legitimate questions about Model Train Stuff with this news that Hattons itself is closing down.
@Jim R. posted:Now we’re going to have legitimate questions about Model Train Stuff with this news that Hattons itself is closing down.
Fascinating! Why on earth would they have extended themselves to buy a US firm, only to shut its brick-and-mortar location and then put the mothership out of commission shortly thereafter? Are they transitioning to an online-only US base . . . or perhaps they are emulating some of the old-fashioned stores that were perpetually "Going Out Of Business!", with "Bankruptcy Sales!" to match? Time will tell, I guess . . . 
I'm very disappointed Hattons is closing. I've used them for years for UK prototype models in HO and N. I didn't realize there was all this acquisition stuff happening under the hood. (Sigh)
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.u...ces-closure-28411645
Not much info other than saying that changing market conditions make continuing operations unsustainable. Whatever that means.
Really odd since they sent people to man a booth at the York meet not long ago - I thought they were trying to gauge how to enter the US market. In addition, they had their usual advertising presence in the January issue of Railway Modeller.
This is 2nd/3rd hand info so could be wrong, but I guess Bachmann (whose "Branchline" British OO models are very popular in the UK) chose to stop being distributed by Hatton's last year, and that apparently caused Hatton's to lose a lot of revenue. Plus I guess Brexit affected Hatton's sales to the continent.
@wjstix posted:This is 2nd/3rd hand info so could be wrong, but I guess Bachmann (whose "Branchline" British OO models are very popular in the UK) chose to stop being distributed by Hatton's last year, and that apparently caused Hatton's to lose a lot of revenue. Plus I guess Brexit affected Hatton's sales to the continent.
I have no idea if this information about Bachmann is correct, but it would definitely be a factor. It could be one of the things Hattons was alluding to in its updated post on its website to answer customers’ questions, including Brexit’s role. Here’s Hattons’ bullet-pointed list:
The company is NOT insolvent. The company is being wound down in an orderly fashion, leaving no outstanding debts.
Changing market conditions have had a large impact on the business, we have seen this in declining customer numbers, changing customer demographics and supply chain disruption.
Increased cost of compliance has become a large factor. Brexit, GST and other operational costs of running an international business have all increased dramatically over the past few years.
We do not have an exact date for closing down as of yet. We will be communicating this in the coming weeks.
Here’s the link to that info:
https://www.hattons.co.uk/newsdetail?id=1498
But, again, nothing specific about Model Train Stuff. We have to assume it’s going down with the ship, though I’d hope Hattons would choose to make some effort to sell a retailer it purchased less than five months ago. Frustrating.
Looks like Model Train Stuff (M.B. Klein) is gone. Appears Hattons closing took Model Train Stuff with it.
Announcement is on their website.
https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/
Ken
That's a shame that, as Jim said, Klein is going down with the ship. Too bad Hattons couldn't figure out how to spin it off and put it back where it was before they bought it. Would have to find new buyers, though, not the easiest thing to do. As others have noted, why in the world did Hattons buy it when they were in such poor financial condition?
The end result is like what venture capital firms often do - buy a company, strip out the assets, and then leave it for dead (along with the employees). The difference is that Hattons didn't do it intentionally. But the result is the same.
One other frustrating point: Hatton’s relative silence about its acquisition of M.B. Klein and its silence about its demise until this past week.
We were led to believe a new warehouse was pending in Nebraska. Now it appears Hatton's was emptying the Maryland warehouse knowing full well it was going out of business. So while Hatton’s is running clearance sales in England, Model Train Stuff has suddenly closed with no mention about what happened to its inventory.
All this within five months of Hatton’s acquisition of M.B. Klein? It doesn’t add up. Hatton’s had to know its financial limitations last fall. The company has been excessively secretive under these unusual circumstances.
Over the years I've purchased a number of items from Model Train Stuff particularly scenery, buildings, and ballast. They were are great source for that sort of stuff with good inventory and prices. It's a real shame to see them disappear.
We have been bemoaning the loss of so many brick and mortar hobby shops so it seems strange to see a major internet retailer of all scales to go away. I hope this isn't the beginning of a trend.
Ken
I think that Model Train Stuff must have already been in some difficulty when they accepted the buyout offer from Hatton's. As to the future, I think we will continue to see what we see in all industries - a consolidation down to a few large distributors who are able to make the most of narrow margins through high turnover. There will always be some passionate holdouts, and we should support them!
We're very lucky here to still have a small, local train shop, and I always go there first, but I wonder how long they will hold out, too.
Fred
No, the owners clearly wanted out, but there is no evidence Model Train Stuff was struggling. However, like smaller shops whose owners wanted to retire, M.B. Klein had trouble finding a buyer. The one they found turned out to be the death of them.
