I have been finding recently that at least two of the hobby shops in our area have been buying postwar trains and keeping a reasonably good selection for display and sale. My sense is that the selection has become better over time. This makes each visit a bit more of an adventure, more than merely looking at the episodic arrival of new product from current manufacturers.
The two hobby shops where I have recently noticed this influx are Great Lakes Hobby in Sterling Heights, MI, and Empire Hobby and Train in Troy, MI.
Perhaps this is a recent anomaly, but I suspect that more of the Baby Boomers are "culling the Herd", as one of my friends used to say, for a variety of reasons, or, their families are now selling their trains and equipment since they are no longer being used.
Are other Forum Members noticing a similar pattern? And, which hobby stores in your areas (or travels) have a good, regularly refreshed selection of Postwar Trains? In this regard the hobby stores in our area seem to have a greater selection of Lionel, American Flyer, and Marx.
