Hello all,
Happy father’s day to all who are fathers. Well not completely finished with my N-scale layout and already I am thinking trying HO. I was going to add an upper deck in N but I think I will try HO instead.
I have a couple of N-scale places I buy from almost exclusively on the net because I have had very good service and prices from them (BLW, N-Scale Supply and Fifers). I am now looking for similar places that deal with HO. Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Peter
Walthers would be a good start…get one of their HO catalogs, and go from there…
Phil
No ONE store can carry all brands, so for me it’s the ‘Brand selection’. For others, it’s price. ‘Model Railroader’ is a bible of sorts, and lists people wanting to sell you products.
IF you are a newcomer, it’s advice and help solving problems as they come up. Find a LHS, first. Ebay and Mail order won’t help you.
Whatever you buy, you wan’t it to work. Most LHS’s have RR savvy guy working there, or cutomer.
And Test Tracks. USE THEM. No owner should complain to opening something to make sure it isn’t a dud, or convince you to buy something after seeing it. t has happened to me on rolling stock to get a factory dud, and I;ve heard of guys who got engines that didn;t work from the box. Don’t feel bad to beg for him to run the engine before buying it.
Also, most good stores will have the brands you need.
That is great advice guys… however, in Alaska (specifically Anchorage) you have two choices and their MRR stuff is just a side note. No test track, no real layout, no savvy guys. It is sad but the truth.
I do visit them on occasion to get some I need specfically and in a hurry, but that is about it.
Peter
http://www.1stplacehobbies.com/
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/
For price and selection, these two are hard to beat. Model Train Stuff has real time inventory on their site.
I’ll second “Model Train Stuff,” which is actually M.B. Klein. I’ll add www.trainworld.com, another premier discounter. Besides being featured on “The Sopranos” one night, Trainworld is known for shipping your trains immediately. They have a multi-page ad in MR every month, and their prices, like M.B. Klein’s, can’t be beat. (How do they do it? Well, both of these companies buy closeout lots of items that manufacturers and wholesalers are removing from their inventories. They get a good price, you get a good price. Their “blowout” sales are typically on discontinued items, but they are still first-quality items, new in the box.)
www.discounttrainsonline.com is another good e-tailer. They have good prices, but they don’t ship as quickly as some of the others. Still, I’ve had no problem with any orders with them, and they have a very good inventory of available items.
Here is a link to a similar subject in another forum. Take a look. I would post a bunch of sites but it is a laborious process.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,5787.0.html
Rich
Dallasmodel works (http://www.dallasmodelworks.com) has been my favorite for the last while.
www.trainworld.com, www.modeltrainstuff.com (M.B. Klein), and www.toytrainheaven.com are about the three best going in that order.
Dick
Texas Chief