Hi everybody. I went ot that train store in Tampa and selection is pretty big. A lot of stuff that they have there is train sets layouts and whatever you need. There is a back door that shows you some train wheels signs and a garden railway in the shrubs. What do you think of the train store.
Sincerely
Ryan LaPlaca
Ryan,
H&R Trains is actually in Pinellas Park, not Tampa. Tampa is approximately 12 miles east of H&R’s location, across Tampa Bay.
I’ve visited H&R many times in the past. Generally friendly service. Though not huge, they do have two ailses with a decent selection of items in HO and N items.
The rear section of the store is devoted to the larger scales such as O and G. There is also a repair shop for the large scale items.
Note: Prices on all scale products, however, are at MSRP.
The marketing emphasis, IMHO, leans more towards the kids and toy train groups. A good example is the: Little Engineers Club where on certain days parents bring their small kids and the employees host fun “train related” games for them. The kids also get to run the G Scale trains on the store’s garden railway.
H&R hosts two train shows a year (Spring, Autumn). It was at one of these shows (2003) that I had my first ever “real live” exposure to a “strange” technology I kept hearing murmers about: DCC! After the TCS representative let me run a couple of HO units (and accidentally crash a BLI GG1 in a head on collision) I became hooked!
One thing though…don’t overlook Happy Hobo Trains in Tampa. The store is run by very knowledgeable modelers and is 2nd to none if you need detailing parts. Large selection of HO and N locos, rolling stock, and accessories.
Tom up at Trains and Treasures in Clearwater is also a great guy and knows a lot about trains. He usually has 10% off stock and has a used section also.