Well, I have no excuse for this one. I went on Google and looked for hobby shops in the Chicago area. One of the places that popped up was York’s Trains in Highland, Indiana, just across the state line.
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This place had terrible reviews, and I could not believe that any hobby shop anywhere could really be like that, so I jumped in the explorer and checked it out.
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I have never said anything bad about any local hobby shop online, and I am not going to change that policy today, but I will say this… You can believe the reviews.
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Shame too, because it looked so promising from the outside.
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On the plus side: I went to a place called Schoops Burgers in Hobart, Indiana for lunch, and it was amazing!
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I plan to do a lot more hobby shopping and train stuff this week.
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You cannpt tell from the picture, but I was freezing! I need to shave.
They had an impressive holiday display with HO scale train sets, three rail O scale freight cars, and HO & O scale built up structures. It kind of reminded me of Christmas Past and the displays at department stores.
Maybe check out Lombard Hobbies. They used to have a booth at Trainfest, in Milwaukee. They had great deals on NOS Kato locos, which is out of your time period, but just maybe? a place to check out?
Lombard is a town/suburb West of down town Chicago, about 12 or 15 mi.?
Lombard is well worth a visit as is Des Plaines Hobbies. What I like best about Des Plaines is that you can find stuff there that was issued long ago but they still have on the shelves, which are groaning with stuff. Chicagoland Toys and Hobbies is also one I like to visit when I make the trek down there.
In the two years that I lived in the area I never caught York’s open- looked in the window and I couldn’t tell if if it was a hobby shop with a hoarding problem or a hoarding problem with a hobby shop…
There are ton’s of great shops in the Chicago area. Of course Des Plaines was already mentioned. There are many other great ones Zientek’s model trains on 18th in Pilsen is a haven for old and out of production stuff and an absolute must stop. RAM hobby shop on Higgens is very good but with irregular hours. On the north side is Chicagoland Hobbies on Milwaukee. Also on the northside is Grayland station on West Devon- hours are a little irregular- check their website, small shop but absolutely packed to the gills- great selection of N scale too. Golden Spike was in Burbank- but Google maps is marking them closed. I had never made it out to Lombard Hobbies but heard it was good. In Indiana G&G hobbies in Griffith was a smaller shop but was good for basics. There is a smaller shop in Crown Point- the one in Dyer closed. There are some others in the western suburbs but did not get out there much.
That might be a bit of an overstatement. There used to be a ton of hobby shops in and around Chicago, but not anymore.
I will once again point out that Walt’s Hobbies in Crest Hill, a suburb on the north edge of Joliet, is one huge shop catering to model railroaders. To me, for anyone making a trip to the Chicago area, Walt’s Hobbies is a must stop. And, as Jim mentioned, Lombard Hobbies is a pretty good shop with discount prices.
I will echo the sentiment. Walt’s has been my ‘goto’ place for decades now. If Bob doesn’t have it in stock… he’ll get it for you. Scores of locomotives in all scales, shelves of all manufacturer’s freight/passenger cars, paint, supplies and everything you will need for your hobby. Plenty of RC equipment, plastic model car/plane kits and a decent selection of literature. It’s also the unofficial ‘official hobby store’ of our railroad club.
I guess it is all pretty much relative- loved the variety of shops when we lived there and got spoiled. (may not have been as many as there used to be but it was way more than I was used to.) The trade off was a little apartment with little room for a layout. Now I have room but the closest hobby shops from Danville VA are in Raleigh and Spencer NC about 1 1/2 hours away. (there was a small one here that closed just before we moved here due to the owner’s health) That has been the story of where we have lived through the years. We are generally an hour away or more from a hobby shop. The only place where we lived where there was a hobbyshop close besides Chicago was when I was in Bible College years ago in Springfield, MO. (although one could argue that with Chicago traffic even a hobby shop 20 blocks away could be an hour…[^o)]) Strangely I have always found a club or group of modelers wherever we lived though. We have a great club in Danville.
I made time to get to DesPlaines today. This was a great store. Even though I had never been there before, the whole staff treated my wife and I great. Everyone and everything about this shop was A+.
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Even though it cost me $12.00 in tolls, it was still worth it.
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I picked up a couple of automobiles and a bunch of detail parts.
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Yes, if you are in the area, you must stop here.
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I am freezing in this picture. It is so cold outside!
It’s Chicago in December. Grow the beard, invest in a coat. Pneumonia is lurking just around the corner. [:S] That’s in the better parts of Chicago. It gets worse near the yards…[;)]
Has anyone been to RAM Hobby in the past several months? When I’ve called during his typical business hours, all I’ve gotten is a recording about being closed for now, due to health issues.
RAM is usually a regular stop on my gang’s annual Chicago hobby shop run, but we bypassed it this year in favor of Zientek’s, based on the phone recording.
I went to a couple more hobby shops. I started at Lombard Hobbies. Found a whole bunch of Walthers code 83 rail joiner that I had been looking for. That was a good stop.
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Also made a stop at Walts Hobby Shop. This was an excellent example of a full line hobby retailer. Great store.
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I also went to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. They HO layout was impressive, but no one told me they had a Zephyr in there! That was quite a treat.
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I will keep on making my way around Chicago. It is still real cold, and I still am freezoing in all these outdoor pictures.
Kevin, if you like to visit museums, head out to the Illinois Railway Museum this weekend. It is a 1 hour drive northwest from Chicago. This time of year, it is only open on weekends. Quite a place.
Stopped by RAM on the way home tonite. Sign in window says closed during week for now, but open fri & sat 10-3 and sun 11-3. At least gives you an idea of when to call.
