Does anyone know of good hobby shops in and around the Southborough, Mass. area?
My employer is sending me there for training May 8/9.
I don’t plan on going any closer to Boston if I can help it.
Thanks!
If you are in N Scale, there is a hobby shop on route 20 in Sudbury
If you are in HO Scale:
Tuckers Hobbies…Warren, Ma ( Take I-90 to Sturbridge, 148 to route 9. West on route 9 to route 19 to Warren. Bacon St is right after the Library, Tuckers is 200 feet up on the left in an old Victorian house. About 40 miles from Southboro in total
Maine Trains…Chelmsford, Ma on Route 4 east, about 5 miles from I-495. From Southboro ( American spelling of old English name ) take route 9 to I-495 North. Take I-495 North about 25 miles to Chelmsford, route 4 exit. Then about 5 miles east to small strip Mall where Maine Trains is located. About 35 miles in total.
Henry’s Hobbies …West Boylston, Ma on route 12, 0.2 miles south of the intersection of route 140. Take route 9 in Southboro, West about 12 miles to route 140 North. Take route 140 North about 8 miles to intersection of route 12. Take 12 South about 0.2 miles to small strip Mall on Left. Henry’s is last store on the Left in the Mall. There is a Mc Donald’s there also in case the trip makes you hungry.
Have a safe trip…
It’s a bit of a drive, maybe 45 minutes, but it’s not city driving.
Maine Trains in Chelmsford, MA is my LHS, and there are people who come up from around Southborough to go there. Gerry is mostly HO with a bit of N.
Hobby Emporium in Tyngsboro, MA is a bigger shop, all-hobby, and they also have a good selection of both HO and N.
Both shops are in the same direction.
Ahhh, I forgot another rather nice hobby shop, it is on route 119 in Townsend, Ma, Lighthouse Hobbies. You would still take I-495 NORTH , but before the Chelmsford exit, maybe 8 miles back, take route 119 WEST to the town of Townsend. The hobby shop is in on the LEFT in a shopping Mall, right across the street from the Regional High School. There is a McDonald’s rest there too LOL.
In HO or N, you really can’t go wrong with Tucker’s Hobbies and the owner, Bob Buck. Bob has been a railfan since before WWII, and if he doesn’t know about something RR related in New England, it’s probably not worth knowing. [:)] Bob is also the one who turned the Amherst Railway Society train show from the small Student Union in Amherst into one of the largest train show in the country in Springfield, MA.
Bob is very friendly, and he’s likely to talk your ears off about railroading if you aren’t careful. [:D]
Tucker’s is THE place to go. Several of my fellow club members drive out there about once a month…and that’s over 100 miles for some of them. Bob sells new & used brass, books, detail parts of all kinds, scratch building supplies, paint, Digitrax DCC, etc. He always seems to have the latest stuff. www.tuckershobbies.com The only thing is that he doesn’t cut the prices on too many items, unless he’s having a sale.
Another good place to go is AA Hobbies in Warwick, RI. He has a lot as well, but he’s also a general hobby shop, too, with plastic airplane and car models. But he has a lot of HO detail parts, a couple aisles of HO, plus a lot of tools. AA Hobbies has a discount on just about everything.
Paul A. Cutler III
Weather Or No Go New Haven
Thanks, guys. Depending on what time the classes are done for the day, I’m thinking about hitting Maine Trains one evening (The 8th) and Tucker’s on the way home on the 9th (since it’s on the way and is open 'till 9 according to the website).
WHD: After you go to Tucker’s in Warren, you can back down to Palmer and eat at the Steaming Tender which is in the former Palmer RR station…this is well worth the return trip, as Palmer station is at the Diamond, and is the hot spot in New England as several RR cross through there. You can sit in the restaurant by the window and watch the trains roll by 10 feet away. And then you can get back on I-90 in Palmer and head home over the Berkshires.
Thanks guys for all the help. I was able to go to Maine Trains and Tucker’s Hobbies. I was pleasantly surprised with both. Gerry and Bob were both very informative – great people.
I could have gotten into a LOT of trouble with Mrs. WHD in both places. But I left the plastic in the wallet and paid cash. [:-^]
Next time I’m down that way they’ll probably both get some business from me.
Just one question, though–How does Bob know what he’s got in stock? That place is crammed FULL of stuff!
Thanks again
WHD
You have no idea how many times that question’s been asked. “How does Bob know where anything is in his shop?” is right up there with “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?” But I suppose if you’ve been running the shop for decades, and you’re there all day every day (not to mention you live upstairs), I guess it becomes engrained.
What’s really, really scary is that for the big Springfield (MA) show, Bob cleans the entire place out, and brings just about everything to the Big E fairgrounds. I have seen pictures and the whole place is empty (including some of the glass display cases). Yikes!
Paul A. Cutler III
Weather Or No Go New Haven