Inspired by emdmike’s post on Antique malls- I thought we might perhaps compile a list of Antique malls that have train booths- to start here are several that have one. A few thoughts first. There are not destinations- most booths are small-this attempts to compile train booths not the antique mall that might have a stray train in the corner right next to a random Garfield. Sometimes you might find a treasure in those you never know. (Found two 1936 model railroaders in mint condition for 2 dollars each in one of those and a 6 dollar brass tank car in another- neither had a train booth) Lionel is also outside the scope of this post- most antique stores will have one somewhere. My wife and I like to antique so we like to look in all the malls. Prices vary- some are higher some lower- most is older stock but you can often find a diamond in the rough. Sometimes dealers really overprice or underprice- look at it as a treasure hunt. If there is another train store or railroad destination nearby I will mention it as this makes a trip a little more worthwhile.
A couple of notes:
HONORABLE MENTION: These are antique malls that have perhaps several shelves and these seem consistent. If you are in the area they are worth a stop but not a long drive. Anything will be noted.
??? is one that I am not sure on- either it has been a while or I had seen something on it online.
LINDY’S TRAINS- before I get into specific malls- Trainz.com operates booths in several antique malls as outlets named Lindy’s Trains. Sometimes these are a gold mine sometimes a dud. For best results follow them on Facebook and go right after they do a restock- then is when the picking is good. They have locations at Brasel
Most of the time you will find the older stuff at antique malls. I have only seen a very few DCC engines and that was at only a couple of places one of which is gone. As for Trainz/ Lindys- Trainz generally runs the better stuff online. They will send the Blue Box Athearn, Roundhouse and similar to the Lindy’s locations. (or bundle them online) I have struck out at Belmont and I have found neat stuff but I have always done far better the week of a restock. Comparing pics I see the other Lindy’s locations seem to have more than Belmont probably because it is furthest out. I have seen Lindy’s at a couple of shows and picked up some great bargains too.
Thanks Kevin- it had been a while since we had been there. I will delete that- know of any down your way that do have a train booth? Interestingly Webb’s did own an antique mall up in Indiana in Centerville too. They sold that off several years back. (now the Centerville Antique Mall) Been in that many times as we used to live 20 miles away. They used to have a booth that had trains but that was gone the last time were through last year.
There was one in an Antique Mall in Oviedo, but I went to their website to verify it, and they do not mention the model trains anymore. That does not mean they are not still there, but it has been 3 years since I was in there, so I do not know.
There used to be some in Gannon’s Antiques in Fort Myers, but they were gone last time I was in there.
Lindy’s had a booth in an Antique Mall in Micanopy, but it was destroyed by fire, and Lindy’s did not come back once they re-opened.
So, no, I do not know of any in Florida for certain.
Looks like they restocked it on the 19th. Not sure where you are at but there is a train show (Neuse River Spring show) in Raleigh Saturday and Sunday at the fairgrounds. Spencer is coming up on the 14th and 15th too.
Whatever happened to the train layouts in the big red antique mall at Micanopy. I visited once and saw the HO layout. On my second visit my guide asked if I wanted to see the other layout. It was an O scale, maybe narrow gauge, in a room adjacent to the HO layout. I stopped again about 15 years ago and the lady at the desk said she thought they were sold or donated to a local model railroad club. Just curious.
The place is actually in Reddick, Florida, a little South of Micanopy. It used to be three businesses, Wayside Antiques (the antique mall), Wayside Hobbies (mostly R/C planes), and Wayside Engine Company (live steam locomotive construction). All three businesses were owned by the Braunum family, often mispelled as Barnum.
In the late 1980s, the family were brutally murdered in the Antique Store. Following this tragedy, the place remained closed for a few years. It reopened in the 1990s as the Antique Emporium.
The Florida Live Steamers bought the machine shop. The O scale layout was donated, but was in terrible shape. The smaller buildings that housed the O scale layout, machines shop, and hobby shop were all razed.
There was an HO scale layout on the second floor in the Northeast corner of the store that was on display, but was falling into disrepair. It was dismantled in the early 2000s. I tried to get a structure from it, but could not find out what exactly happened to it. None of the model railroad clubs seem to have ended up with it. It might have just gone to a landfill.
Noted crime author Anna Flowers wrote a book about the Wayside Antiques murders.
Yep that’s the place. The dirt road that lead into the place had a warehouse that looked alot like the Tom Yorke warehouse from long ago. I would have never noticed but my eagle eyed wife said something about a model railroad on the antique mall billboard at the next exit. Gotta love a woman like that.
Went their saturday Lindy’s had stuff in the wrong boxs lots were broken their is another booth called Rusty Rails they had the best trains they were clean in the right boxs and a 20% discount,the Spencer show I hope I can make it.
Since this an “outlet” store I saw that too. They purge out the stuff that they do not see as selling as well on ebay here. Saw a little of that at a show they were at too.looking forward to Spencer this will be the first time I make it to the show there. Planned several times and things happened.
Pickers Paradise in Niles, Michigan has a booth that has a lot of model railroad and toy train equipment. Mostly New Old Stock type stuff with some frequent good deals. If the booth’s ‘owner’ is there, he’ll make you a deal better than the sale prices.
I’ve been to a number of antique malls including Owego NY and Culpeper VA and didn’t see any trains worth noting and those places were really big. Antique malls are generally not places I would expect to find model trains of note, and those found would be old and not of interest. But I guess it depends on what floats your boat.
Antique malls are about the hunt and the find. You might need to look through sixteen trays of junk at a Lindy’s booth to find an intact Laserkit of the mill that would be perfect. This is not for everyone.
If you just want to buy something, go to Model Train Stuff and spend your money.
If you enjoy looking for nuggets of treasure, Antique Malls are a blast, and a great way I can spend time with my wife just wandering about.
Over the years my wife and I have been to many antique malls, mostly in Virginia, Maryland, and South Central Pennsylvania. Most have some kind of trains, none of them are worth going to just for trains.
But I enjoy looking at other things, so the trains are a nice plus.
Over the years I have bought a few trains and some railroad books, model train books, and model train magazines. Even the ones I don’t buy are fun to look at.
These things are a bit of a treasure hunt. There is generally a random train in every antique mall but you do not go for the random train you will get frustrated for that… Some of the better deals I have found though are that random train. For example I once found at one in Indiana several proto tank cars and a precision scale tank for six dollars each- never saw any more trains in that case. Lindy’s is a bit odd in this as it is an outlet for a larger operation Trainz- they do not mess with individual older cars except in a bundle online or they send them here- including some of the dreggs. I
