Hi, I wish to start a railroad model as a hobby. Any good on line stores to recommend ? I came across one called Toy Train Heaven. Has anyone ordered from them ? Do they provide good service ?
Tips and advise appreciated. [:)]
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http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/
http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/
http://www.nhshobbies.com/
http://www.dallasmodelworks.com/
This is the one I would go for. Best service I’ve encountered and a nice friendly storekeeper. Highly recommended.
Magnus
I would second lillen on this. Craig (owner) is obsessive about getting back to you with a fast, friendly, and most important accurate reply whenver you ask anything. Also, they are great about giving you information over the phone.
A great experience for me with the half dozen or so orders I’ve made through them.
I would strongly suggest that you purchase some of the great books that Kalmbach has produced on the hobby such as construction of benchwork, track layout, scenery, etc. as well as wiring and DCC. This will give you a great base to start from.
Where are you located?
There may be a good brick-and-mortar Local Hobby Shop (LHS) nearby. While they can’t always match the etailers on price, in many cases the convenience and service are worth it. Some of the better online places also have retail stores.
Go to www.walthers.com and sign up for the monthly advertising flyer. It’s a mini-catalog, and I look forward to getting it every month with the same anticipation as for my MR subscription. If your LHS is a “participating” dealer, they will give you the sale price and you won’t have to pay the shipping. Walthers, by the way, generally charges full price, but they do have almost everything, with the notable exception of Athearn products. Some of the sale prices, on the other hand, are very good and worth looking for.
Be aware that many of the online places do not have much physical inventory. When you place an order, they will order the stuff from their distributers, and then ship it to you when they get it. So, delivery can take several weeks. Trainworld in New York, on the other hand, only sells what is in stock, and they ship it right away. (I live outside of Boston, and even with the cheapest shipping I have my trains in 1 or 2 days. Really.)
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Pick up a copy of Model Railroader.
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http://www.hiawathahobbies.com/
http://www.1stplacehobbies.com/
Avoid a place called Internettrains.com. They are extremely slow at getting orders processed. I speak from experience. Search the forums and you will find other members have had bad luck with this company. The stores I have listed, you might want to add these to your favorites list on your web browser.
Good luck!!!
I am from Singapore. Its very diffcult to get " train " stuffs here. I am very thankful to the good people of this forum for their numerous good tips and suggestions. [:)]
Thanks for the tips wholeman. Will check them out.
I have ordered from Toy Train Heaven several times and have always had good service.
In my experiences, I have found that each online store has different prices for everything… BUT, you may find track cheaper at one place, and engines cheaper at another. Each place has its perks. I shop around for the specific item I want, and don’t stick to one retailer.
Mike makes a great point here. You can stretch You’re hobby dollar by smart shopping. Depending on what You need & ordering from the Co.'s that has the best price. ALL of the suggested retailers above are credible.Welcome to the hobby !