I shall be attending a convention in San Francisco, CA in April; this will be my first time there. Are there any “don’t miss” model railroad oriented hobby shops or clubs in the city? I will be part of a group; so I will have to rely on public transportation; and I will be staying near one of the convention centers…
Thanks in advance for any and all advice.
I have been to Chan’s at Union and Van Ness, but it has been several years. I was in awe at the two storefront floor to high ceiling stock, and the proprietor knew where everything was if you asked for a particular item he could pick it out for you in a minute or two! As for operating layouts, I recall a really neat one at the Josephine Randell Junior Museum that is near downtown. Maybe Chan’s can direct you to more, eh? Enjoy the search, and also take in the Cable Car Museum and streetcar barn, and the commuter rush at 4th and Townsend street depot. John
Not sure if there’s a way to get there on public transportation (BART, etc.) but if you all can get a rental car or a way over and you’ve got the time try to go to Sacramento and the California State Railroad Museum. Really neat. Wish I had some tips on hobby shops but the only other advice I have is pack warm. Mark Twain said “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” and the man knew what he was talking about. BRRRRRRRRRR. Have Fun!
I don’t know about train shops, but the trolley and cable car systems are the best example of “living museums” I can think of. The trolleys come from all over, Vienna to New Orleans. San Francisco rescued many cars from junkyards as cities got rid of them, either to upgrade to more modern equipment or to simply tear out the trains in favor of buses and more highways. They have a lot of old PCC cars restored to their original paint schemes, and the car crews know the history of their individual cars.
I haven’t been there for a few years, but when I was, they still had Rice-A-Roni ads on some of the cars.
You can get to Franciscan Hobbies by streetcar. I don’t know the method, but they go right past in front. It’s not as good as Just Trains in Concord Or The Train Shop in Santa Clara (or thereabouts), but those two are quite aways from the City. The cable car museum is great fun. And, I expect you could ride a cable to get there.
Besides those two, I’m not coming up with much else that’s easily Muni reachable. No, wait a minute, you could ride Bart all over the place, pretty much for free. You pay to get in and pay to get out, but nothing’s stopping you from riding all over the Bay Area and lookin’ out the window. If you get off at the same station you got on, it costs more (if you care) than if you get off at the adjacent station. So, for example, you could get on at Montgomery Street, take the grand tour, get off at Powell Street, stand in line for the cable, ride, and maybe stop off at the cable museum.
Anyway, you can do the research, Ed