Good afternoon all,
I"m been a model railroader for most of my 62 years, but have been out of the hobby for about 10 years. Yep. got bit again! I am looking for a good hobby shop in the area now that Long’s is gone. (Southern California, Inland Empire area) I would also appreciate some recommendations for on line dealers. What say, folks? Whose got the goods?
Welcome back to the hobby and to the forum. Although they aren’t technically in the I.E. there is The Original Whistle Stop in Pasadena they also own Allied Trains in Culver City. They have a very knowledgeable staff. Also Milepost 38 in Anaheim is off the 91 freeway. Also the Train Shop in San Dimas is kind of on the border of the western I.E, Train Shack in Burbank and The Roundhouse in North Hollywood areare all good places to stop in and check out.
You might also consider attending the Western Prototype Modelers convention coming up on Sept. 17. It is at the depot in San Bernardino. http://www.railroadprototypemodelers.com
Thanks for the response, Left Coast Rail. I will probably make a run out to the OWS soon; it was always a good place to go before, as was the San Dimas shop. There used to be one in Brea that was good too, but they disappeared quite long ago (Iron Horse??). I stopped by the Busy Bee shop in San Bernardino today and was pleasantly surprised at their selection. It’s nothing like the OWS or Long’s had been but I still managed to find some things that will require a return visit. Again, I appreciate you taking the time to respond.
Great tip on the modeler’s convention, Left Coast Rail. I am all of 5 miles or so from the depot. I will look forward to that! Thanks again, Left Coast Rail.
I made an interactive Google map of all of the model railroad hobby shops in Southern California (Santa Barbara down to the Mexico border): http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=213267475537277341508.0004a61f61519c21a7d36&msa=0
Clicking on a train icon gets you the store name, address, phone, website/email, hours and scales they sell…(There’s a few stores that only sell one particular scale, and some sell all scales).
Great map Metro. Tip to Morse-The next time you make a location specific inquiry, use the name of the area on your post. It also helps if you include the scale that you model. I’m glad I could help.
Milepost 38, in Anaheim Hills CA.
It’s one of the best train shops around. And they just moved to a larger location which means more trains. And I like that they only carry model trains, unlike other hobby shops.
If they don’t have what you are looking for, and it is in the Walthers catalog, they will order for you. They also carry all Athearn items which are not found in the Walthers catalog.
Not sure where in the inland empire you are, but if it’s not too far away, a trip westbound on the 91 is worth it.
Link to Milepost 38 website:
Note that google maps still has them located at their old location on La Palma, but the new address is:
5620 East Santa Ana Canyon Road
Anaheim Hills, CA 92807
Most of the older shops have long closed, like Iron Horse (the one you mentioned used to be in Brea).
Foothill Builders on Foothill/Almeria in Fontana has a limited HO selection (mostly Bachman, limited to one case), but they have a pretty decent selection of large scale stuff if that’s what you’re into.
Great tool, Metro, thanks for the sharing your work. I’m sure we will all benefit from this. It’s great to be around model railroaders again, and the addition of the internet just makes it so much easier to share ideas and experience.
Thanks for the post, Southwest. Milepost 38 sounds like the kind of store I am looking for. I am in the San Bernardino area, so it’s not all that far to travel once in a while. I like the name too; there is no doubt what they are selling.
Hello, Jason, and thanks for your post. Foothill Builder’s Mart is just a few miles away from me, and I think my wife knows the owners through her business. I am actually going to be modeling in HO as before, but I am interested in G too as I have a small G scale collection that will someday find it’s way onto some track again, It will be fun to go through their store.
I remember The Iron Horse! Well, actually all I remember of it was shelves full of dusty Athearn blue boxes! 
But I totally remember Discount Train Warehouse on Imperial Hwy, just a couple miles west of The Iron Horse. That was total sensory overload for me!
If you go DCC I strongly recommend Ulrich Models. They all so carry DC items. Great customer services and stands behind what they sale.
http://www.ulrichmodels.biz/servlet/StoreFront
I have used them a few times and very happy with them.
Cuda Ken
Thanks for you post, Cudaken. I checked out Ulrich’s web site and they look like they are the folks to see for electronics.
Ah, that was my favorite shop.
So many purchase from there. I also liked their custom made items in the glass cases.
I believe Milepost 38 has some relation to the old Discount Train Warehouse. I seem to recall a divorce is what ended up closing the Discount Train Warehouse shop.
I used Long’s for a while and hated it. They put out a giant catalog and never had what was it. I’d order a bunch of stuff and get one or two things. Then they would say well it’s on back order. I’d still get to pay the shipping! I switched to M.B. Klein and have been very happy for my mail order online dealer. I have also ordered for Walthers and their flyer catalog and that’s been good too. The parts service I have received from Walthers has been excellent. I had some damaged Proto 2000 E units and they helped me to get them fixed up.
RMax
Thanks, RMax1, for your post. I lived close enough to Long’s to visit in person so never had any mail order experience with them. It seems that I might not always have gotten what I went for but I surely managed to spend some money! Thanks for the tip about M. B. Klein; I will check them out since I will probably be doing at least some mail order business.
I also highly recommend M. B. Klein. They have a real-time on-line inventory system that tells you exactly what they have in stock at any given moment in time. Their prices are competitive and their shipping rates are reasonable. You also get very fast service. I buy most of my model train items from them. I have ordered from Walthers on their sale items and have received excellent service.
Hope this helps,
Bob
Hello Bob, and thanks for your input on M. B. Klein. I have checked out their web site and am impressed with their selection and prices. I will give them first shot at my mail order business thanks to favorable comments from fellow modelers.