The LHSs near me:
**Slot & Wing Hobbies (**Champaign) : They specialize in RC Cars & Airplanes. Most of the stuff is used, and dent-scratch. They do carry Atlas, Bachman, and Proto 2000.
Joes Hobby Barn (Terre Haute, IN) : RC car central here. Though the have a good selection of blue box kits.
Thats it for around here, except for a few shows.
In northern Oregon we have a selection of hobby shops and even a couple real train shops.
Although I don’t visit it often (it caters to the RC crowd), there is Leisure Hobbies in Salem, which is the closest to me.
In the Portland area there are five train stores of note:
The Hobby Smith
Almost exclusively HO and N scale, with books, videos and a smattering of other scales. He’ll order anything and he discounts. 1809 NE 39th Ave., Portland, OR 97212 (1 block North of NE Sandy Blvd.). Take I-84 to the 39th Ave. exit, turn north and keep going straight. Next door to Baskin-Robbins. http://www.hobbysmith.com
Whistle Stop Trains
Large selection in every scale. Commisions the occasional special run car from manufacturers (usually SP&S). Doesn’t normally discount. Weak area is structures, strong areas are HO rolling stock, details and tools. 11724 SE Division St., Portland, Oregon 97266 - a couple miles east of I-205. http://wsor.com
Vic’s Trains
Large supply of O-scale stuff, unfortunately this store is aging and doesn’t appear able to keep up. Very large O-scale layout in the basement. I wish all stores had the detail parts racks this place has - only Whistle Stop does it better in my opinion. 606 NE Broadway St., Portland, OR 97232 near the Rose Quarter.
Tammie’s Hobbies
Located in Beaverton just off Hwy 217, this is a large full service hobby shop. Extensive collection of HO and N scale structures and rolling stock, lots of locomotives. One of my father-in-laws favorite stores. 12024 SW Canyon Road, Beaverton OR 97005 http://www.tammieshobbies.c
Here is mine, P & D Hobby Shop: http://www.pdhobbyshop.com/ They are the best in the area and will special order anything. I have been going there for close to 20yrs. Great selection of BB kits.
Jim
My favorite haunt is Lin’s Junction http://www.linsjunction.com/ in Lansdale, PA. Great customer service. DCC experts. A large selection of scratchbuilding supplies, and craftsman kits. Most prices discounted 10% off list, plus an extra 5% if you’re a NMRA member. And if they can find it, they will order it for you.
Nick
My closest shop is the Hobbytown USA in Strongsville - and thats about 30 mins away. Granted taking route 82 doesn’t help much. Though the Mentor shop isn’t that much farther (albeit the other way).
Actually, looking at the map, all of these shops are pretty close (30-40min range), although I much prefered the hole-in-the-wall shops in Bedford and Garfield Heights… though that might just be because I could get there by bike or shoeleather before I could drive [8D]
Though, at the moment, hobby shops aren’t that much of a concern to me. I’m going to have to get the benchwork and the pink plain installed first [;)]
Be glad that you have a LHS…mine closed it’s doors for good in May 2005 ( The Hobby Shoppe in Bath, Maine) now the nearest one to me is at least 30 miles from where I live and they are closed sundays(my only day off). So my fleet hasn’t grown a bit in a year and a half [banghead]
well for me the best in my area would have to be J&L trains of buckner,missouri.his old shop was in parkville,mo.his buckner shop is almost eighty miles from me so he send’s my stuff mailorder with a discount.their are a couple of other shops about fifty some miles from me.john at j&L would always let me go behind the counters to look at stuff.all the time i spent in their he would never bug me which was much appreciated.i’ve been told by other’s his shop is awesome.will have to go down their some time when im feeling up to it.terry…
My LHS is The Model Railroad Shop only a few miles away in Piscataway, NJ, and may be the oldest one in the country. My Dad’s oldest brother, who died before I was born, shopped there in the 30’s & 40’s. It’s 99% trains, and mostly HO, but they have the other scales as well. They’re crammed to the rafters with just about anything you’re looking for. Good NWSL parts selection.
http://www.themodelrailroadshop.com/
I usually buy something when I’m there, but a lot of us just hang around and shoot the breeze. There’s another store a little further away in Somerville, which I’ll have to scope out one of these days. Several smaller stores in local towns have gone out of business in recent years.
Nelson
DO YOU KNOW HOW DESPARATE I AM FOR EVEN THAT RIGHT NOW???
I have to travel 95 miles to casper to Hobby Lobby for the same general arrangment. I consider my LHS the Walthers Catalog.
James
NeO6874,Another GOOD shop is the Corner Store in Lorain…Last time I was there(3 years ago?) I stocked up on hard to find detail parts.
From the sounds of it or should I say from the replys, I feel lucky here in northeeast Indy. Hobbytown about 5 minutes away is excellent, then on the east side there is the Train Yard(if the owner hasn’t lost his health battle) Big Four Hobbies in Plainfield, and the gem up in Lafayette, Hawkins Rail Service, and in Kokomo I believe their name is the Train Exchange. These are all excellent and most discount on prices. If you are ever near Lafayette, Indiana Hawkins Rail Service it is a must see!!!
My Dad hits that place on his way home from work, haven’t been but he says its good. I live in Philly and have access to a shop downtown (3rd and Market) that sells SEPTA (local commuter) decals and has a good selection of equipment though they are pricey. As is the Septa Transit museum store which carries a few sets and other models. The other LHS in Feasterville, (lower bucks county) is more in the lionel, G and S gauge business but carries some BLI and Marklin and lots of Bachmann stuff. They do consignment but even then the prices are still stiff for used.
IHC and Bachmann also have their factory HQs in NE Philly about 15 minutes from my house so getting their parts and warranty services are easy. I have a handful of Spectrum stuff plus the junky stuff from my childhood and can get parts easily. This came in handy on my Shay which was flat out replaced due to a driveline bind. It’s cheaper to go to the mfg. then to send it back to the seller.
Boscov’s gets some nice sets in before Christmas and carries some equipment but not much. The other shop in Bensalem looked like it closed last time I went by (Dave’s Trains) mostly G and O-scale there at the time. Aside from that there are other craft stores in the vicinity for paints and scenery things.
RAY: Now that town of Webster brought back fond memories!! My wife and I stopped at a resturant in Webster, NY on our honeymoon when I was in the Army. It was an Italian resturant as I remember, and it was right on the main highway, on the left side of the road heading East. Is it still there Ray? The CFO has been asking to go back to the Falls, so I might just stop by that place again, and of course stop at that nice LHS you recommended.
I have a few LHS’s near me that are decent. The closest is Hobby Emporium in Tyngsboro, MA. They cater to just about everyone, including a decent MR section. The one issue I have with them is that there is really only one “train guy” and he’s only there a couple of days a week. There have been several occasions where I’ve gone looking for a particular part or had a question and one of the guys working there took enough time away from the model tank he was building to hand me the Walthers catalog so that I could find it myself.
My new favorite is Maine Trains in Chelmsford, MA. It’s a bit furhter away, still only a 25 min or so drive down the highway. Gerry, the owner, is great to deal with, knows his stuff and the shop is trains only. He also stocks many products that Hobby Emporium doesn’t, such as Digitrax decoders. The other shop only carries MRC decoders which I won’t touch, but that’s a story for another thread. [:)]
When I visit my mom, closer to Boston, I go to Charles Ro in Malden, MA. They are also a trains only shop and carry a large selection for just about all scales. I haven’t been there in a year or so but when I was a kid that’s where I would always pick anything new for my layout.
I am fortunate to have Custom Railway Supply here in Colorado Springs. It is a couple of blocks from where I work (which makes every other Friday “dangerous” days). Mike and crew are very knowledgeable and always willing to help and answer questions. He has an excellent inventory, but if he doesn’t have it, he will get it for you in quick order. I have been to some shops where the staff won’t even lift their head to give a simple “hello”, but you get just the opposite here. It doesn’t matter whether you are a seasoned modeller, or just starting out, you will get the same excellent service!!
When I lived in Nanaimo/Qualicum Beach I used Leisure Time exclusively, even when I lived in Victoria (where I grew up). Now it is only when I am back on the Island.
The bulk of my orders go to Central Hobbies in Vancouver. Great place to shop for train stuff. But due to distance, it is almost all mail order now.
I also will pop into Kelly’s Caboose in Kamloops now and then, it is my closest at about 90km away. It is part of a craft mall, so does not have the selection the others do.
Would the restaurant be Proietti’s Italian Restaurant? It is on Ridge Road (404) in Webster. I have never eaten there, but it gets some great reviews. With the Bay and the lakeshore on Lake Ontario, Webster is a beautiful community. I live about 50 miles South of there on Seneca Lake, the Trout Capitol of America. If you get down this way, let me know I’ll give you a tour of the Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western RR.
Local hobby shop in the Columbus, Ohio area here is Train Station. Pretty big selection in HO, which is what I’ll be modelling. Hobbylands in town, one of the guys at my club works for them, though haven’t been to the one’s he works at on the east side of town which supposedly have a better selection of MRR stuff than the one near where I live. Problem with the Train Station is as most of you would guess: price, though they are a little below MSRP. I bought my first loco recently on sale from MB Klein (Stewart Baldwin switcher) for 1/2 off, and two loco purchases in the near future will be about the same, one from an internet store, the other on ebay. There’s just no way the LHS can compete with that pricing; turns out it becomes a little irrelevant since they don’t carry my line (Frisco) anyway. I have too many items to purchase in the future (rolling stock, flextrack, turnouts, etc.) not to make price the priority, and as discussed on other threads, there are enough choices in internet retailers with established reputations that I can’t ignore.
Jim
George’s is the closest to me but thier selection of N scale is pitiful, under lock and key, and the boxes are misplaced half the time I’ve asked for something out of the cabinet. There are maybe 10 N scale structures and very little scenic details. They may be friendly but for service with N scale, not helpful. Last time I tried to bring a malfunctioning engine in for service, thier repair guy refused to look at it, he doesn’t service N scale engines because he bends the frames too often.
I use Credit Valley in Mississaugua. Excellent N selection, fair prices (for a Canadian LHS), and very friendly. btw I think they have some HO too.
My LHS would be considered Caboose Hobbies but I don’t go there much(about a hour’s drive). I’m starting to go to Hobby Lobby alot more, especially now that thye have N scale firgures,engines,cars,buildings, and a better selection of ground foam(they also have HO scale stuff). Plus with the 40% off coupon they put out every other week the wallet stays thicker longer. The clearance section always has a good deal or two.
-dekruif