An observation about train stores.

For a perspective that is slightly different look at the changes to best buys philosophy over the last couple of years.  They now embrace show rooming and try to positively help the customer to the point of price matching on some items etc.  They realize that while you are in their store to look at something they have that brief chance to win you over.

 

Will it work in the long run, who knows.

Yes, I shopped there. I believe I found out about the store when I purchased an item from him at a local meet. I think it may have been the show at the old Coachman Inn right off the parkway. What a great show...those were the days.

 

Bob

When I was younger and still living at home, we'd go to visit my parent's familes in East Tennessee, and before the bypass near there was built, we'd drive past that store every year. My parents would always stop there for me. I'd save up for months in advance. I was never into Lionel stuff but they had a decent supply of other scale stuff, books and RR collectibles. Those guys were great and they said they actually got used to my annual trips there. I haven't been there since the 90s but I'm happy to hear they're still there. I have very fond memories of that place and would love to swing by there someday and introduce myself again (Asuuming the same guys are there from back in the day).

 

My LHS is great. He probably struggles like everyone else. He has more to offer besides trains which he keeps some inventory in many scales. He has quite a bit of RC planes/cars, models, science stuff etc.  Probably needs better online service/sales site etc.  If I have questions he answers them. If I need help he helps.  Local business....local revenue.

Bottom line: if it's a new release or he has it I'll buy it from him, otherwise I search around.

Technology in open markets is a deflationary force.  You all see it yourselves at any retail business.

The rest is just complaining

Here on Long Island I have visited seveal hobby shops. So far, they've been pretty friendly and helpful. 

 

There is one LHS I need to get my caboose to: Nassau Hooby Shop. It seems that this store is EXCELLENT! I would like to meet Charlie!!! I'll get over there soon.

Sorry. Not my experience at all.

 

My LHS has a complete corner with two tables full of wooden trains for kids to play with. The only request is that they do not take new trains or parts out of boxes for play but use the many already provided.

This has been an interesting read...taken a couple days to sort through it all...with lots of head-shaking, head-nodding, eyes-rolling, chuckling, mutters of 'Good grief, Charlie Brown!', etc..

 

Having worked at our LHS in the Trains department for the past 15 years since retiring from my first career, I can relate to some of it, I can be introspective about some of it, I can say I've experienced some of it....in other retail stores.

 

But retailing a hobby shop (NOT as the owner....just as a part-timer with 65+ years of experience willing to share with others) has a behind-the-counter perspective in addition to the in-front-of-the-counter perspective.  Some of the responses above mention that.  And, yes, when you are behind the counter, the customer is 'king/queen' and your own problems were parked outside the door when you arrived...or so it should be. 

 

It would be fun, though, to hear this topic from a behind-counter-perspective, ONLY.  IOW, I'd love to hear the stories of memorable customers, their questions, their attitudes, their idiosyncrasies, ....the nicknames and pet names by which regular customers have been dubbed in celebration thereof!..., their demands, their arguments, their unique ways of expressing....um...."appreciation" for your help, etc., etc., etc..  Yep, it would be a real hoot to convene an exclusive meeting of us 'counter-intelligence' folks to share our stories.  You know, "Chicken Soup for the Hobby Shop Retailer's/Owner's Soul" sort of thing. 

 

And it would cover all ages...from cute kids in a stroller who make eye contact with you and return your smile with an ear-to-ear grin and bashful turn that melts your worst day into mush, to the older dude who parks irresponsibly in the driveway...not a designated parking space...in his late-model Corvette, confronts you while talking/arguing with someone somewhere through his Bluetooth earphone-gizmo-gadget, lets you know he's in a hurry, holds a less-than-$15 item in his hand, and sez (While simultaneously conversing with someone somewhere) 'Can you do any better on this price....I can get it cheaper at XYZ!'. 

 

We smile...and methodically complete the transaction. 

 

The responsive felonious imagination runs amok, of course.

 

The young's lesson from today's older parent?  A young couple came through the door with an excited toddler in tow.  Dad was on an R/C mission and headed off to the right. The boy wanted to go to the left down the aisle to the Trains Department to play at the Thomas set up or watch our G/O/HO display layouts run.  (We run them by request) Mom sez to his eager request, 'Go ask that man if he'll turn the trains on for you!  I'll be over here with your dad!'  The young lad walks up, looks me in the eye and sez, 'Will you turn the trains on?' 

 

So, reflecting my own upbringing and trying to encourage the lad on good etiquette I simply ask back......"Sure, what's the magic word?'

 

Bad, bad, bad mistake!

 

The boy stares back, hesitates for a minute, turns and runs back to his mom yelling, 'Mom, mom, mom, mom!!  The man won't turn the trains on without the magic word!  What's the magic word, mom?!!'  Mom scowls, grabs the kid's hand and replies angrily 'Just stay here with me and your dad.  Apparently they don't want to run the G_d D___d trains for you today!!'  Ah, such 'train'-ing for the next generation of hobbyists.

 

Yep, THAT's an exclusive group I could spend several nights around a pot-bellied stove...or a big table at a micro-brewery...sharing stories with!!....fellow retailers. 

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

 

KD

 

 

 

What?
Every kid knows the magic word is abracadabra

I've run into a mixed bag of hobby purveyors at local shops, some crabby, others not. I don't see much relationship between the type of business and the attitudes of the people that own and operate them. Attitudes and experiences, whether good or bad, just seem to be more noticeable and memorable with small businesses in general. Perhaps my expectations are higher with smaller businesses, which makes a bad apple even that much more memorable.

 

I noticed in some of the posts how some people don't have a need for the LHS because they get what they want at train shows or on the Internet. While I understand this, the biggest benefit for me when I was first starting out was getting to see firsthand what was available, and if they had a nice layout, what was possible. The advance of technology has enabled resources such as this forum to help in this area, but I don't think this forum or the Internet fully replace well-stocked local shops with owners or employees willing and able to assist. I'm not sure how many people will get into this hobby in the future based on an Internet experience. And as good as train shows can be, train shows that are actually good are not convenient for many.

Been my experience you get what you give.

 

Pete

Tacoma Trains in Tacoma, WA has the wood train up front, a full wall of kid's stuff and the owner (a grandfather, I think) is very kind to the kids. I feel good about spending money in that place. Thankfully I've seen other stores of its type over the years in various places around the country.

That said, I've seen several shops own or run by people so anti-social it was small wonder when they most of them later went belly up.

My biggest gripe is the 'clubhouse' mentality of so many hobby shops. You know the type, the guy at the counter yakking away with an older customer (who never seems to have bought anything) for untold amounts of time, completely ignoring customers. The discussions are of real importance, too. The best I ever heard was a lively discussion on what would have happened had the N&W not dieselized until the economics dictated it in regard to how much they'd paid for the steam engines in the late 40s and early 50s. I watched half a dozen potential customers leave a shop in disgust over that (and yes, that store has since closed).

I got so upset at an experience like that at a shop in CA once I actually wrote the owner about it. They lost what would have been a substantial sale because the guy would never ackowledge I was even there, even when I came to the front counter and said, "excuse me" several times, once almost as a yell. I think if I'd just picked up what I wanted, I could have walked out of the place without paying for it (not that I ever would do that but you get the point), had it not been behind glass, which was my issue. And I'm not a 400-pound scary looking foamer-type with no money. I'd never go back to that place even if they were giving away good stuff. That's not the only time that's happened to me or friends of mine, either. Some shop folks would rather hold court than conduct business. How they keep the rent paid and the lights on is beyond me...

I always get a kick out of watching the Adams Family movies. Morticia asks Wednesday what the magic word is and she replies NOW!

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot....

 

Re "Crabby Old Men"....

 

Crabby Link

 

Sometimes there's more to the story.......isn't there?  The curmudgeon needn't be in a nurses care....he could simply be standing behind a counter.

 

KD

That's because nobody told them that they cannot make a living from their hobby.....and when they found out it was too late

Thanks for the "Crabby Link", KD. A touching poem.

I wish we had a local hobby shop but we don't. It's buy at train shows or the internet. I would rather buy from a local shop any day.

The Train Shoppe in Salt Lake City, Utah is a great example of a train store that caters to both the old and the young model train lovers. The front of the shop is nothing but walls of trains, with all unboxed items out of reach of small children. The back area of The Train Shoppe is set up to look like a little old west town complete with a "saloon" and a hotel lobby to have birthday parties in. They have G, O, and HO coin operated train sets in the back so kids can operate the trains themselves with minimal supervision. They even have a 7 1/2" train ride with ir guns to shoot audio and mechanical responding targets. This is an example of a train store getting it right, while making money. Check out this video by Toy Man Telivision. https://www.youtube.com/watch?..._XL0MzRLvAuZfycO8rKQ 

 

The problem with that statement is that there aren't so many! 

 

Train stores (at least with O gauge) are an endangered species. Some folks, maybe particularly in the Northeast, or living near a train store, don't appreciate it, perhaps, but around many parts of the county, there are zero O gauge train stores within hundreds and hundreds of miles. 

 

I'd take any train store, even one with a crabby owner! I'm a little tongue-in-cheek here, but if you have a crabby guy at a train store, well, maybe it could be worse. 

Hello guys and gals...

 

Does anyone remembered or knew the man behind the counter of a model train store in Knott's Berry Farm and what happen to the business as I was like 10 years old when my mom and I were there in early 1970. I remember the wooden floor and had a big engine in the glass case when we went inside.

 

The woman who loves the S.F. 5011,2678,2381,2003

Tiffany

when i go to a hobby shop and i have been to at least a few(first train set bought at Amers in Youngstown oh DEC,1948 by my grandfather, i was born July of 1949) i really don't care much about the personality of the owner. i am looking for that item that i need, want, gotta have, if they have it I buy it.  if i need a date i'll try match.com      or ???? . i lived in nw tn for 20 years closest hobby shop 160 miles away trust me a grumpy old man better than no hobby shop.

I bought a z4000 from jimmy and later on a railking csx sd70ace.I have never meet him in person.But one thing I can say about him.He was one cool man and nice to talk to.He is retired now and I hope he builds his dream layout.Because he has earned it and if you see this jimmy.May god bless you and yours.Now go run some long trains.

Although its a good drive for me.I have to say little choochoo is pretty cool place to go.I have had some locomotives repaired there.Nice people and there repair guy james.Thumbs up all the way.Trainsltd in charlotte was a cool to.I hated when they went away.I have been blessed to have a good time at train shows to.BTWchuck trains is pretty cool to.

Seaboard Streak,

Thank you.

Jimmy

As I remember my infrequent visits to the lcal Lionel train shop back in the 1950s and early 60s, the people there were (to me) sort of crabby old guys, too. I mean, it was usually pre-Christmas and the place was packed with men and boys and the clerks (that was before we had "associates" and "team members") were plenty busy showing merchandise and writing up orders.

There were no Chuckles the Clown types to pass out lollipops to the kiddies or blow up balloons for them. The staff was way too busy helping customers pick out trains for themselves for any of that.

So I'm not sure so much that the store employees have changed over the years as that the customers -- and their expectations -- have.

Living in Northwest Indiana 3-Rail and O Scale model train stores are scarce, when I traveled for one company and caught flights at O'Hare I stopped numerous times and made purchases at Chicagoland Hobby located on Northwest Highway just off the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago. Sales personnel were never pushy and did not have an attitude, if you had a question they would help. Given that train stores are closing, one issue is probably that the smaller local train stores cannot maintain large inventories and cannot compete in pricing when compared with large sale national bulk dealers. These dealers sell nationally and some internationally whereas local train stores sell to a local market. Owning a small local train/hobby store in todays market and trying to compete with internet pricing of bulk vendors coupled with electronic controlled engines(manufacture) repair as compared to the post war Lionel and American Flyer trains(repaired by local hobby shops) is creating a tight market for the small hobby shops, there is a local hobby shop in Griffith,Indiana that sells some 3-Rail but mostly HO, plastic model kits and RC controlled aircraft and helicopters.

I can second that.  We used to have an excellent train shop in a town only a short drive from here.  The proprietor was neither old nor gray (which is irrelevant anyway).  He was friendly and helpful, too; certainly not crabby.  I was always friendly in return, and bought something frequently on my weekly trips. And I knew he was doing well, because he told me so.

 

But he decided he wanted to do something else, and closed the store.

 

Now my "nearest" hobby shop is a 50-mile drive away, and I have yet to get any usable directions to it.  I'm back to train shows and the internet.

 

That's why I get tired of the old "why don't you patronize your local hobby shop" response.  I did, when we had a local hobby shop!

 

This is the answer to Tiffany's Question

 

Evan Middleton was the owner of the train shop at Knotts Berry farm. He was also a charter member of TCA and organized what became the western Div. The 1st president was Burton Logan and Evan Middleton was Vice President.

 

I visited that place many times back in the 50s and early 60s until they started charging to get it.

Robert

Here is a picture.

http://www.image-archeology.co...Buena_Park_Calif.jpg

Hello Robert.....

 

Thank you for the picture, I remembered the big general 4-4-0 engine in the glass case well and the wooden floor. The photo of the man standing didn't look too friendly !

 

The woman who loves the S.F.5011,2678,2381,2003

Tiffany

 

I was visiting in the 70's, and saw the store.  Went in and asked that guy for a smoke-box front for an AF "S" gauge K4.  He hustled one up and charged a couple of bucks.  A pleasant experience.

In the late 1940's, I was about 11 years old, my folks lived in the CA desert at the China Lake Navy Base (NOTS) and they shopped occasionally in downtown San Bernadino at the Harris Department Store. I'd walk about a half mile from downtown to a train store called, I think, E Street Hobby's. The owner knew I really wanted to buy an AF HO Hudson, the one with the smoke unit in the tender.  One time he asked me how much money I had and did i have a job (5 bucks and a paper route). He took my money gave me the engine and a business card and said to send him 5 bucks a month for four months. I remember carefully writing his address each month and getting a stamp from mom.

 

He never took my name and I still have that engine.

Neat story, Bill. That was real money then. I doubt that would happen today.

Nice story.  Those were different times than today.

I started my purchasing from a small merchant in Flora, Illinois, and he gave me American Flyer Trains, Track, and Transformers and I paid weekly with Paper Route earnings. He would trade for our used trains, and the most amazing thing about 

this dealer, Borders Electric, Flora, Illinois, is he had a huge American Flyer Layout in the basement of his home,next door to the store....Wow. This is what dreams are made of.

Yes, probably not today, the trains are si expensive.

Because more people go there with their kids to just look and ooooh and ahhhh but never buy anything?

Other than that, maybe what the other posters said....hard to make money.

And before you know it, the store earns the reputation as the unofficial babysitting service for the area, like how this woman used a Lego store recently.

 

A former hobby shop in my area was located in a strip mall and many moms used them in a similar fashion while they did their shopping.  Kids would play with everything but mom would never buy anything when she returned to pick them up.

How did all these creeps end up on Long Island?

I guess I'm lucky enough to have Jimmy Berilla and the TRADING POST train shop within a half hour drive for me.I always get excellent customer service,and excellent repair service,when I run into something I cannot fix myself.There always is a great choice of postwar and new Lionel stuff to buy,as well as alot of old American Flyer stuff there. The owner is always pleasant,and willing to "deal",and I look forward to every visit I make.

There just are not many places like this around anymore,and I sure will miss it if he ever closes down.