Another hobby shop bites the ballast

Such a loss these guys just will not get replaced Nick

back in the day ,downtown was a mecca for parts and used postwar,i would go there and never want to leave,they left downtown years ago

terry hudon posted:

back in the day ,downtown was a mecca for parts and used postwar,i would go there and never want to leave,they left downtown years ago

 

Yes, the downtown store was great when Jimmy Jackson was running it.

Bill

RICKC posted:

Stop me if you've heard about this hobby shop before.  I went to Bill & Walts in White Oak, PA a few days ago and what did I see, or should I say what didn't I see,  NOOOOO TRAINS.  They have been in White Oak, PA for years n years n years selling model railroad supplies and trains for forever.  They recently moved from their original location in White Oak, Pa to a new location just down the road in White Oak, Pa.  This was the first chance for me to stop by and I couldn't believe my eyes.  Guitars on the wall, video games, video controllers, Star Wars action figures, old movies but NOOOO trains, anywhere!! 

They used to have a store in downtown Pittsburgh, Pa but I don't know if it is still in business selling trains either.  They used to sell comics in the basement, newer trains and models on the first floor and post war Lionel on the second floor (Pittsburgh store).

Man, am I depressed,

Rick

What did they do with all of the trains?  The owner is a train guy.  

Bill

I'm still disappointed that AB Charles is no longer around.  

Gentlemen,

   Having visited with Dave the owner of Bill & Walts, just a few days ago this does not come as a big surprise to me.  His interest just was not there any more.  Very sorry to hear this actually happened.

David has his own storage units and other buildings, more than likely he has all the Trains and Train related stuff stored away already.

The end of an era for sure.   

At one time David and Frank were each others competition and owned the 2 best and biggest Train Stores in the Pittsburgh, Pa area.  

Both major Train Stores now gone into history, a part of Pittsburgh has faded away.

PCRR/Dave

Sad to hear that Bill and Walt's is closing.  Have many fond memories of the downtown Pittsburgh store.   In addition to the main train inventory, they had some less desirable stuff in the basement that was affordable on a kid's budget.  Was always able to find some treasures there. Some needed a bit of TLC to return to service but the restoration was part of the fun.

Follow the money.  Not that much of a margin in trains.  It's not what you sell it for, it's what you pay for it.

Only the long deals are worth while.

Just found out that the Big Little Railroad Shop in Somerville, NJ is closing.  The owner Jan, was getting on in years and I would guess that she retired. She was always pleasant to deal with and the prices were always fair. The business was started in 1987. .

Ted R posted:

Sad to hear that Bill and Walt's is closing.  Have many fond memories of the downtown Pittsburgh store.   In addition to the main train inventory, they had some less desirable stuff in the basement that was affordable on a kid's budget.  Was always able to find some treasures there. Some needed a bit of TLC to return to service but the restoration was part of the fun.

I didn’t see anything about the store closing. Just no more trains, right? It doesn’t really sound like a traditional hobby shop. Was it at one time?

Jim R. posted:

Ted R posted:

Sad to hear that Bill and Walt's is closing.  Have many fond memories of the downtown Pittsburgh store.   In addition to the main train inventory, they had some less desirable stuff in the basement that was affordable on a kid's budget.  Was always able to find some treasures there. Some needed a bit of TLC to return to service but the restoration was part of the fun.

I didn’t see anything about the store closing. Just no more trains, right? It doesn’t really sound like a traditional hobby shop. Was it at one time?

Sorry, got that impression from title and earlier replies.  But yes, Bill and Walt's was very much a traditional hobby shop at one time... at least when located downtown.

I will never forget Frank Hare's Iron Horse store on Painters Run south of Pgh.  Frank, Lou Redman and Dr Fraley ... great train collectors, good friends. and greatly missed.  I bet Frank has a new store in the great beyond.  I wonder if there is a TCA Chapter up there?

Train shops are actually tracking the major changes in retailing in general. Actually, I think that they were harbingers of what was to befall many other types of retail business since hobby shops started their slow but steady decline several decades ago. 

We were at our local mall yesterday here in L.A. and there were many empty storefronts there. Truthfully, we don’t visit it that much anymore. Our Sears store is havings its going-out-of-business sale (sad to see), and another large corner of the mall has been converted into an entertainment supper club which seems to be doing well so far. (We saw The Spinners there last week - great show! - and are going to see Stephen Stills and Judy Collins there in May. ) 

Still, mail order is where it’s at for now. Wouldn’t it be ironic if Sears ended up being a catalog business just like they were well over a hundred years ago when they started out?

I wish dime stores would make a comeback, though...

"The times they are a changin..." - Bob Dylan, Nobel Laureate

And, NOT always for the better! :-(

The area I am in still has a handful of non-chain hobby stores.   Most focus solely on RC cars.  I can think of only one within reasonable driving distance that specializes in trains (primarily O gauge) and which thankfully seems to be prospering.  I've actually been able to get the occasional "need one more additional  x-y-z piece of Fastrack" there for for pretty good prices.      

Old stale inventory. I stopped in a couple times and bought a red Marx streamliner once. The owner didn't seem interested in selling anything. I prefer to shop in a friendlier atmosphere. Just my opinion.

Lucky to have Charlie Ro an hour away but there's a closer RC store that I get copter parts from.  They recently moved to a larger location and now have a multi-scale train layout running in the middle of the store, and a pretty good assortment of Lionel, MTH, plus a lot of HO and N gauge.  Their main business is RC sales service and parts but it's nice to see expansion of train inventory at a hobby shop these days.  RICH

I think as a hobby shop owner, you need to diversify your product line, no longer can you be a single source shop. One needs to cater to a diversified customer base. This day and age you also need to be savvy enough to market your business across social media as well as other channels and be aware of trends in the hobby realm  

Amazon is what Sears and JCPenney could have been....

The dynamics of what is happening in malls is very different than what’s going on in hobby shops.

Malls were highly profitable investment properties from the start, which made them insatiable in the long run.

When enclosed malls were first developed in the 1950s, they largely consisted of local retailers. Bit by bit, that changed. Success squeezed out the smaller shops (hobby shops included) that couldn’t afford the rent, which kept rising with demand. Soon, only upscale local retailers, sometimes with multiple stores, could afford it. Eventually, local retailers were nearly completely displaced by chain retailers, which could buy in quantity and keep their overhead lower than individual business owners.

Mall owners weren’t satisfied. The rents rose even more and soon some national retailers couldn’t afford it. Whole categories disappeared from malls — five-and-dimes, music stores, gift shops, novelty shops, pharmacy stores and even toy stores.

Now, even the most popular chains — those catering in women’s clothing — are fading. Reason? There’s a variety, including loss of mall traffic, struggling anchors (which have been hurt by online sales) and higher rents. Fewer stores breed more vacancies. The mall balloon is bursting.

Hobby shops have been hurt by three things: an aging core audience, a stagnant business model and online sales (mostly aided by manufacturers who offer better prices to volume dealers).

Hobby shops that have diversified, sought online sales and improved their management practices have survived and even grown.

The future? Who knows?

Where I live in the Philadelphia area of the Main Line I am fortunate enough to have Nicholas Smith Trains in Broomall and am less than an hour away from Just Trains in Newark Delaware but we also lost Trains R Fun Store in Fraser about two years ago which was run by an older guy named Charlie and I guess he decided to retire from the business. The hobby shop industry is sure changing.

Carl from Bill and Walt's just called us and was very concerned since this thread generated several folks letting him know that he is now out of business..!!  Something he didn't realize...!!!  This is probably because of the title of the thread and people then seeing only the first few words in the sentence of the initial post....add them together and now folks think this hobby shop is no longer in business.  Carl requested to let everyone know that they are in fact OPEN for business...both the store and their website.  He also asked that the topic be closed since he didn't want it to do anymore damage to his business....we will comply.