another lhs question

There really are no "good" train shops in the immediate DC area, unless you are willing to drive. None of which are Metro accessible. Arguably the best in the area is Catoctin Mountain Trains, about 1.5 hour drive from Washington and a car is a MUST. You COULD take the Red LIne out to Shady Grove and hop a cab to Engine House Hobbies in Gaithersburg but it is a bit of a trek and with the owner doing major reorganization/remodeling, it may not be worth the hassle for you as the store is a bit of a mess. 

Assuming the pre-school kids get their act together, go to the Smithsonian to the American History Museum (and all of the museums)...1 Streetcar, 3 steam locomotives on display. You can take MARC to Baltimore to tour the B&O Museum and Inner Harbor, etc. 

Now that I think of it, the Montgomery County MD ride-on bus at least DID have a stop on the old campus of the National Capital Trolley Museum in Silver Spring (www.dctrolley.org). Not sure if the stop is still on the new property or the only stop is out on Bonifant Road, the main road past the complex. It is an option - take the Red Line and then the bus. Their website may have some instructions/info on that. 

If you're going to go up to Baltimore you could stop at MB Kleins in Cockeysville just north of Baltimore.

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/

Map and location:

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com...ail-Store-s/1207.htm

You can take the MARC Train:

http://mta.maryland.gov/marc-train

or Amtrak:

http://www.amtrak.com/home

to Baltimore and the MTA Light Rail:

http://mta.maryland.gov/light-rail  to Cockeysville.

Jerry

Matt, museum trips are playing a big role in our plans, if the kids don't get their s#!t together may have more free time than originally planned.  We are hoping to get to Yellowstone and Alcatraz, but are only in San Fran from 13-17, given 17 Oct is the deadline they may not reopen in time.  Keeping an eye on news reports.  May have plenty of opportunity for train related adventures in SF.

If you have an extra day in SF, consider going to Sacramento and visitng the California State Railroad Museum.  It's certainly the premier RR attraction in the state.

The museum is easy to access if you take Caltrain to Sacramento.  You can either take a taxi to Emeryville and board there, or take BART to Richmond (assuming they don't go on strike).

Chan's you can walk easily from FW.  Franciscan is probably not worth the trip.  Neither is really great for o-gauge.

Hello Sinn, we would love to see you at our store here on Long Island! I can also comment on Las Vegas as I live there also. The only really two stores that have O gauge are Train Engineer, near the Airport on Chandler (Marty) and Westside Trains near me on Durango (John). Marty, will be at York next week as will I (Wed-Sat) but we are open if you are in town of course.

I certainly plan on going to Long Island, Nassau Hobby was very much on my list.  Have read a bit about LIRR museum as well, will have to check what its opening hours are and perhaps combine the two.  I think it was Marty I emailed about the Bachmann on30 diesel switcher.  Wish I knew more about York and could get there, sounds amazing for enthusiasts, but this trip was planned before the O gauge bug bit me hard.  I have a wish list that is a page long, and a second piece of luggage to transport goodies home in, just hope I can find some of what I am looking for.  Postage costs to Oz are crippling.  Now I just need to figure out how to get sheets of homasote onto the plane!  Stuff does not exist down here

you did not list the dates you will be in DC, it might be a long shot but if you are in DC Oct 16 to 19 try to get to York PA.  it is less then 2 hours south from DC.

You can "cab" it to the two locations in Las Vegas Charlie mentioned.

If you are staying near the White House you will be near a Metro Subway entrance, ideally the Red Line.  Take it towards Union Station but go to the next stop after the Union Station stop to "Noma - Gallaudet University stop. This is an above ground station platform and you are right next to the yard lead into Union Station with (usually) a lot of trains coming and going. Amtrak and local commuter trains plus the yard switching. Once you have had enough get back on the Metro back to Union Station and explore it. It is an impressive building however it may still be under renovation with scaffolding taking away from the grandeur.

Sam,

Still under renovation. Was in there last Friday but it looks like progress is being made...much netting in the ceiling but not as much scaffolding as before. 

Sinn:

What dates are you planning to be in the Washington, DC area?  I did nto catch that in this thread - reason I ask is that the York opportunity may be worth pursuing.  But you would ned to be in DC area Oct 16 and 17.

Not getting to Washington until Oct 22, leaving Oct 26 for Vegas, then flying home on Friday Nov 1.  I did not worry about York because it was my understanding it was a members only meet?  Dates were locked in months ago so changes could not have been made anyway.  Trains are very much a secondary part of the vacation but will grab whatever opportunities I can.  I am printing off all the suggestions to take with me, so everyones input is greatly appreciated.

cheers