Another one down

WHo is shutting down this time?

It would be kind of nice to know who that dealer is.

But as I noted in another dealer-closing thread, ya really can't blame a person for deciding it's time to retire and enjoy living a bit.  Right, Jimmy Sutter? 

Hello Balshis, 

I'm in central PA too.  Which place is closing up?

Thanks!

Ron

Boy you hate to hear this constant theme.

We had one who lost his lease and moved to the east side of town.

That left only one store on the west side.

The good news is the remaining one ( who's store can't be more than

600 to 800 sq' ) said he has had his best year in the last 9. Good news !

It's a recurring theme in family owned businesses though. The kids just don't

want anything to do with it. Dad retires and the shop closes...

Forster's, in Lemont.

Yes, Allan retirement is wonderful. Our local high school basketball team won their conference and invited me to be in their picture cutting down the net. They also, made sure I got a piece of the net.

Also, I'm back at it. These are the trout I caught this week.

Very nice Jim. I've gotten back into fly fishing for trout and running the trains has actually taken a back seat to fly tying lately. Nice to change things up now and then.

Anybody can sneak up on a poor defenseless fish while he's trying to run away through the high grass and leaves.  It's going after them while they're swimming that's the difficult part.

My observation is that a good number of train store/hobby shops are owned by senior citizens. When they retire it seems that there are few if any younger people that want to buy these businesses and take over their operation. Younger people have stepped in to the larger operations like Gryzboski, Charlie Ro, Trainland, & JusTrains, but the small local hobby shops seem to be riding off into the Sunset. 

It is a tough world out there for a small retailer. We unfortunately have not seen the last of these closing. As much as you may not like having to deal with the computer/telephone ordering options, it is a fact of life. We are 2.5 hours away from our nearest dealer to you are certainly not alone. I have found the best way to deal with this is to find a reliable dealer and establish a relationship with them. There are so many good choices out there and most are sponsors of this Forum.