Any Train Stores That You Miss?

In the 50's on Main Street in Newark Delaware.   Dorsemans Hobby Shop. 

Full service hobby shop, all trains on the 2nd floor.  Spent many hours in that store.

Although not a train store but internet sales, one of the best and most personable individuals that I had the pleasure of contacting and making purchases from was Bob Thatcher of AM Hobbies.  Jim's Train Shop owner Jim paralled AM Hobbies in his manners in dealings with customers he also carried a good assortment and prices for Weaver cars, my orders were always processed and shipped with no issues.

Richmond, Virginia and the surrounding counties of Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico and Goochland.

Every one of these is long gone.....

1950's Lionel:

Jones and Gooding (Appliance Store, Downtown and in Cary Court Shopping Center, where trains magically appeared every Christmas and where most of my first Layout stuff came from in 1953).

Rowletts (A Bicycle Shop, no less, with outfits for sale at Christmas ).

Miller and Rhoads (Department Store downtown with Lionel in the Toy Department and a huge display in a corner window, downstairs).

Thalhimers  (Another Department Store downtown with Lionel in the Toy Department. It might have had trains in the window, too, along with animated holiday scenes, but I don't remember).

Mac the Train Man in Southside Plaza Shopping center between Thanksgiving and New Years.

And a Mystery Quonset Hut in a big field in South Richmond that had used trains in big paste-board barrels. I never knew the name, I was just too young for it to register.

Late 1950's and early 1960's I got into HO and these were my go-to places:

Keels Hobby Shop on Second Street, Downtown. It was a small shop, maybe 25'x25' but the Manager, "Curley" Sims, could lay his hand on just about anything I needed. Later moved to Brookhill Azalea Shopping Center in Northside and added slot-car tracks.

Bob's Hobby Shop, South side of West Cary Street in "The Fan". The set-up was the salesmen stood on a platform behind tall display cases that held the expensive items and cheaper things like car kits, parts, paint, etc. were on shelves behind them. You would ask to see something and they would put it out on top of the counter for your inspection. Later, Bobs moved into a larger space across the street and a block west with a more traditional retail floorplan. Bob Smith and Bob Graham were the salesmen I worked with the most. In the 90's they moved about 5 miles west to Patterson Avenue where they remained until closing in the 2000's. With that move they became The Hobby Center in spite of still having two or more "Bobs" working there. While they had an extensive line of scale trains, Bob Smith always said it was the model plane hobbyists that kept the lights on.

I got back into Lionel in the 1990's and mostly just bought PW at train shows.

Then, in the early to mid 2000's, my grandsons really got into trains, first with Thomas and then Lionel. Since they were the Luckiest Kids in the World, we had the most local Lionel dealers since the 1950's:

Train Town Toy and Hobby just up the road in Ashland, Va. On Railroad Avenue where you would run right out the front door to watch the RF&P (CSX) and Amtrak trains go by when you heard the horn or the rumble.
 
Bobby's Trains, first in Glen Allen in an antiques mall and then a new storefront in Manakin, Va. with new and used Lionel.

Chesterfield Hobbies with Adrian and his crew as mentioned in several earlier posts.

The Great Train Store chain that specialized in Thomas and Lionel with play layouts for kids' hands-on in Regency Square Shopping center.

The Toy Center on Patterson with a good-sized Train department with a nice selection of Lionel and MTH.

The aforementioned The Hobby Center further out on Patterson with all things hobby-related but no Lionel.

Norge Station, with tons of Lionel just an hour down the road near Williamsburg.

I miss Madison Hardware. My dad took me there a few times as a wee lad. It was both scary and wonderous. They refurbished his 248 and R transformer.

That was some Train Store.

Everyone was very nice there even if you wasn't looking for something that Day.

Good luck,John

Pine Creek Railroad posted:

Keith6700,

   When I was younger AB Charles always ran some real great sales on rolling stock to compete with Dave @ Bill & Walts and Frank @ the Iron Horse, lot of times he would undersell them, AB Charles was a great place when the old man was still running it.

NEPA,

   I am with you buddy on Barry's Trains Shop in E-Town, Pa, the very last thing I purchased from him was my Scale Legacy Northern Pacific, in the Pittsburgh Steelers Colors.  Barry is a great guy and we wish him all the best, I do miss his store badly.  

PCRR/Dave

graz posted:

Keith6700 posted:

There used to be a bunch in my area. Iron Horse being one... A.B. Charles is still around, but little to no trains.

AB Charles closed about a year ago. They had just moved to the stripmall location in Peters Twp and had very little train inventory. They didn't last very long there at all.

 

I thought they were still there (until now lol). I haven't been out in Peters in a while, so I wouldn't have known. 

GG1 2340 posted:

GG1 2340 posted:

Bambergers (Now Macy's) in Newark NJ

Branch Brook Co. Bloomfield Avenue Newark Near Branch Brook Park. and,

Polks in Manhattan . 5 or 6 floors of all day fun!

 

Buzz

Dad bought a 1966 Virginian Trainmaster set at Bam's (thats what mom called Bambergers). The woman at the register rang up the price incorrectly and Dad said he paid something like $19.99 and got the hell out of there.

Still have the set, its been around "the tree" about a million times.

Uneeda Appliance in Jersey City and the Repair Store (can't remember the name) on Route 17 near the present Giants Stadium. Used to be Sportland before the Meadowlands

Bobbye Halls in Dallas,Tx. I got in on the last 5 or 6 years of the store being open. If you can find her book "Tracks from Texas to Tokyo" it is a fast and enjoyable read. RIP Dragon Lady!  Pecos River Brass in Lewisville, Tx. Almost exclusively 2 rail ( in O Scale). Bought my first brass loco a Westside Santa Fe mike. Thanks, John.

Davis Electronics - I was on a tight budget when the train bug rekindled, and I lived about 10 minutes from the Davis store in Milford.  I'd pick up magazines and make occasional small purchases.  Over time the budget increased, my purchases grew and I was familar enough that I could go upstairs and see if Dan the repair guy was in the shop - if it was a slow day he'd stop and we'd chat about repairs and I'd get an occasional part or two.  Dan was a good guy, and he'd offer encouragement and suggestions on ways to handle tricky repairs.  The postwar collection Joe Davis amassed was super - I wonder if his son held onto the trains.

Weber's in Lafayette, IN; a full line shop that had a large Lonel collection on shelving up above the items for sale.  I was pretty young when I visited a few times - it made quite an impression seeing all those trains I'd only seen in old catalogs in person.

Bickel's in Logansport, IN - another full line hobby/craft store that was also an authorized Schwinn bike dealer; they also had the dreaded slotcar tracks (at their original location they had a big, routed track for 1/24th scale cars and an Aurora tub track - the tub track moved with the store when they relocated to the newfangled mall in the 70s).  The Lionel stock was a little bare when I was a kid, but my dad said they had a pretty good stock for a small town hobby shop in the late 50s through the 60s, and they had someone who did repairs.  When the owners passed away, they left the store's stock and Schwinn dealership to a friend of my dad's that the owners thought of as a son.  There were some odds and ends of postwar Lionel repair parts, bulbs in Lionel boxes and miscellaneous items like Super O power blades in envelopes with Bickel's stickers attached that I ended up with awhile back.

One store my dad (a salesman who's territory covered Indiana and Michigan) mentioned was a department store in Michgan called Hardy-Herpolsheimer's in Muskegon.  He picked up a number of 6464s for outrageously inexpensive prices after Christmas (I have a lovely 6464-325 Sentinel and 6464-500 Timken in their boxes that he got for under a buck apiece).  

I would say Madison Hardware I miss the most. I went their with my parents as a kid and was there just before they closed for good. If Carl and Lew liked you, you could ask for just about anything and they would have it somewhere in that store. I also miss Choo Choo Eddie's in Rutherford, NJ. My little sons always liked going there back in the '90s.

We also went many times to the Hazlet Train Shop owned by Boyd Mason. The kids loved his layout and he was one of the best Lionel repairmen in the business. I enjoyed talking to Boyd on many visits to the shop. Back in the 50s-60s era, Boyd had actually been a repairman at Hobbyland, a relatively well known train shop in lower Manhattan back in the day.

J & B Trains in Maple Shade NJ and that rascal Jim Sutter from Homer PA

miss them both

Without a doubt, I still miss dearly Davis Electronics Train Shop in Milford, OH.  The friendliness of the people, the ever so many selections, the way they made you feel like you were at home atmosphere was as good as anywhere I have been to this day.  It was a sad day for me (and my family) when we heard they were going to have to close.

Without the folks there and that store, I doubt if I would be "into" trains as I am today.  They, it, changed my life for the better for sure.

I miss them all, but especially  CASEY JONES TRAINS in Louisville on South

3rd st. A group of us guys would meet there on Sat morn and wait for the

owner to open. He was Fred Gocke, a super fine gentleman and friend.

He did all my repairs at that time, but has since passed away.

Now I suppose Louisville has only one shop. The ROUNDHOUSE  on the east side

Those were the days.

Rod

There were a LOT of GREAT hobby shops devoted to trains in the Chicagoland area.

Stanton Hobbies was a long standing great hobby shop on the Northwest side of Chicago, The Hobby Chest in Skokie, Illinois just North of Chicago easy to get to from Chicago if you took the Skokie Swift.  There was one in Niles Illinois on Golf Road which was there for many years but when the owner suddenly died of a heart attack around 2008-2009 the wife sold off everything. 

The only one left is Horthwest Hobbies off of Northwest Hwy on the North end of Chicago near the Northern suburbs.

Mostly O-Gauge but he has all the other hobbies to keep him alive and well. I have picked up a lot of gems for great prices and was just in there before Christmas and found a nice un-used new in the box PRR Trolley car it's a beauty!!

The owner opened the package for me I don't think it had ever been opened and it ran without a hiccup- I made him an offer and he gladly accepted and I found some other gems and Christmas was awesome for my son(and me too)!!!

Amazing how many I never made it to, while traveling, although not for not trying...and some few I did.  What might follow this thread is one titled "What trains stores do you NOT miss?"

Hobby Models - Evanston, Illinois

Bentys Toy & Hobbies- Chicago, Illinois

Weitz TV- Chicago, Illinois

Toy Craft - Norfolk, Virginia

Loco Louies - Pennsylvania

H. L. Childs - Northhampton, MA

Dougs - Des Moines, Iowa

Downtown Hobbies - Denver, Colorado

Funny you mention Benty's in Chicago. If you go to the Wheaton train show, in the hot dog stand building, in the corner is the son of the guy who owned Benty's. If you're into postwar Lionel, he still brings things now and then, mint as the day the left the factory. Lately his table is full of Matchbox cars. I went to his house once and his basement looks like the hobby shop was fully stocked and just closed yesterday. 

Berkshire President posted:

Warren's Model Trains in Fairview Park, OH....but only when it was owned by Tom Podojil....who passed away much too young several years ago.

The Hobby House on Huron Road in downtown Cleveland was always exciting.

And while I'm too young to have vivid memories of the place, my grandparents used to take me to Jaye & Jaye trains in Euclid, OH once a year.  I still remember picking out two items from the 1982 Traditional Catalog there.

Not all good times are behind me, though.  Stockyard Express in Oberlin has become a favorite place of mine to stop by.

I've also found buying and selling on this Forum is a good way to "meet" people and make some new friends.

I too miss Warrens Trains. Once lived near the Metro Parks, a stones throw from Fairview park. If I needed a part Tom would have just about everything I needed and then some. It was so nice just to hop in my car and have the replacement part right away instead of the mail order method.

Anyone remember Hinch's Hobby?  I believe he was in Strongsville, Ohio in the 90s

Pete S

How about the train shop at Knott's Berry Farm??

Gulf Coast Model Railroad & Hobby Shop was my local store when I lived near Sarasota, Florida 10 years ago. I'm happy to see that they are still in business. Two really nice guys.

The train stores of my youth, Downtown Hobbies and Caboose Hobbies in downtown Denver, Coloardo - just around the corner of the Denver Dry Goods department store from each other.

Also, the hobby shop downtown in my hometown of Salina, Kansas that had its own wall of trains - though much smaller than what we today consider as a wall of trains.

PLCProf posted:

Does anyone remember the small Lionel shop in Buffalo, I believe it was on Northland near Fillmore, run by a family named Haidvogel? My father used to take me in there in the late 1950's, it was the first floor of a two story house. The corner of Northland and Fillmore is completely under a railroad overpass, which made the visits all the more memorable. If I recall correctly, it was run by a man and his mother, both were well on in years at the time. Always wonder what became of that place. The other big Lionel place in Buffalo was Chester Spoonley's over on Choate Street, again on the first floor of a two-story house. Could never get near the place on Saturday mornings. I understand his son tried to run it after the old man passed away, but that apparently did not work out.

And, in that era, our Sears Roebuck on Main and Delavan sold Lionel year round, and a pretty good selection at that! They always had a big Christmas layout that was a big draw. Of course, in that era, in Buffalo at least, Sears was the go-to place for everything not clothing related, if Sears didn't have it only then did you look anywhere else!

It was called Captain Paul's. Paul Haidvogel was the owner and he was my grandfather. 

Chesterfield Hobbies. I just miss stopping by after a long week at work just to visit.

Jim's Train Shop in Homer City PA. 

I don't remember the good ones in Kokomo, but I do miss Harmon's Trains in Arcadia, Indiana, Watts Train Shop in Zionsille and Train Express in Indianapolis.  I can barely remember Casey Jones trains in Indianapolis.     Mike

Will be soon!  Tony's Mower Shop and Trains is Closing this Thursday.  He has great prices, located in Plymouth, Michigan off of 5 mile road, just West of Haggerty.   Only place in the country where you could go and get your lawn mower or snow thrower repaired and while your waiting shop for trains.

Mizells in the Denver area

Davis Hobby in Milford, Ohio

Nutbush Station, Strausburg, VA

Covered Wagon, Greensboro area

Jim's Train Shop Homer City, PA

Main Street Trains Barboursville, W.V.

Wild Bill's Trains Detroit area

Yes I travel a lot.

Scott Smith

Glen's Train shop in Akron, Ohio. I miss 'ol Glen Uhl before it became Arron's City Trains. He was considered the Ralph Nader of Lionel.

Franciscan Hobbies, San Francisco....Lee's trains in front of where the Key system trains ran in Peidmont/Oakland.... Gunnings Hobby, San Anselmo...Train Shack, Burbank...

Only the Train Shack is still open. Don

totrainyard posted:

Tinplate Junction, Oakland

John' s Junction, Oakland

Lee's Trains, Oakland

Franciscan Hobbies, San Francisco

San Antonio Hobbies, Mountain View CA

and many more....

Don't forget the basement of Montgomery Wards/Berkeley Hardware near the university, where Fred Sill, RIP, held court for many years.

Still have their business card, on my work bench.

36333 Groesbeck • Clinton TWP., Michigan

Gary

Forster's Trains, in Lemont, PA, just outside of State College.  Jim was a fine guy and kept a great stock of both postwar and modern trains.  I was in there pretty much every weekend, and seldom left without buying something.

It's been gone almost three years, now.

The Great Train Store (in Union Station) DC. Used to take Amtrak  from Richmond, VA and arrive in DC about 1030. Look at what was on display in O, HO, and N. Then take Metro Red line in the basement to where I wanted to go. Come back in the afternoon and buy what I had been thinking about all dey. The carried the full Lionel line which was sometimes on sale. They were always playing railroad video's. They went under about 2000. It was fun to ride the train back to Richmond clutching my train purchases.

Berkshire President posted:

Warren's Model Trains in Fairview Park, OH....but only when it was owned by Tom Podojil....who passed away much too young several years ago.

The Hobby House on Huron Road in downtown Cleveland was always exciting.

And while I'm too young to have vivid memories of the place, my grandparents used to take me to Jaye & Jaye trains in Euclid, OH once a year.  I still remember picking out two items from the 1982 Traditional Catalog there.

Not all good times are behind me, though.  Stockyard Express in Oberlin has become a favorite place of mine to stop by.

I've also found buying and selling on this Forum is a good way to "meet" people and make some new friends.

Certainly Tom was a great guy.  He lived up the road about a mile from me.  If I called looking for parts for a project when I got home from work there would be a bag hanging on the side door with the stuff I needed.  That was true service.  

Hobby House is also missed.  I worked at the suburban store in Maple Heights.

When I went to Jaye & Jaye it was on Ivanhoe in East Cleveland.  Got 1947 era passenger cars there for $2 each.

Also missed is Riedel's on Babbitt Road in Euclid.  What a wonderful layout he had.

Lou N

The Train Shoppe-Wilkes Barre PA-closed few years back

T&J Train Junction-Danville PA- closed last year

G&M Trains and Hobbies in Martins Ferry, Ohio

Yorba Toy Trains in Yorba Linda,California

GG1 2340 posted:

GG1 2340 posted:

GG1 2340 posted:

Bambergers (Now Macy's) in Newark NJ

Branch Brook Co. Bloomfield Avenue Newark Near Branch Brook Park. and,

Polks in Manhattan . 5 or 6 floors of all day fun!

 

Buzz

Dad bought a 1966 Virginian Trainmaster set at Bam's (thats what mom called Bambergers). The woman at the register rang up the price incorrectly and Dad said he paid something like $19.99 and got the hell out of there.

Still have the set, its been around "the tree" about a million times.

Uneeda Appliance in Jersey City and the Repair Store (can't remember the name) on Route 17 near the present Giants Stadium. Used to be Sportland before the Meadowlands

I remember "Two Guys" used to stock trains during the holidays too. That was the "Two Guys" in Kearny

Contoctin Mountain Trains, and Purkey's in Thurmont, and Sykesville, Md. Two small and very different shops.

CMT had great owners, huge MTH stock, and complete repair service. Was hard to walk in and not find what you were looking for.

Purkey's had small town atmosphere, small but diverse inventory, and on site repair. Wiley, the owner and unique personality, fit the place well. An artist, a hippie in Mayberry type of experience.  Special orders were not an out of the ordinary experience. And good conversation, too loved the local art work he did, too. I got a great hand drawn pic of Sykesville Station to go with my trains.

Jim's Train Shop in Homer City, PA

Purchased my first engine there.  A MTH Rail King Milwaukee Road Hiawatha;  fell in love with it's looks, smoke and sound.

We also share an interest in "do-wop" songs of the 50 and early 60's.

I miss Catoctin Mountain Trains of Thurmont Md and French's Trains of Dundalk Md.