Hi All - Will be spending a few days soon visiting visiting our daughter and son-in-law in St Louis. Was wondering are there any hobby shops worth a visit while we are there - Thanks.
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George,
I know JD's is close by. I don't know what kind of store he has though. Maybe others can comment.
Electric train outlet and page ave. and switchstand hobbies just around the corner. Also off i-70 in st. Charles is mark twain hobbies.
Sorry should have typed electric train outlet on page ave. bob is a great guy but prices are mostly msrp. Still the biggest o scale store that I am aware of in st.mo. He carries only tmcc ,legacy and atlas motive power. No mth engines. ( Does not like to mess with dcs electronics)Has all other mth items though.
Not recommended. I finally got what I ordered only after I told him to cancel it. About 3 weeks later it showed up. This for something in stock. I'd hate to see you buy something expensive there and then have trouble with it.
Originally Posted by MichRR714:
George,
I know JD's is close by. I don't know what kind of store he has though. Maybe others can comment.
I think Jeff is behind from the AM Hobbies purchase. I nicely reminded him of an AM Hobbies pre-order I had that should have been out. He charged my CC within hours (late evening) and shipped it out the following morning with tracking number. Received it today.
Thanks Jeff,
Dan
Electric train outlet is nice but as mentioned high priced on most items, but worth a look! Some items are reasonable when you consider shipping.
The Switchstand is not on Olive anymore so you may want to check for the new location.
There's also a place called Trains Unlimited on Delmar that's got quite a selection.
Also Rodney's trains on Gravois is a pretty good place.
As someone that likes to browse train shops, I believe any of these 4 will be a fun visit.
These would be my top 4 as I have no idea who or where JD's is. The place in St. Charles would be 6th as I forgot to mention Schaffer's hobbies at Gravois just east of Lindburgh.
It may come down to what you are seeking to gauge which one is best. Or open. Switchstand is closed Wednesdays. Maybe a call to each one would be helpful.
Enjoy St Louis....Have a slice of hank's cheesecake, eat at rigazzi's on the hill! Root for the Cardinals!
There also is Rodney's Trains and Toys at 9622 Gravois Road and Trains Ltd. at 8151 Delmar. The address for Electric Train Outlet is 9517 Page Ave and for the Switch Stand it is 9120 Lackland Rd. The phone number for the Switch Stand is 314-773-1029. Sorry, I don't usually go into such detail for any one store but the Switch Stand moved a year or two ago and a lot of the phone books out there still have the old address and phone number.
I have been to all of these locations and have had no problems with either. The Electric train outlet and the Switch stand are the most visited. All these shops have their quirks. The Electric train outlet caries the largest selection but can be a bit feisty (can complain a lot). The Switch stand does not cary that much and is a smaller store. He is closed on Wednesday and Sunday and tends to sit at his work bench until somebody wakes him up. Otherwise nice guy and very knowledgable. Careful, his parts acumen will fool you. Rodney's Trains is a small place but has a lot of used equipment.
Don't know where in St. Louis you will be going but if you have time let me invite you to visit our club. The Lionel Railroad Club of St. Louis is located in extream south St. Louis City not too far from the River City Casino. We have several operating layouts. Contact me at my listed email address if interested.
Al
Sweet Old Bob at Electric Train Outlet is really a good guy. A little noisy at times but don't let that put you off. He has a great inventory albeit at MSRP, and is a good repair shop. Steve at Trains, Ltd is also a good guy; again with pretty much MSRP but again lots of stuff. Comments re: Switch Stand and Rodney's are right on. JD's is more of a distribution center than a store front. He may not even be there at times as he also has other stuff on his plate. He's a really nice guy and if you haven't met him you should. St. Louis is a really train town including fans, hobbyist and clubs.
George Andy O liked Electric train outlet. He said full list on everything but that leaves him with older stock items you might be looking for. He said would stop there again if in the area.
Thanks for helping add numbers, addresses etc. I was lazy last night!
Just for fun, we should suggest he go into ETO and ask where the MTH engines are!
DOH! Not good, Jacobson will be gruff! My first trip in I did that! Actually, he's a great guy but has his opinions and shares them! He'll even tell you what your opinion is for free!
as for the line about Switchstand! Haha! Just call ahead and wake him up. Roscoe's a good guy.
Steve, the retired pilot, at trains limited, very good. Rodney's trains also very good
All these folks are great train guys!
Most important, enjoy your visit to our State and our hobby shops. and hopefully you'll get held up in Cardinal traffic!
