Hobby Store In Connecticut

Amatos in Middletown has a ton of Lionel. They have two rows dedicated to O gauge. Most of their stuff is Lionel to inlcude a ton of Fastrack and, O-31 and O-27. One how side of a row is nothing but stacks of rolling stock (Lionel, MTH, ATLAS, etc...). About two entire sides are nothing but accessories and buildings. A whole lot of RTR sets as well.

 

They have a decent amount of engines too that are all on display.  Being in CT they have a lot of NH but also a lot of other flags as well.

 

Aside from O they have two rows dedicated to HO and N. They have LGB stuff as well. There is a whole row that is nothing but Woodland scenics and other scenery stuff.  They also have all the Lionel books and magazines and the latest pricing guides.

 

If you have kids bring them. They are also a serious toy store and are a great place to find those items that are not going to be found in any Toys-R-Us.

 

I live about 45 minutes away and its always a treat to go there.

Update:

 

About half of their floor space is dedicated to model rail and at least 1/3 of that is O gauge.

 

They also have a store in New Britian. I'm not sure how it compares so you may want to call both to find out who might have more.  I think New Britian "might" have more, but im not sure.

Thanks for the detailed info, I will try to get up there as soon as possible. 

The Middletown store has more rolling stock than New Britain.  The New Britain store has a showcase of old Lionel and American Flyer parts and odds and ends.  Middletown carries some Bachmann trains, as well as some MTH and Atlas rolling stock and Atlas track.  Between July 26th and August 5th both stores run their annual summer sale, with discounts off their regular MSRP. 

Amato's is a really nice store. Whenever I'm visiting my sister in Willimantic, There are two places I always go: Amato's and the Connecticut Eastern  Railroad Museum in downtown Willi. It's right next to the P & W's line. Really nice place, they have some operating Diesels, some rolling stock, and the rebuilt roundhouse with turntable. The odd thing is, the railroad named it Columbia Junction, not Willimantic.  

Real good people to deal with. Have had some engines repaired there & they are quite reasonable. Store products are normal retail. At Christmas time they open downstairs for there layouts. O & G gauge. Real nice layouts

I went by yesterday in a big train museum bender I went on through CT. Danbury followed by this store and then Essex Valley and dinner at one of my favorites the Shoreline Diner and Vegetarian Enclave in Guilford.  This all topped by a nice evening at the classic 1920's amusement park on the LI sound Rye Playland. It is rare that I have a car  on a weekend because I live in NYC. I could have maybe squeezed the Museum in Thompsonville in as well if I had not rushed to Middletown to see the display in the basement at Amarato's.

At the sale I got $10 off the tail car for the HHP set I had somehow missed when it was first realeased.

At Danbury I got to talk at length with a guy who was working on restoring thier 19000 series wooden NYC caboose. We shared some tips on wooden car building. I showed off my in progress full scale logging caboose replica. He said next weekend is a big event Railroader day at their museum.

Valley RR was running #40. It was great to see some live steam but I really wanted to see the New Haven mikado replica. Oh well more reason to return.

Rye Playland was really nice. Better than I expected from some reviews I've seen. It really is a classic that has retained a large majority of thier original rides including some real rare ones. Thier Derby Racer Carosel is one of only two survivors. The Old Mill and Magic Castle are vintage dark rides with modern overlays. The Magic Castle even has some of the old track based tricks like rumble strips and bumps in the track from the pretzel days. The The architecture and setting are wonderful as well.

I look at Amato's as my LHS only an hour drive. I like to go and pick up things on an impluse buy. Their pricing is basic retail but I have never left empty handed!

I went to Playland many times in the 30"s. I lived in New Rochelle. I wonder if it looks the same now?

Does anyone have any suggestions for CT hobby shops that have a large inventory (especially engines) of MTH. I'm in southern CT, and the majority of the dealers tend to be more north. I have been to Railworks (Brookfield) numerous times, but was wondering if there were any other MTH dealers I have missed. Because I am in the southern part of the state, I'd prefer to have an idea of what I am walking into, before I drive an hour or two. 

Rye Playland is owned by by Westchester County.

I have not been there in years. It certainly was a great old park.

Here is a link:

 

 http://ryeplayland.org/index.html

Here is a list of OGR dealers in CT per their website. The Shelton store is not in business any more.

 

BRANFORD HOBBIES	609 Boston Post Rd	Branford	CT	203-488-9865
RAILWORKS, INC	457 Federal Rd	Brookfield	CT	203-797-8386		Visit This Store
BERKSHIRE HILLS HOBBY SUPPLY	93 Main St	Canaan	CT	860-824-0527	Berkshirehills.hobby@snet
VALLEY HOBBIES INC.	261-B Albany Tpk	Canton	CT	860-693-3696
ANN's HOBBY CENTER	405 E Putnam Ave	Cos Cob	CT	203-869-0969		Visit This Store
RAILWORKS, INC	5 Padanaram Rd	Danbury	CT	203-797-8386		Visit This Store
LEE'S TOY & HOBBY	935 Poquonnock Rd	Groton	CT	860-445-4411
TIME MACHINE	71 Hillard St	Manchester	CT	860-646-0610
AMATO'S TOY AND HOBBY	395 Main St	Middletown	CT	860-229-9069
The Hobby Shop LLC	1717 Foxon Road	North Branford	CT	203-481-4067
SHELTON RAILROAD SYSTEMS	91 Center St	Shelton	CT	203-924-8761	CLOSED
WESTPORT MODEL WORKS	24 Cob Dr	Westport	CT	203-226-2798	wsptmdlwks@aol.com
HERITAGE HOBBIES - WILTON	33 Danbury Rd	Wilton	CT	203-834-0441
HOBBY GALLERY	1810 Meriden Rd	Wolcott	CT	203-879-2316

 

 

Amato's in Middletown is a great store.  I go every December for ***** shopping.  As stated they are full retail but have a good selection of MTH and Lionel, AtlasO, and other scales.  Go when the Museum in the basement is open.  One heck of a collections.

I get out couple times a year, and if you are driving around you may want to include B & F hobbies near Providence RI. Very Good selection of MTH, little hard to find as its not got a great sign and looks like its in a storage unit but worth a stop. 

Check out Railworks on Federal road in Brookfield, they have a good selection in 3 rail O.

ask for Mike or Frank, tell them Frank from MRC sent you