Losing A Great Train Store - Mercer Junction

Unfortunately I expect we will hear this from many more primarily MTH stores in the coming months.  Dave, you ran a great store and I wish you much success in the future.

Between Iron Horse Hobby, the Imperial Train Shoppe, and now Mercer Junction, western PA is becoming an O gauge desert. Each situation has their reasons, but how disappointing to lose another destination and resource of great expertise. Good luck to you Dave. Hope to see you back in some capacity.

Sorry to hear this. Best of luck Dave. Thanks for all the contributions to this great hobby.

Sad to hear this. I wish we would hear something one way or the other on MTH. If we don't hear anything by the end of 2020 on MTH its time to worry. I'm hoping we hear something on MTH during the virtual York show. Best of luck Dave!

Yeah, I'm sorry to see this collateral damage from MTH's closing.

Great store.

George

I am sorry to hear this. As I live in eastern PA I have not patronized any western PA train shops, but from the OGR article, interview, and photographs, Dave seemed like a genuine good guy and his modeling was top-notch.

Very sorry to hear this.  Good Luck in your future.  

Very Sad News. Like so many, Best of Luck Dave in your future endeavors.

Wow he has a nice store and a friendly kind of guy. I'm sorry he doesn't feel the other companies can carry him along.

@Trainlover9943 posted:

Sad to hear this. I wish we would hear something one way or the other on MTH. If we don't hear anything by the end of 2020 on MTH its time to worry. I'm hoping we hear something on MTH during the virtual York show. Best of luck Dave!

What more is there to hear. Mike Wolf has stated that he is closing the company in 2021, selling the assets, and retiring.

@Bill T posted:

What more is there to hear. Mike Wolf has stated that he is closing the company in 2021, selling the assets, and retiring.

If there's a potential buyer for the company (or at least the tooling) to produce the models they made would be nice to know.

Mercer Junction is the quintessential store.  Great layout on the corner of a small town square.  The owner, Dave, is one of the best.  Always enjoyed my trips up there.  I wish Dave well.  I will definitely make a trip up before he closes.

@Trainlover9943 posted:

If there's a potential buyer for the company (or at least the tooling) to produce the models they made would be nice to know.

I agree with that!

My rational side says everything will pan out.

My irrational side feels like I have thousands invested in a platform that's gone end-of-life. I literally just bought a DCS Wifi module when MTH made the announcement. Am hoping it's not a future brick. My handheld thumbwheel is twitchy. Glad I wired for cab control and never sold my postwar ZW. The digital technology is pretty awesome, but analog doesn't leave you swinging in the wind.

@FredRR posted:

I agree with that!

My rational side says everything will pan out.

My irrational side feels like I have thousands invested in a platform that's gone end-of-life. I literally just bought a DCS Wifi module when MTH made the announcement. Am hoping it's not a future brick. My handheld thumbwheel is twitchy. Glad I wired for cab control and never sold my postwar ZW. The digital technology is pretty awesome, but analog doesn't leave you swinging in the wind.

I just went in for a wifi module too when that announcement was made. My remote thumbwheel is twitchy too, thats the main reason I went to the wifi.

Sad to see another shop close.  Dave, I wish you the best in your future endeavors, don't be a stranger.

Sadly, I am one of the pessimists that doesn't think that MTH will magically arise from the ashes, but I'll hope along with the crowd that I'm wrong.

Definitely wishful thinking that MTH will be the proverbial Phoenix. But then again, stranger things have occurred!

It's not like all MTH stuff will quit working on the day MTH closes. I would imagine that it will out live a lot of us whether or not someone produces anything from here forward.

Always sad when a local hobby shop closes, whatever the reason.

Train stores don't make money on your existing stuff running, they make money selling you new stuff!

Great guy, great shop, great layout.

Will try to get out to the shop with my wife. Regardless .... best wishes, Dave.

Something to consider.  Let's say MTH closes and there is no successor company to compensate dealers for warranty repairs during mid 2021-mid 2022.  That's a potential cost of doing business that dealers (working on perhaps thin margins) may not be able and/or willing to bear.  It's not only about the availability of product from now until mid-2021 is my speculation.  It's the warranty period for any merchandise sold up until mid-2021.  Who is going to compensate dealers for that warranty work for the period after MTH closes?  I realize the compensation is modest, but I haven't heard anything concrete about this issue of importance to consumers and dealers.

That said, everything I've heard or read about David Minarik and Mercer Junction has been extraordinarily positive,  and it is unfortunate that he had to make this decision. Wish him and his employees well in the next stages of their lives.

Great guy, great shop, & great service.  I was at my layout this morning checking things over to see what I need on my next trip to Mercer Junction.  Then I came online to read this!
Dave, I'm going to miss you (& your store).
Dennis

Very sad to hear that. Dave was great to deal with. Good luck, Dave.

Sorry to hear about this.  Unfortunately I don't think he will be the last, there are a lot of train stores heavily invested in MTH.

Only made it there once (300+ miles away), but it was a great experience.  Spoke with Dave at the shop (which is how I discovered the Clarks), and have met him at York.  Class guy, top-notch modeler, and a great shop.  We'll still have two of the three!

Sorry to hear about this. Marty Fitzhenry took me to Dave's shop when we went to a Lionel sale in Ohio about 6 or 7 years ago. It was great to see the store and meet Dave, but the real treat was when Dave took us to his house and we saw all the stuff he had there. Including his bikes. Some really neat stuff. Marty took a picture of me on one of the bikes and I wish I had it.

Gerry

Best of luck Dave.

My son Mike and I have been making the drive from the south hills of Pittsburgh to Dave's shop in Mercer for the past 10 years.  Dave always welcomed us, and especially made my son, who was 10 at the time, feel important by remembering and calling him by name each time we visited.  I look at his shop as a destination for O gauge hobbyists in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio, and will miss it very much.  Mike and I wish Dave the greatest success, and hope he continues to make artistic and innovative contributions to our hobby.  I proudly own several pieces Dave has painted for the Union and Bessemer and Lake Erie railroads.   Thanks for everything Dave.  Good luck.

Best of luck for the future, Dave, whatever that may bring. I heard only good things about both you and your store.

All of retail, not just hobby shops, is going through a wrenching sorting out right now and the playing field will look a lot different soon. Far fewer choices for customers, IMO. Not a good thing.

I live 700 miles from Mercer but I have placed online orders with Mercer Junction.  I wish Dave luck in the future.

Dave is certainly one of the most talented guys you'll find in our hobby. One of the highlights of my York experiences was driving home and deciding to stop at Mercer Junction.  Our group found Norm Charbonneau sitting in the store with Dave.  Some excellent conversation was had, some purchases were made and Norm joined us for dinner at a nearby establishment.  Mercer Junction is a great "Train Shop."

I wish Dave the very best in all his future endeavors.

I agree with so many of the responses before my comments, thank you for being such a great dealer, ambassador of the hobby, and making the great video with Rich Melvin on OGR The Video. Your talents for scenery and model railroad detailing, weathering are Fantastic. May God Bless you and lead you to a great future. Thank you very much for all you’ve done for our hobby. I’ve been in your store one time, it’s Awesome. Good luck.

Best of luck to Dave - just don't hang up the drum kit. 

I was certainly saddened to receive the email from Dave.  I never made the 45-minute drive to Mercer often enough, but hopefully I will get there once more before you close.    I wish you all the best, Dave!

Really, really, sad news. What else can I say?

Well, doggone and John Brown. I am sorry to hear that!

@Jim 1939 posted:

Wow he has a nice store and a friendly kind of guy. I'm sorry he doesn't feel the other companies can carry him along.

When you're primarily an MTH outlet, as Dave is, the closing of MTH means that your business model will no longer be viable. You've been selling a certain product line to a target market that wants that product line, and then the product line ceases to exist. To continue in business would be somewhat akin to starting over. The same would be true if you were primarily a Lionel outlet and Lionel went out.

Very unfortunately, I expect there to be more closings of stores that primarily sell MTH. This is perhaps a cautionary tale to not base your business on one company's product line.

I saw Dave and his layout in an OGR Great Layouts DVD and I was super impressed with Dave's skill and artistry. I've also admired his work through his articles in OGR Magazine. I'm sure he'll be very successful in whatever he decides to do next.

Keith, You are so right.  Once when I parked in front of his store, I saw his customized motorcycle he did.  I am not a motorcycle enthusiast by any means, but the metal work and painting was a sheer work of art!  What a talented and friendly guy!!

@breezinup posted:

Not sure why Mercer Junction didn't decide to start handling Lionel/other brands and remain open instead of folding its tent.

Lionel's business model (multi-level distribution) is not very friendly to smaller dealers.

Well crap!!! 😢

Curt