Menards Suggestion

eat&Park would be nice.

A Wonder Bread Bakery.

generic '40s or '50s style drive-in restaurant.

Harry, Good Idea especially with sound!!

I just got K-Line Starlight Diner to work.

Drive In should have Snack Bar and play area,

of course.   

A Church.

Think of it as balance for the Brewery .

A modern gas station. Something with modern pumps and snack area. In the east (because I don’t know how far west they go) we have Sheetz and Wawa. I’m sure that the Midwest has something similar. 

Maybe a slightly generic gas/convenience area with interchangeable signage for a few chains?  Heck, I’d even be happy with a major chain like Exxon, Shell, or BP. 

Thanks. 

How about a new modern Menards building?

How about a nice iron two lane bridge with bridge tender tower.  Cars with illuminated headlights  on the bridge. ( think Chicago river bridges).

I would like industry, industry, industry - especially a modest "modular line" (as in Walthers Cornerstone Series) - buy the prices that will fit. I don't really care about drive-in movies, drive-in restaurants, malt shops or even more gas stations.

Yes, you do offer some industrial pieces - mostly modern era, it seems. How about some 40's - 50's industrial pieces to go with all those 40's - 50's, maybe 60's, malt shops and drive-ins that keep getting requested?

I bought your Vetter Sash & Door - it will be changed/painted, backdated, but the look is great and I was impressed. There is at lest one more I have my eye on - it has an older look.

Really, how many gigantic buildings do you have room for?  How about some interesting, new rolling stock?  It would likely be of broader interest to more of your customers.   Thanks!    

Their rolling stock offering is already very interesting, but for me, I'd like to see them contract with Bachmann / Kader Industrial (since they already have the tooling) to produce the first Menards locomotive..  My vote goes for the E-8, preferably in schemes that were never produced by Williams / Bachmann or long discontinued.  GM&O, CNW, MoPac, Milwaukee (yellow/silver version), etc.

I understand their strategy; to product road name that will sell in volume.  But there are some of us who model the fallen flags of the past.  Therefore I would like to see Menards offer their rolling stock in undecorated versions that the modeler could letter and decorate to their favorite road name.

Agreed, all good ideas.

Menards brain trust in model trains is doing an excellent job of mixing old, and new in their buildings, as well as maintaining their local roots and non regional themes.

A delicate balance to keep their customer base interested, both in buying, and offering suggestions.

One thing this group will never lack is suggestions!

Will need some Sprecher's Root Beer tankers for the new Sprechers building.

ACL Fred posted:

I understand their strategy; to product road name that will sell in volume.  But there are some of us who model the fallen flags of the past.  Therefore I would like to see Menards offer their rolling stock in undecorated versions that the modeler could letter and decorate to their favorite road name.

Understandable, but you can do what hobbyists in O gauge have been doing for generations: repaint existing stock. Really, there’s no need for Menards to tie up even more inventory and production time making undecorated models for the small segment of the market interested in custom paints. Menards’ focus has been to appeal to those who enjoy “fun” paint schemes, often of the fantasy variety.

artyoung posted:

A Church.

Think of it as balance for the Brewery .

I agree.  Nobody makes a nice church.  I spoke to a couple of custom builders at York, but their backlogs all seemed to be very large.  Thus, a church wasn't in their short-term plans.

"Dog pile on the wabbit! Dog pile on the wabbit!"

Andre

Yes, a thousand times, a church!  I looked for a church for my Christmas tree layout last year.  The offerings are super lame.  It should be stone and BIG.  That MTH church looks like a country schoolhouse.

Little River Church by Lemax, $ 42.50 on Amazon.

7" h x 5-3/8"w x 6-1/2"d.

What would be nice and I had mentioned it before is building flats. Maybe lighted and an inch or two deep. Full size buildings and Menards has made really nice ones take up real estate but a series of building flats would give us an added option at the back of our layouts. And as mentioned older type buildings and vehicles for us that model pre 65.........Paul 2

Hey Mark, how about some tubular switches to go with your awesome O gauge track??!