I finally got to go to a Menards and purchase a few "O" gauge items. We live in north Texas, which is about 400 miles from the nearest Menards store. I have always envied the folks on here who can just drop by a Menards and check out the latest offerings.
Well, while returning from vacation on Sunday, we saw a Menards store in Salina, Ks. My wife suggested we stop in and look at the train stuff, since it was Fathers day, and she wanted to get me a gift. Sounded good to me. I could not find any train items, so I asked a clerk. She told me the train stuff had been moved "upstairs", in the storage area. This did not sound encouraging. She directed us to the elevator and said to go on up and check out what they had. We went up, and at first I was disappointed. Just a small section of shelving with dust-covered train items. I then thought, what the heck, some Menards is better than none. They had 4 different buildings, about 2 dozen freight cars, mostly flats with military vehicles, and a small assortment of track.
I did enjoy finally getting my hands onto some of these Menards items, and was surprised at the weight of the cars. Ended up buying a Quonset hut, feed mill, and Yankee Lady boxcar. They did not have any power adaptors for the building lights, so I will have to order those online.
So, while the selection was limited, I enjoyed browsing what they had, and came home with my first 3 Menards purchases. Nice Fathers Day present. now, if they would just build some stores here in Texas.
Jeff
