Nicholas Smith Train Shop lost one its long time staff - Lynn

Sorry to hear that, my condolences. Good folks at Nicholas Smith.

Lynn was a doll! she was always friendly and helpful over the years. She will be missed by all.

RIP.  They did have a nice tribute on their website this summer but it's no longer on there.

Oh man, sorry to hear that. My condolences to them, and her family. I've bought a bunch of stuff from them from my first York in October 2017 and continue to buy stuff here and there.

Nicholas Smith has been one of my go to hobby shops since 2011.  90% of the time that I checked out, Linda was at the register.  It won't be the same the next time I go there.

@MikeH posted:

RIP.  They did have a nice tribute on their website this summer but it's no longer on there.

The tribute is on This Page.

@Paul Kallus posted:

all trains on the 2nd floor.

She was a nice lady.  Always greeted us with a smile.

You are missing a lot.  Take a walk around the ground floor.  There you will see a ton of K-Line stuff.  Engines, Passenger, freight, accessories.

Ron

Sorry to hear this.  I did not know her well personally, but I'm sure I recognize her and must have checked out with her when shopping on the first floor over the years.  (Thanks Rob for posting the link with the tribute picture).

@Ron045 posted:

.........................

You are missing a lot.  Take a walk around the ground floor.  There you will see a ton of K-Line stuff.  Engines, Passenger, freight, accessories.

.......................

I'm not sure Paul is missing anything, he described the first floor pretty accurately right before his mention of the second floor being only trains:

@Paul Kallus posted:

................................. Toys/games/models/trains on the first floor; all trains on the 2nd floor...................

-Dave

Just received 2 items from them via mail.  Never been there but have bought from them over the years and they seem like real nice people over the phone/e-mail and they have a ton of stuff in stock at very fair prices -- and they obviously have advertised here for a long time.   I like doing business with them.  Sorry to hear of their loss.

@Dave45681 posted:

I'm not sure Paul is missing anything, he described the first floor pretty accurately right before his mention of the second floor being only trains:

-Dave

Guess I misinterpreted it.  I did not read it as only trains on 2nd floor but as ALL trains (everything they have) on second floor.

I stand corrected... My mistake.

Ron

Tch!  Lynn was good people.  She'll be missed.

Mitch

Rob, thanks for the link. As shown on their page, Lynn's full name was Linda Anderson, and she went by Lynn. I will amend my original post with the link.

The store is an amazing shop. The present owner, Chris, wasn't there yesterday, and I know he is close to or past retirement age. For those of you who don't know, the original shop and owner was Nicholas Smith, who had the store in downtown Philly, and it was one of the first Lionel dealers in the country ~ dating back to early 1900s. Chris bought the name and store and moved it to Broomall, PA in the 1970s I believe. They used to display a portion of the G-scale display in the upstairs part of the shop - the very same display that the original Nicholas Smith and crew set-up every year at John Wanamaker's Dept. Store in Philly. I have fond memories of viewing that display when my family patronized center city at Christmas time in the early 1970s. Now, the shop has a smaller O and HO layout, which itself is pretty neat.

The train displays are first rate. For some reason, I always thought that the trains on those shelves looked better than my trains; I could never figure it out. Perhaps the shop's shelves being at eye-level and higher present the engines in a very prominent and grand way showing details that we don't see when standing slightly above while running trains on our layouts, which tend to be less than eye-level. Maybe it was the lighting, too. At any rate, I kind of feel sorry for younger people who only shop on-line and have never seen such a train shop. I read about train shops closing every year on the forum, and unfortunately the general trend in America has been the closing of Mom & Pop stores of every variety, in favor of corporate giants. Nicholas Smith is not your average Mom & Pop train shop, however. I reckon its one of the giants, but in a good way if you know what I mean. If you have a chance, visit Nicholas Smith sometime. Give yourself a couple of hours at least. I understand there's a separate warehouse as well, off location somewhere, that, if rumors among the staff at Nicholas Smith are true, house train treasures of unimaginable variety.

Sorry to hear this. My condolences. It’s a great shop, and drop in often, as our son and daughter-in-law, and three of my six granddaughters live in Folsom, about 15 minutes away. Can’t help but linger on that second floor!

Have never been there, but every time I read about Nicholas Smith I'm impressed with the descriptions, the people, inventory, and overall vibe of a classic train shop. I'm outside of D.C so it's not around the corner but also not crazy far. I'll have to plan a trip there one day. Or make it part of the York weekend.

I was shocked to hear the sad news when I went to the shop in September.  She seemed fine when I went there a few months earlier.

Smith's  was on North 11th St. in Philadelphia.  They moved due to the Center City Commuter Tunnel project in the '70s.

Lynn was part of the charm of that place. So sorry.

(Yes, Paul ... Nicholas Smith is a great place, really love that store. I sometimes take my wife to Thomas Jefferson Hospital ... I make a beeline for Nicholas Smith, first grabbing a cheesesteak at the Thunderbird next door before I go in.)

My trips to Nicholas Smith is only by phone and I may have spoken with Lynn when placing my orders.  The lady in the other end had always been very courteous.  I envy those of you who are close enough to venture inside these wonderful stores over the years

a great store and a wonderful lady. always helpful, friendly and took time to listen about what I was doing with my layout at the time. will miss her

@johnstrains posted:

Have never been there, but every time I read about Nicholas Smith I'm impressed with the descriptions, the people, inventory, and overall vibe of a classic train shop. I'm outside of D.C so it's not around the corner but also not crazy far. I'll have to plan a trip there one day. Or make it part of the York weekend.

I've been there once when in the area for other reasons (it's 600 miles from home), and it's a great store - very old school.  IMO, it's well worth a drive from DC.  One suggestion - as part of a York trip, don't visit any of the stores that set up in the orange hall - their people and stock are all at York.   

Obviously a little late to this thread, but I wanted to add my condolences to Lynn's family and those of the "extended family" of Nicholas Smith.

Lynn literally watched my daughter grow up (in time-lapse fashion) during my visits to the store and always made us feel special.  And she was always quick with the offer of a lollipop from behind the counter!  Indeed, it was in no small measure those spontaneously offered treats helped teach my (then) very little girl how to say thank you in exchange for such acts of kindness.

I will, and do, miss her a lot.