Toms Trains in Ardsley, NY

Agree wholeheartedly. Tom is a sweet guy and has a great layout and largd inventory of trains and accessories.

Thanks for the reminder!

Tom's Trains in Ardsley, NY is also my Local Hobby Shop. I am a very satisfied customer, having bought both Postwar and new O Gauge trains and accessories there for many years. Arnold

Let me jump in as well. I have purchased ALL my modern trains from Tom. Great guy, great owner, great selection AND fair. He also has an operating layout that he turns on whenever there are kids in the store - He is right off the Saw Mill Parkway and it is an easy ride.

https://tomstrainsny.com/pages/contact-us

@Trinity River Bottoms Boomer posted:

Now more than ever, PLEASE support your local (or even distant) brick and motar train shop.

While online shops may save you a buck or two, at a b&m shop you always get to see what you buy.  If it isn't to your liking you might still find something else that does.  If you don't, your dealer will be more than happy to place a special order for you.  Not a shop near you?  Let your fingers do the walking and order from the b&m's by phone.  Talking to a real honest to goodness human being is still more fun than doing bizz with some stupid machine any day, if you ask me, or even if you don't!

My shop in Germany: www.modellbahnritzer.de  Owner, Rainer Knoch, speaks English as well as German.  He stocks new, used, and out of production older trains and vehicles.  Looking for something?  Drop him an email.  He might have just the gem you've been looking for.

That is exactly why I posted this, Tom is local, brick and motor and old school. Which, is the way I like things!! Since there is no Citibank Station, no Santa Land at Macy's or the Lionel Layout at Grand Central, this is all we have!

Got some great deals from Tom....always pleasant...great selection of post war at FAIR prices...If your in the area...highly recommend a visit to Toms......

Hmm, he's only an hour and a half away from me.  Might have to take the trip.  I so miss actually going to a hobby shop!

Just want to add about Tom’s Trains. At one time, he used to set up at every Edison,NJ Greenberg show and we used to be the TMCC demo group showing off command control there.
Tom was the only dealer there with TMCC components and we would send prospective customers to him who wanted to buy command control products. Very fair in pricing and super nice guy to know and to deal with.

Sounds like a local shop very worthy of support!  :-)

Cincytrains, I greatly appreciate you having started this thread.

I wholeheartedly agree with the above compliments about Tom's very fair pricing and honesty in doing business and dealing with his customers.

Fortunately for the model railroading hobby, Tom's Trains is not the only outstanding LHS in existence; there are many others, and they all deserve our support during these challenging times. Tom's Trains in Ardsley, NY just happens to be my most local of the local hobby shops in my geographic area, making it very convenient for me, and it has satisfied most of my O Gauge train and scenery needs for many years.

My latest purchase from Tom's Trains is the best locomotive in my collection IMO.

A couple of years ago I asked Tom if he ever acquires top of the line Postwar locomotives like the Lionel 773. He said that he does occasionally. Then, I asked him to let me know if he gets a 773 because I would be interested.

Tom did not forget my interest in the 773.

When I called him a few weeks ago to ask if he knew when he expected to receive delivery of  the Lionel LC 2.0 Brooklyn tank engine that I ordered through his shop, he assured me he would call me as soon as it came in, and then mentioned he recently acquired a 773. I made a bee line for his store. Here it is on my layout:

It is a terrific locomotive.

I highly recommend being a loyal customer to a brick and mortar LHS like Tom's Trains. I always give Tom first crack at whatever I'm interested in purchasing because I know he is always honest, fair and reasonable.

I also recommend not being overly aggressive in negotiating prices with your LHS, especially when the offering price of the particular item is already reasonable. We want the LHS to make a reasonable profit so it can stay in business. Also, by being generous with your LHS, you can improve your chances of getting your favorite items. I got this idea from a video in the McComas Tuoy 6 video set about the Standard Gauge train collection of the late Frank Petruzzi: by being generous in your negotiations, especially for top quality Postwar and Prewar, you can increase the chances of getting the best items. Arnold

Congratulations, Arnold.  That looks great.

Is that the 1964 one?

@eddie g posted:

Is that the 1964 one?

Yes

I agree with those above, Tom’s trains is a great shop and definitely worth a visit. Just note that the first time you go there it’s a little bit tucked away under the hardware store. There is an entrance to the right of the store that leads down to a storage area for hardware, the train shop is to the left when you get down there. It makes a cool kind of secret underground speak easy to get to a really good store. I’m exaggerating a bit, but once you’ve been there you will definitely go back.

Arnold congratulations.  That's a very sharp engine.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Cincytrains, I greatly appreciate you having started this thread.

I wholeheartedly agree with the above compliments about Tom's very fair pricing and honesty in doing business and dealing with his customers.

Fortunately for the model railroading hobby, Tom's Trains is not the only outstanding LHS in existence; there are many others, and they all deserve our support during these challenging times. Tom's Trains in Ardsley, NY just happens to be my most local of the local hobby shops in my geographic area, making it very convenient for me, and it has satisfied most of my O Gauge train and scenery needs for many years.

My latest purchase from Tom's Trains is the best locomotive in my collection IMO.

A couple of years ago I asked Tom if he ever acquires top of the line Postwar locomotives like the Lionel 773. He said that he does occasionally. Then, I asked him to let me know if he gets a 773 because I would be interested.

Tom did not forget my interest in the 773.

When I called him a few weeks ago to ask if he knew when he expected to receive delivery of  the Lionel LC 2.0 Brooklyn tank engine that I ordered through his shop, he assured me he would call me as soon as it came in, and then mentioned he recently acquired a 773. I made a bee line for his store. Here it is on my layout:

It is a terrific locomotive.

I highly recommend being a loyal customer to a brick and mortar LHS like Tom's Trains. I always give Tom first crack at whatever I'm interested in purchasing because I know he is always honest, fair and reasonable.

I also recommend not being overly aggressive in negotiating prices with your LHS, especially when the offering price of the particular item is already reasonable. We want the LHS to make a reasonable profit so it can stay in business. Also, by being generous with your LHS, you can improve your chances of getting your favorite items. I got this idea from a video in the McComas Tuoy 6 video set about the Standard Gauge train collection of the late Frank Petruzzi: by being generous in your negotiations, especially for top quality Postwar and Prewar, you can increase the chances of getting the best items. Arnold

That was my whole point, we have to help these guys out, with everything going on, every small business is skating on thin ice.  Help the small train store and it will pay of in the long run..And I wanted that 773, it was in the front window.....Ill get you for that--LOL

@Spectac posted:

I agree with those above, Tom’s trains is a great shop and definitely worth a visit. Just note that the first time you go there it’s a little bit tucked away under the hardware store. There is an entrance to the right of the store that leads down to a storage area for hardware, the train shop is to the left when you get down there. It makes a cool kind of secret underground speak easy to get to a really good store. I’m exaggerating a bit, but once you’ve been there you will definitely go back.

the hardware store is gone....Tom has the whole basement....worth a see.....

Unfortunately my experience wasn’t as pleasant as some of you. I went to the Train show in Westchester last November and purchased a set of R36 Subway cars marked as “new”, upon arriving home and connecting them to my DCS setup the Odometer reading was 197 miles!!! Far from new (especially for the price I paid). I let it go and chalked it up to a learning experience.....but yeah.

'Remember, the model railroader you save might be you!'

That's the truth!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone - be safe and be thankful.

@joe krasko posted:

the hardware store is gone....Tom has the whole basement....worth a see.....

Nice. I have to make a trip there. It's been a while as I live relatively far away, but would pass by on the way to a satellite office I go to a couple of times a year (closed now for pandemic).

Great store.  When I was backfilling Lionel Christmas boxcars missing from my collection I hated the artwork of the regular 2015 boxcar but loved the musical boxcar of that same year.  Everyone had the ugly regular boxcar but only Tom had the musical one in stock, and it's my favorite Christmas design of the 2010's.  Thanks Tom.

Hello everyone,

Hope all is well. Do you know if they stock any MTH Premier engines? I was there briefly last year, and recall seeing mostly older Lionel engines, and a good amount of rolling stock / accessories from both manufacturers, but can't seem to remember their engine offerings.

Best,

I did not notice any listing for MTH engines on their website.

Hi:

I recently received 2 of the Lionel B6 0-6-0 Pennsylvania locomotives from Tom. Even though it was one of the "built to order" items and I didn't order it until August several months past the pre-order date Tom was able to get both of them for me. Wow what a great engine it is. I have only been running one of them for now. The other remains sealed in it's shipping carton. I had thought that I would need two to pull a train of 12 18" passenger cars but one engine pull them with ease. It has many features such as multiple marker lights on the front of the engine and the rear of the tender, light in the engine cab, 4 chugs per drive wheel turn, lots of exhaust smoke, great sound and other engine sounds and talking sounds although back when steam engines were operating there wasn't any communication to and from the engine cab either between the conductor in the cabin car or the towers along the right-of-way.

By the way Tom is a very special person in our train hobby now in his 23rd year in business.

Ed New Haven Line.

Thanks for the feedback Don and Ed!

Now this is a Great thread, and one day, this Tennessee modeler is going on a long trip to visit many of the cool hobby shops up East, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Washington DC area, and hopefully visit a few great home layouts. We have a nice train store here in Nashville Tennessee, Phillips Toy Mart, a great big toy store, like no other, and great folks to deal with. I’ve been a customer at this store since 1967, a few years. Also, I purchase 90 percent of my trains at ABC Hobby Craft in the city of Evansville Indiana, Scott’s my hero. Yes BTO items keep rolling in, never ending fun, no surprises.  Toms Trains sounds like a great place to visit. (I missed Madison Hardware in NY., Roadside America)  Now, hopefully we can keep our favorite stores in business for  many more years. Going into the older hobby shops allows one to find a bargain on a back shelf, overlooked by others, a gem worth the drive. It may be an older accessory, a neat box car, a scale caboose, something special. It just keeps the hobby exciting and lots of fun. Happy Railroading Everyone

I just picked up my new Legacy  Pennsylvania Train Master from Tom! Its on the layout hauling a coal drag. Also a PRR flatcar with the Mason Dixon trailers, very nice. It was pretty busy this past weekend there as well, which makes me so happy..

@Great Northern 17 posted:

Hello everyone,

Hope all is well. Do you know if they stock any MTH Premier engines? I was there briefly last year, and recall seeing mostly older Lionel engines, and a good amount of rolling stock / accessories from both manufacturers, but can't seem to remember their engine offerings.

Best,

Tom's Trains is an excellent model train shop with a nice layout in the store, but I don't think they stock much, if any, MTH. Arnold

Tom is a terrific guy. Offers help to all, including newbies like me in getting my layout up and running. Headed there this week to pick up some accessories to add to layout and see what new trains came in post-Christmas.

Arnold - Nobody's stocking much MTH nowadays.    Just kidding.