UPDATE: Visiting Washington D.C.

Engine House Hobbies in Gaithersburg MD, and KMA Jct in Manassas VA.  Otherwise welcome to the Great Wasteland of Hobby Shops.

ray

I disagree that this area is a wasteland for hobby shops.

-Best store in the reasonably local Washington area is Catoctin Mountain Trains in Thurmont about 1.5 hours north of Washington. They will close permanently on March 31. Paul and Marcia, the owners, will begin a well deserved retirement. 

-Engine House Hobbies is in Gaithersburg. 

-Toy Trains & Collectibles is in Manassas

-Leesburg Hobbies is in Leesburg

-Trains Depot is in Chantilly

-Potomac Trading in Kensington

-Toy Exchange in Wheaton

-Sidetrack down in Leonardtown. It is a hike. 

-Also a few "chain" stores (Hobby Works) in various locations.

***Check stores hours, etc. 

-Smithsonian American History Museum has 3 steam locomotives (John Bull, Narrow Gauge 4-4-0, Southern Rwy. 4-6-2) a trolley, and Chicago subway car. 

- If you are currently in town, the botanical gardens train display ends on Sunday. Expect crowds! Not sure when the Union Station layout comes down. I think the National Tree trains are shut down for the year. 

-You can take the MARC train to Baltimore to see the B&O Museum 

-Go to the upper parking deck of Union Station or ride WMATA in the direction of Glenmont (red line) and see the Amtrak/Marc/VRE and WMATA facilities and yards. 

-National Capital Trolley Museum is in Silver Spring and accessible by Metro rail and bus. 

I also encourage you to visit many other non-rail related things in DC. This is a wonderful city. 

That's too bad.  A nice store which I enjoyed visiting on my way to York. 

Bill

Tyler - I don't know about hobby shops/train stores in the DC area, but i second SJC's comments about Washington being a great place to visit and sight-see.  Lots of things to see and do- including the Union Station a few blocks N of the Capitol, which was beautifully restored in the late 1980's.  If you are into airplanes, the Air and Space Museum on the mall is a good place to go - better (but harder to get to) is the Udvar-Hazy museum near Dulles Airport.  It holds many of the Smithsonian's collection of aircraft of all types, including one of the space shuttles.

The B&O museum in Baltimore is a short train ride from DC and has a lot of interesting displays.  Most of the 'old iron' of interest to me is stuffed into a couple of tightly packed 'sheds' next to the roundhouse - so not as well displayed as the PA museum near Strasburg.  Still some good B&O and C&O locos.  I think one of the articulated engines was pulled from there recently to be either restored or at least 'refurbished' - someone on this forum will know...

If you are in the city, don't miss the Southern Crescent 1401 in the Smithsonian.  Amazing!  As for the hobby shop in Kensington, feel free to skip that.  The toy exchange in nearby Wheaton has some amazing toys plus trains.

FYI - The owners of KMA Junction in Manassas are retiring.  Store is closing.  Great deals at 25% off, but they are almost empty.

UPDATE:  Thanks for all the responses.  We visited the Southern 1401 today.  I wish I can bring the beauty back to North Carolina with me so she can ride the rails again in Spencer.  

I was just searching for the same information and I would like to thank everyone for this information on Washington, very helpful. My wife and I are going to be visiting next month and was wondering if anyone could make a recommendation on where to stay thats accessible to all the sites or to public transportation to get to the museums and sites.

Thanks,

franktrain 

If money is no object, the Willard and Mayflower are luxurious, historical, and pricey.  Otherwise, try Airbnb dot com.  I know you've heard of it.  It's like Uber for living accommodations.  I tried it in Europe twice and it's the only way to enjoy great accommodations at a reasonable price.

My advice?....Use the Metro!!

Find accommodations within reasonable driving distance of any of the Metro's (D.C.'s subway) stations...e.g., the extremity terminals (several throughout MD and VA).  Not 'cheap', mind you, but compared to where they house visiting dignitaries, lobbyists, and lawyers, more reasonable.

Get yourself an extended stay (week, month, etc., depending on your visit) Metro pass, and use it to get about the city-proper.  There is plenty of bus transportation that will take you to more specific locations, if necessary.  However, if you are willing to walk a bit, Metro will get you close to most of the downtown tourist spots. 

And DON'T miss a stop at Union Station.  Great food options for tourists on the lower level, but an iconic structure you MUST visit if into this hobby!!!

BTW, my first 25 years of existence were spent in D.C. (American University Park area).  Glad to NOT be there anymore.  My last pass-through (put some flowers on the folks graves en route from Florida to York, PA) was a total nightmare.  Never again.  (Sorry Mom & Dad).

FWIW.

KD

And getting worse all the time - you have to drive an hour+ out of DC to get to a anything that remotely resembles a real hobby shop.  Of course, given the DC area traffic, an hour might only get you 5-10 miles....

Places to stay -- outside of DC and take the Metro into town........and hopefully not experience fires, smoke, collisions, and derailments along the way.

But, now is a good time to visit since Congress is out until after Labor Day - when they get back, things can only get worse....unless everything gets shut down in Oct. and then it really goes downhill fast.

But, maybe going to Baltimore and visiting the B&O museum would be better.....  We spent a weekend there since I was at a convention. We had a good time with Inner Harbor and good food, and walked to the B&O museum.  You can take the MARC trains back and forth from DC to Baltimore and they are cheaper than driving & parking.

Frank,

We usually stay in Arlington or Alexandria, but this summer we stayed in DC at the Embassy Suites, with our 11 year old grand-nephew.  About 4 or 5 blocks from 2 metro stations.  We used the metro every day.

The hotel had a huge buffet breakfast, free wine and drinks with nachos and stuff at suppertime.  Good, inexpensive restaurant on site, and lots of good food places in the area.  About $150 a nite for a suite with a separate bedroom.

Hotel dining area

Metro

email me if you'd like to discuss more info....

Ed

ps. take the metro to Union station in DC... MARC train to Union Station in Baltimore, spend some time at the B&O Museum!

If you're coming to DC, there's more to see and do than visit a hobby shop, even if trains are your only interest.  I tend to agree it's a wasteland (Sidetrack in Leonardtown is a good haul).  The B&O RR Museum in Baltimore is worth a visit  They have some 19th century eqpt as well as some great modern eqpt.

Agree with much of the above. As a 50 years+ resident of D.C. and environs, there are no train shops in the area that I would call "must see." Not a criticism so much as reality. There's so much more to see and do than drop in on a small hobby store.

And I would echo the many comments above about the B&O Museum in Baltimore. That's what I would do.  

One thing to consider if visiting the B&O Museum this weekend - 

They will be unveiling two newly restored locomotives, a 19th Century 2-6-0, the last steam engine from the roof collapse and an operating GP30 in the B&O Sunburst Paint Scheme. I've seen a "leaked" photo of the GP30. It looks like it is presently on display in the roundhouse but the museum may have put a curtain around it which is something they've done to new restorations in the past prior to their "official" unveiling. Either way, it looks stunning especially compared with the ragged appearance it has had in recent years. I've also seen that the museum plans to use the GP30 on their excursion train rides.

The National Capital Trackers will also be at the College Park Aviation Museum all weekend with a large 3 rail layout. The CPAM is Metro Accessible.

Wow! Thanks everyone for some great information.

I'm pretty sure hobby shops will be low on my list, because I have never been to Washington DC.

franktrain