What do you think is the nicest location of a hobby shop

...in my basement.....well, you asked{hahaha}

edit- thought we were talking "where" one would be nice..."no" I don't have one in my basement!

The one about one mile from my house:

In the US, while staying with Eliot Scher, we visited Jim Policastro's town, Schenectady, in upstate NY. We visited a nice shop called Mohawk Valley Railroad, it features a layout built by Jim and Don Klose. It's a lovely part of the world.

just wish it was closer(the Wife is glad it isn't )

I have no pictures, but I think the best location is Nicholas Smith in Broomall, PA. They are only about a half mile west of 476, or the Blue Rt. There is a great little dinner on the other side of the parking lot called the Thunder Bird, good people who offer good food.

Nicholas Smith is not only a frist class Toy Train Shop, they also have a large toy store on the first floor with an auto speed shop in the rear.

Dave, good picture of Lou Palumbo's place. When I was on the road I stopped into the Underground RR a few times, it's a nice place but well out of the way from route 76. Needless to say I could only stop in when I had time to kill.

I'm jealous!  Here in the Annapolis, MD area...hobby shops really don't exist.  There are some excellent stores 70 miles to the North (MN Klein)...70 miles to the West (Cactoctin Mountain Trains) ....but beyond that forget it!

Engine House Hobbies, Gaithersburg MD, has, IMO, the ideal spot for a train store. It is a corner store, and the entire wall is windows facing the CSX Mainline. Expect at least one train an hour at the slowest time of the day. Trains every 20 minutes or so during busier times with passenger and freight trains making up the traffic. 

Catoctin Mountain Trains is located a block or two from the former WM line (now Maryland Midland..I think they run a few days a week) but at the base of the Catoctin Mountains. A beautiful area! 

B & E Junction in downtown York PA is a beautiful store. Cactoctin Mtn Trains too!  Ready to Roll in Miami is great as well, although the area is not primo.

Hey Silver Lake, If that's all you experienced while there, you got gypped! Right across the street, more or less, and a pleasant walk from the Mt. Lakes Train Station store, is the actual functioning Mt. Lakes Train Station, with an excellent restaurant on the below-tracks veranda level. I'd recommend the filet mignon with the lettuce wedge w/ creamy blue cheese dressing heaped on and generously sprinkled w/ crisp bacon bits. See what I mean? You go to the store, spend a bundle; then, spend a li'l bundle on a nice meal. Ummmmm ummmmm! Now, that's what I call a pilgrimage worth making!
Frank M.

Anywhere Colorado!

Trink

Right here.  25 min. from my house!

Best location, would be close enough that you could drive to after work to get the piece to finish your project. But not so close that all your paychecks vanish.$$

mark 

Chessie,

And there's Sidetrack Hobbies in Leonardtown. Not exactly around the corner, but not too far from Annapolis. Great inventory of Lionel, MTH, tinplate and everything trains. Friendly folks, too.

Best???  How about one next to my house???? My LHS is 2.5 hours.....gets old in the winter!!!

That could be very dangerous!!!  Back in the late 1980's thru mid-1990's, I lived about 15 minutes from Nicholas Smith Trains. 

David

No pictures, but living in Irving (western suburb to Dallas, TX) I have

"Wild Bills Hobby" less than a mile form my house and in Addison (north

of Dallas) have "Discount Model Trains". If I want to drive 30 minutes

to Forney (east of Dallas) there is the remnants of a Dallas store (now

housed in their garage, "Collectible Trains & Toys.

     All are outstanding and have their advantages to a longtime devote'

and now a "Newbie" in building his own small layout.

In a former train station along an active mainline. Despatch Junction, East Rochester NY. 

It's an easy bike ride along a former trolley grade (along ex-NYC mainline) from the house where I grew up - 50 years ago.

I was just at Mohawk this week! Plus I had the pleasure of meeting both Don and Jim!!

proubley down town or better yet at a old train drop off or train station!

Just closer than the 250+ miles that I am from a good O gauge shop right now!

How far is that from the river's mouth at Lake Ontario.  I get in there by boat a couple times a year.  We tie up right by the former ferry terminal.

It's 14 miles from the yacht club.

Best location for who?

For me, it's Nicolas Smith...15 minutes away.

For a owner, and for expanding the hobby, the shop next to the Choo-Choo-Barn in Strasburg. People who might be interested in trains are presented with a shop a few steps away from major RR attractions.

If by nicest, you mean most convenient, then I'd have to say in my basement. With all those items I've bought for my future layout currently stored there, it's beginning to resemble a LHS's inventory. If I don't stop or at least curtail my current buying frenzy there won't be enough space for a layout.

I would spend a lot of time at Despatch Junction or Mohawk Valley if it lived near either.

We enjoy visiting Dixie Union Station just outside Cincti, then it's off for ribs at Montgomery Inn. 

That's easy...the one I work for!

KD

THANKS for posting pics especially the store front pic of mohawk valley train store.i lived in albany-cohoes-12 miles from the store from 1995-nov.1999.i cannot tell you how many times i climbed those front steps to enter the store.i can still smell lenny's

pipe tobacco in the air.he redid the upstairs with chairs to sit down in and sales items and lots of back issues of train magazines.

its good to hear the store is under new management.joe

the best train store-ready to roll in n.maimi-meca-friendiest and nicest staff in model railroading to deal with.met mike wolf many times there .joe.

Location, location, location.....The ones most scenic, not the stores, but where you

can get to shortly from them, are Caboose Hobbies with the Rockies and narrow gauge history within reach, and two O SCALE shops that were near the closed USAF base in Sacramento.  Not only did I actually buy O scale kits there, and I have never found much at Caboose,  but both were closed at my last visit.  A ride up the road takes you to Highway 49 and gold mining history, and to Yosemite, or over the Sierra to Virginia City, etc. Go north, and there is the shop at Yuba City. Years ago I hit a number of shops around Colorado Springs, but I am sure they are all gone.  I even lucked into a train show there once while visiting.  I don't know if there are any shops listed there now in the backs of the mags.  There are no shops worth your gas in this cluster of cities, except one that is out in the suburbs, and it is small and cramped, which explains my raiding the ones around York when there

and any others when traveling.

The Great Train Store in the Steamtown mall has great location.

IMO, Mercer Junction has to be included in this. The area around the store is beautiful, right across the street is the huge Mercer County Courthouse. The store sits right on one of the corners in Mercer's town square!! For those who have been there you know what I am talking about! Sorry, I do not have a picture of the outside maybe somebody else does and can post it.

Jeff

For me, the nicest hobby shops are in locations that are easy to find and have available parking.  I've been to too many shops to single any out, but then again, I don't think I've ever been to a train or hobby shop that I didn't like.

Andy

The Great Train Store in the Steamtown mall has great location.

you mean HAD... Correct? the Great Train Store is Out of Business for about a decade.

IMHO, While steamtown was great, the Washington DC one was better as it was right at the gates of the Amtrak trains arriving and departing!

Living in west central Ohio, there aren't many full line hobby shops, let alone dedicated train shops.  Everything is about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours away.  As I thought about this my first reaction was " What a PITA."  After further thought I realized how fortunate I am to have so many quality stores within a modest drive from home.

Train Central in indianapolis, IN - 2 1/2 Hrs

Aaron's City Trains in Akron, OH - 2 1/2 Hrs

Dixie Union Station in Mason, OH - 2 Hrs

Stockyard Express in Oberlin, OH - 2 Hrs

Dunhams Toy Trains in London, OH - 1 1/2 Hrs

Gladieux Do It Center in Oregon, OH - 1 1/2 Hrs

I'm sure there are others that I am not aware of in this general driving distance.

All are excellent stores with quite a bit of inventory.  They are just far enough away to keep me out of too much trouble.

Tom

A great location was Davis Trains in Milford, Ohio about 20 min from Cincinnati. It was in Old Milford with alot of old time stores. First it was a great store with parking and everyone was so nice and helpful. Joe Davis died and his son just screwed up a great thing.

Need I say more! Good deals but not so safe. Don

Wow, Memory Lane. Years ago when I first got back into O gauge I bought lots of stuff from Davis Trains. I still have their store sticker on many of my old Lionel boxes.

I think they were the store that used to include a piece of peppermint candy/lifesavers with every order, 

Davis Trains was a Black Friday tradition with me for many years.  My wife and daughter would head to the mall and I would drive down to Milford.  I usually arrived home a lot less stressed than they did.  Mr. Davis had a large layout upstairs that he would open to the public during the shopping season.  Lot of memories.  I really hated to see them close up shop.

Tom