# Where was your first hobby shop?



## Chugman (Jun 17, 2015)

I was raised in a small town in Northwest Iowa and we did not have any "real" hobby shops. When I was looking for my first Lionel train, the only place in town that sold Lionel was the local Coast To Coast store. For those of you that may not know, Coast To Coast was a franchise hardware store that sold everything especially in smaller towns. We ordered my first train set in 1950 out of the Lionel catalog. They carried a few accessories, track, and an add on car or two. Just enough for a young train fan to dream and wish for.

A few years later, we switched to American Flyer and then finally to HO. I would buy the Walthers catalog and would wear it out dreaming about what I wanted. One day I talked my Mom into taking the Greyhound Bus from our small town to Sioux City, IA to a real hobby shop. It was called Patchcraft and was in a garage in the northern suburbs. It had everything! I was in heaven! My Mom loved to look for new crochet books, but didn't drive so we made a day of it. Most thrilling train day of my life up to that point.

What are your early train stories?

Art


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Harter's Hobby Shop in Belleville, Illinois. Ron Beyer bought it from Karl Harter in the late 50's and Ron closed up shop in 2016 after over 70 years of business.

I can't begin to recollect the many train layout pieces and model rockets I bought from that store. It was one of three Mom- n -Pop hobby shops in Belleville at the time, and the best customer service, friendly advice, and help for newbies out of the three.


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## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

1952 - Keesler AFB, Biloxi MS. I was twelve years old then and spent almost every day there doing all types of hobbies.


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## Toy train hobby (Aug 3, 2019)

In the San Francisco Bay Area, all the hobby shops from 60+ years ago are gone, except for Talbots Toyland.


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

Byrd's Hobby Shop in Kenmore, NY. It close enough to ride my bicycle to. Later when I got into HO we also moved to a fairly rural area. Walthers became my main source. Those were the days when you filled out an order form, mailed it in, and waited for what seemed like months for your order to arrive.

Pete


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

The first and only one I use, I used to go there when I was a little kid with my Dad.

A little info on them, more on their site in the about us.

The Model Railroad Shop was established by Howell Day and has been in continuous business since January 2, 1933. We believe that we are one of the oldest, if not the oldest, continuously operated model train specialty shop in the United States. We were one of the first 6 advertisers in Vol. 1 Num. 1 issue of Model Railroader Magazine in 1934. Of the 6, only William K. Walthers Inc. and The Model Railroad Shop survive to this day.

https://themodelrailroadshop.com/about-us/store-history/


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

I don’t remember the name but it was a hobby shop and sporting good store in Fall River Massachusetts.


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

i never had a chance to buy at my local shop .... she won the lottery and moved away, lol


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## superwarp1 (Dec 13, 2016)

H&L Child n Sons in Northampton Mass. Full Lionel dealer, authorized service center, toys, doll houses. The place was magical for a five year old. They lasted til the mid 90’s before the family called it quits


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## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

Bob's Hobby Shop in Watervliet, MI. I bought most of my track, accessories, rolling stock and conventional engines there.


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## Bill Webb (Sep 14, 2015)

*Mike’s Trainland - Suffolk, VA*

Mike was tied in with Mr Lancaster (Coleman’s Nursery) whose collection was left to the City of Portsmouth and much is on display today. The nursery was run by Mike’s Dad Floyd and Aubrey Morgan and was famous in the local area for its absolutely magnificent Christmas display.

No Christmas was complete without a visit to Coleman’s.

All now gone and a rapidly fading memory in a conglomeration of condos, houses, and better living. Unfortunately, not only is it not better, it isn’t even close.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

I was lucky.......had 5 hobby shops that stocked trains when I was growing up.....only really one left now.....


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## Mike Keester (Sep 25, 2019)

Tom's Trains, Fresno California 1970's


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

"Sid's Playtime" on Hillside Ave. New Hyde Park, NY, circa 1955.
I was maybe 10 but still remember buying an HO, perhaps NYC wood and cardboard passenger car kit at Sid's. And I think it was without trucks/couplers.. which I believe I never completed doing.....kids!
My first club visit was The Nassau MRRC. also on Hillside Ave. in Williston Park. They used a ton of cinnamon on their hills for color. Soon as you stepped in the whole room smelled like cinnamon. All way to today, when I smell cinnamon I go right back the club !! I believe it was not glued down; just sprinkled all over !! When I visit a club today it always smells like something is missing..! 😉


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## Millstonemike (Aug 9, 2018)

Highway Hobby House, Route 17 N. Ramsey, NJ - housed in a grand wood Chalet from earlier times. My dad would take me there an occasional Sat. afternoon. They weren't big, if at, all on trains. But they had gas powered plane parts for my Cox airplane; new props after errant landings. And slot carts. Three 8-lane tracks. You'd buy time on the track and use your own car & controller. Race whomever was there. Fun times.


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## ERIE610 (Jan 19, 2015)

*MEMORIES*

My Father bought our first Lionels from Montgomery Wards, Katz Drug Store & Gorman Dept. Store all in Kansas City, Kansas. All the stores have been long gone for many, many years. Out in the county there was a guy that had a small shop in his basement but he closed up about 55-60 years ago. I never knew his name.


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## seayakbill (Jan 16, 2016)

65 years ago, a small town hobby shop, can't even remember the name of the hobby shop. But they had most of the stuff for trains, model cars from AMT, model ships from Revel, and just about anything else a youngster would want.

Bill


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## Chugman (Jun 17, 2015)

Really interesting responses, no two alike. It sounds like many of us got involved in this hobby without a strong, local hobby shop.

I moved to my first larger city at age 25, and the first thing I did was find and visit the hobby shops in the area. But then I had a new problem, I didn't have any free time to pursue my hobby. But in spite of the many obstacles that life throws in your way, like going to school, getting married, not having any money or time, I have been a life long model railroader and wouldn't have it any other way.

The comments about ordering from the Walther's catalog sure hit home. I would race home and check the mail every day to see if my order had arrived and it seemed to take forever. But that was the only option at that period in my life.

Art


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

As a kid growing up I cannot remember my parents ever taking me to a hobby shop. My Christmas train was a one and done kind of thing. Once married and trying to revive my old set I discovered Hills Hobbies in Park Ridge, just loved that place. Subsequently thereafter I was told about the DuPage train show. The rest is history as they say!


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## Krieglok (Sep 7, 2013)

Ulrich’s Camera and Gift Shop. Run by an nasty old couple. Some trains, a lot of Roco mini tanks. 

Actually, for trains, it was the Woolworths around Christmas Time. 

Both in Hamburg, NY

There were other shops later on, all but one, are gone now.

Tom


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## Panther (Oct 5, 2015)

Garden Grove Blvd, just East of Dale st, Garden Grove, California.

Dan


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

H&H Hobbies in Sharpstown Mall in Houston Texas. Not sure if the mall is still there, but fairly sure the shop isn't.


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## Volphin (Dec 7, 2015)

Krieglok said:


> Ulrich’s Camera and Gift Shop. Run by an nasty old couple. Some trains, a lot of Roco mini tanks.
> 
> Actually, for trains, it was the Woolworths around Christmas Time.
> 
> ...


Tom, my dad grew up in Hamburg NY. Small world!


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## Togatown (Nov 29, 2013)

Duane's Toyland on upper State St in my hometown of Schenectady, NY.


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## Dave Connolly (Nov 4, 2018)

Not really a hobby shop. Only had a small layout growing up. My trains came from Jordan Marsh in Boston and Framingham MA. . They carried everything in the toy dept. and had large layout displays during the Christmas season.


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## teledoc (Oct 22, 2014)

My first Hobby Shop was TrentonHobby Shop, in downtown Trenton, NJ. Little did I know as a youngster, that the owner was William Krames, one of the ounding Charter Member of the T.C.A., along with Edwin Alexander, who started the T.C.A., in Ed Alexander’s barn, in Yardley, Pa., back in. 1954. It was always a must stop, when going to downtown during the holidays, with a Sears Roebuck around the corner, with their layout front & center in the big window.


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

........Those were the days my friend. We thought they'd never end.......


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## SantaFeJim (Sep 8, 2015)

Windsor Hobby in Berwyn Illinois. It was located on the south side of the (at that time) the CB&Q tracks.

My friends and I spent most of our allowance there.


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## Traindiesel (Sep 8, 2015)

Downtown Philadelphia in the mid 1960's was Nicholas Smith's and Schemp Brothers and a few others that escape me. I barely remember the shops but I remember being there during the Christmas season with my Grandfather and walking through the hordes of people Christmas shopping in town.

Early 70's it was Schaefer's Trains on Kensington Ave. with my Grandfather and my Dad. At that time they were buying early N scale, while I was gawking at all the Lionel boxes stacked to the ceiling.

Whenever my Grandfather wanted to buy a train, he'd ask me to go with him to Schaefers. He'd see something he liked and ask me, _"Hey, Bri, do you like that engine?"_ Of course I said "Yes", and he would buy it. When we got home he would complain to my Grandmother and my parents that I made him buy the engine so he wouldn't get in trouble for it. I didn't mind being his scapegoat!


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## Mark Noteboom (Nov 25, 2015)

Hey Chugman;


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## VTtrainguy (Jan 18, 2019)

I was a kid in the early 50s near White River Junction, VT, and there were no hobby shops to be found. Firestone sold Lionel and Aubuchons sold American Flyer, but most railfolk operated in 1:1 scale. Then, on a business trip my dad discovered Eric Fuchs on Tremont St in Boston, and the wide world of HO opened up to my eager eyes. So I also ordered from a catalog, but instead of waiting for the mailman, I waited for my dad's next business trip. Loved that Varney stuff!
When I became a teenager, we lived in a town where the only hobby shop was model airplanes, ships, and cars, and I was seduced by aviation. Now that my flying career is over, I've come back to model railroading.


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## WMnut (Oct 23, 2019)

I lived in a very rural farming region in Maryland, nothing but farms, folks went to town many miles away once a month to purchase what they could not raise or grow. The closest small town was Westminster Md, there was a hobby shop " Bobby`s Hobby Lobby " on main street. Wonderful people, man, wife and 3 youngins all working the shop, lived above the store, always had time to chat with kids, and help with any layout problems. I always had my Dad stop there before we started home. 
I first started buying Revell model kits of covered wagons, ranch wagons, stage coach and so on, putting them together and painting them. That was in the early 1950s, i still have all of those. Then came the trains, and that has never stopped.


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## Kelpieflyer (Jan 9, 2012)

Mine was a shop called Spencer Craft and Hobby on State Road 11 (used to be named 31-A) in Rockford, near Seymour, Indiana. Ironically it was very near the site of the first train robbery in the US.


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## Maxum (Apr 10, 2017)

I remember going to different hobby stores with my dad as a kid growing up in San Diego in the early 1970's. But the train store that stands out in my mind the most was Frank the Trainman on Park Blvd. I believe the store was started in the 1950's and is still in business. The original location was very unique itself. It had a really neat neon sign that has been preserved. The store had an impressive collection of Lionel products back in the day as well as a layout. It's probably been 25 years since I was there. The store relocated down the street probably 30 years or so ago.


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## WMnut (Oct 23, 2019)

Maxum said:


> I remember going to different hobby stores with my dad as a kid growing up in San Diego in the early 1970's. But the train store that stands out in my mind the most was Frank the Trainman on Park Blvd. I believe the store was started in the 1950's and is still in business. The original location was very unique itself. It had a really neat neon sign that has been preserved. The store had an impressive collection of Lionel products back in the day as well as a layout. It's probably been 25 years since I was there. The store relocated down the street probably 30 years or so ago.


Man, that`s so cool...


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## KeithL (Mar 29, 2016)

There were two, about a block or two apart in the West Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago:

Kenmac Records was on Devon Avenue, a little west of Western Avenue. Besides being a great place to pick up 45s and albums, they had a classic Lionel Trains alcove in the back of the store. There was an L-shaped counter, and, behind that, two walls with shelves filled with orange and blue boxes.

Hobbymodels, a full-service hobby shop, was at the corner of Devon and Western. They had Lionel, lots of HO, and pretty much all the miscellaneous things you might need for your hobbies.


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## WakeForestRR (Jul 6, 2015)

The Train Station in Mountain Lakes, NJ. I loved going there as a kid. Stopped in a few years ago while on a business trip to that area. It was good see that it is still going strong.

George


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## jay jay (Aug 30, 2016)

My first hobby shop was Trost Hobbies, located on W. 63rd Street near S. Kedzie Ave. in Chicago. My first Lionel set came from there, and many hours were spent there back in the 1950s before or after movies at the Marquette Theater, which was right around the corner. They closed around 2000, I believe. (Photo is from the internet.)


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## Joe Connor (Sep 2, 2018)

WakeForestRR said:


> The Train Station in Mountain Lakes, NJ. I loved going there as a kid. Stopped in a few years ago while on a business trip to that area. It was good see that it is still going strong.
> 
> George


The Train Station is the hobby shop we all wished we had had as kids. Just an amazing selection of post-war Lionel. It has everything we baby boomers had (or, more likely, wished we had) back in the day. Unfortunately, my youth was long before the Train Station existed.

I grew up in Morristown, about 10 miles from Mountain Lakes, in the late '50s and early '60s. Even though Morristown was only about a half-hour away from the Lionel factory in Hillside, we didn't have any hobby shops with a great selection of Lionel. The closest was Leitner's in Morristown, a general-purpose toy store that carried some Lionel, and Two Guys, an early big-box store that carried lots of Lionel at Christmastime. There was a place in Pine Brook called Rich's Hobbytown, but for a kid too young for a driver's license, that was like the other side of the world.


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## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

Sears and Roebuck's catalog


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

As a kid, Hill Cycle Shop in Chestnut Hill (Philly) was my first hobby shop. It was run by Jerry and Julie Casale and besides bikes, it had toys and trains. My cousin and I would hang around there. Not sure if we bought much, but my dad bought our bikes there (used) and most likely got trains there too. Jerry Jr. was big in bike racing and when he took over the store it was all bikes, no trains.

As an adult when I bought my own trains, the first shops were Estes Hobbies in Norristown, PA and Henning’s on Main Street in Lansdale, PA. Estes is long gone. Henning’s is still around of course, but it’s now on Line Street.


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## CKCECB (Feb 22, 2013)

I grew up in Chicago so we had a few in the City and more out in the suburbs. My uncle got me into Lionel and eventually took my to Hill's Hobby in Park Ridge, IL. When I was in high school, we moved to the NW side which was close to Townhouse TV & Appliances in Niles, IL. Townhouse was a Lionel Service Station (an island in a big store of TVs, washers, refrigerators), and that's where Mom bought me an upgrade steam loco and a new old stock KW. I still frequented that shop through my college years. I was also a plastic model builder, so for that my favorite shop was Stanton Hobbies on Milwaukee Ave.


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## gnnpnut (Oct 19, 2016)

*Like others, a Chicago area boy*

Earliest recollection of a hobby shop is of Airplane Model and Hobby Shop at 6129 w. Cermak Rd. in Cicero.

Like SantafeJim, spent most of my allowance at Windsor Hobbies in Berwyn. Continued to spend money there right up until he retired. 

Other favorites from my youth were Al's Hobby in Elmhurst, Stanton Hobby in Chicago, and Hobbycraft in Darien. 

Regards, 
Jerry


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## m14trains (Jun 14, 2016)

My first Hobby Shop so to speak was a Western Auto store that carried Lionel Trains and accessories in the 1950s. It was located on the corner of Patapsco Avenue and I think Hanover Street in Baltimore City, just across the Anne Arundel County line.


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## ed&bingo (Sep 20, 2015)

My first Hobby shop was, Lasus & Sons, New Rochelle, NY


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Does anyone in Kansas City remember a model train shop way down on Troost Avenue?

It was in a depressed area that I would imagine in the 50' and 60's was a much better area. The guy that ran it was an old man in the 1980's so I doubt if he's still around, but I've always wondered what happened to the shop.


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## ed&bingo (Sep 20, 2015)

Does anyone remember Higgins & sheer in Poughkeepsie, NY?


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## luvadj (Jul 3, 2017)

My first was Vic's Hobby Shop on MerricK Road in Queens, New York. He had a slot car track in the basement and when he wasn't upstairs he was downstairs. He later moved to St. Albans and it was a long bike ride but worth the trip....Ah, the memories.....


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## Juniata Guy (Nov 5, 2015)

My first hobby shop was Paul Grabbe’s (sp?) on Valley Street in Lewistown, PA. I have encountered few people in my life who came across as gruff or mean as Mr. Grabbe. Oddly enough; he and my dad got along very well and Mr. Grabbe sold dad items from his personal collection a time or two. Two memories of this shop stand out the first being a Lionel B&M boxcar that I desperately wanted (and never got till I re-entered the hobby years later) and the small index card signs Mr. Grabbe liberally posted about his shop. One has stayed in my memory - “ Confuscious say child who keep hands in pockets never breaks an egg.”

My favorite hobby shop was the first one I found when I got back into the hobby in 1989 - JR’s Hobby Depot on Kirkwood in Houston, TX. A better shop and a better ambassador for the hobby would have been hard to find.

Curt


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## PRR1950 (Oct 26, 2013)

Can't remember the name, but I do remember that it was on Cleveland Ave., just north of Hudson Ave. in Columbus, Ohio. It was walking distance from grandparent's house and I walked there a lot to buy Model Railroader in the early 60s.

Chuck


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## Patrick1544 (Apr 27, 2013)

My Dad would take me to a hardware store in Staten Island NY. Every Christmas season they had the Lionel Demo layouts set in the store front window. I looked forward to these seasonal trips with Dad and watch the Lionels running in the store. Great memories!


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## Chugman (Jun 17, 2015)

Having grown up in a small town in Iowa, I never had the chance to see the big department stores' Christmas displays. Did any of you get see big stores like Macy's or Marshall Fields in the day? I'm guessing they might have had Christmas window displays as well as a layout running inside the store? I can't imagine how exciting that would have been as a young boy.

Art


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## PRR1950 (Oct 26, 2013)

I actually worked at Chicago Loop Field's in the Toy Department one Christmas in the early '70s. Their windows always told a story (no trains that I can recall) and all merchandise was behind "counters" in those days. At Christmas time, no room for a demo layout.

Chuck


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## WMnut (Oct 23, 2019)

Chugman said:


> Having grown up in a small town in Iowa, I never had the chance to see the big department stores' Christmas displays. Did any of you get see big stores like Macy's or Marshall Fields in the day? I'm guessing they might have had Christmas window displays as well as a layout running inside the store? I can't imagine how exciting that would have been as a young boy.
> 
> Art


Yes, when i was about 4-6 my Dad would make the long drive to Baltimore MD, to see the window displays in the large department stores. I can`t remember the names now, been too many years ago. The animation displays were totally amazing with Santa's, Elves, Reindeer, Nutcrackers, Dolls, Teddy Bears, Christmas Carolers, Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, the Wise Men, everything connected to Christmas, and yes, there were trains, all of this i do remember. Too a country farm boy, this was a dream come true, one of my fondest memory's, if i sit back in my recliner and close my eyes, i can still see it.
Merry Christmas
WMnut


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## BillTrzaskus (Dec 10, 2019)

When I was a kid we lived on the near west side of Chicago in the little village/Pilsen neighborhood. There was a small hobby shop on Cermak road just off Marshall blvd. It was a tiny place barely 20 feet square. You had to walk down a couple of stairs to enter. One side was trains, mostly American Flyer and Lionel, the other side was everything else- slot cars ,models, chemistry sets, and anything else. The owners were an elderly couple that seemed to resent anyone coming in to look unless you are planning to buy something. The


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## BillTrzaskus (Dec 10, 2019)

As I was saying, the cool thing about this hobby shop that imbedded in one oday the display windows was a contact in the shape of a hand. When you placed your hand on the window covering the contact, it would energize a small oval train layout that ran until you took your hand off.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Follow the "Arrow" Arrow Sports Shop!!*

Growing up Oswego, NY we had Greens Dept Sore, Woolworths and Arrow Sports Shop!! Arrow was THE place for Famous Monsters, Aroura & Tyco Slot Cars, Revell & Monogram Models of all kinds....and Trains....lots of Trains!! Tyco, Marx,American Flyer and Lionel! Mr Mack the owner just seemed to be everywhere answering questions and making Arrow the place to be as a kid!! My big Bro got a NY Central Lionel Set ofr Christmas from Arrow(Santa Claus) that was under my Grandmothers Christmas Tree for years...and when it wouldn't run our Uncle Milton would take the Loco to his basement and fix it religously...cuz HE had a Lionel Layout....The Tradition continues under the Tree!! :thumbsup:


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## snowolf (Jan 12, 2017)

I remember going into a grocery store and above the shelves they would run trains I bet a lot of you can remember that


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## Joe Connor (Sep 2, 2018)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had a general-purpose toy store in Morristown, N.J., that stocked some Lionel. That was our train place. In about 1965, however, a competitor opened a new store directly across the street. The new store was owned and run by a middle-aged guy named Johnny who had worked in hobby shops for most of his life and really know his stuff. He carried Lionel and was a source of sound advice on running and repairing our trains and setting up our layouts. He was the first adult I had ever met who treated electric trains as serious stuff, not toys. 

In the basement of his shop was the largest and most elaborate slot car track you can imagine. Kids would pack the basement after school and on Saturdays to race their slot cars. The place was hopping, and Johnny's Hobby Shop looked like it would be a raging success. I was a Lionel guy, not a slot-car guy, but I would be mesmerized watching those slot cars zip around that track at break-neck speed. Unfortunately, slot cars soon went out of fashion, and Johnny had to close. 

What I distinctly remember is this: in the next few years, I'd see guys around town with long hair and dressed for what passed as hippies in our area. I'd look at these guys and realize they were the crew-cut kids with button-down shirts who used to race their slot cars by the hour at Johnny's. The times were a-changing.


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## lionelsuperotrack (Nov 12, 2010)

Detroit, Michigan on Woodward Avenue a few blocks south of 9 mile road. The year was around 1963, This was a real hobby shop! All types of trains (all gauges), airplanes, stamps a small layout, slot cars, etc.. They would also trade if you had good stuff. I can recall trading for an American Flyer Northern Diesel passenger set for a Lionel 2343 Santa Fe with passenger cars! Yes, you are right, I got taken!! Oh well, live and learn. Talk about beat up mechanically! Never got it to run properly and eventually traded all my American Flyer at tax time one year (long time later)!! Oh well, live and learn. Mike Spanier


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## SDIV Tim (Nov 19, 2015)

Maxum said:


> I remember going to different hobby stores with my dad as a kid growing up in San Diego in the early 1970's. But the train store that stands out in my mind the most was Frank the Trainman on Park Blvd. I believe the store was started in the 1950's and is still in business. The original location was very unique itself. It had a really neat neon sign that has been preserved. The store had an impressive collection of Lionel products back in the day as well as a layout. It's probably been 25 years since I was there. The store relocated down the street probably 30 years or so ago.




Jim Cooley who owned the place now with his collection of cars in the same building just passed away. Carmen is still running the store as far as I know. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Chugman (Jun 17, 2015)

Tim, that is such a cool neon sign. If the shop was half as good as the sign, it had to be a very fun place to go. Great memories.

Art


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## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)

hobby recycling in Wyoming MI. best. shop. ever. 
cars 0.50-3$ 
engines(used) 10-50$
engines (new) 30-150$
every thing else 0-80$

it was a dream...


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

0-$80....? So there was free stuff...?


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## Mark Boyce (Jul 22, 2015)

Growing up in the sticks in west central Pennsylvania in the '60s to very early '70s my hobby shop was the IHC catalog. I first got their catalog from an advertisement in Railroad Model Craftsman magazine that I got at the newsstand in the nearby very small town. I would fill out an order form after I had saved a few dollars, and ask my Mum to write out a check for me. She always complained that checks cost money, but she would write a check. I would give her the cash, and I would send off the order and wait weeks for the items to come from Philadelphia I believe.


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## cmscanuck (Feb 7, 2016)

Dutchess Train & Hobby in Poughkeepsie, NY. Long gone at this point. Dad bought us our first O-Gauge train there, a MTH N&W Passenger Starter Set.


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## PilotPete (Jan 15, 2013)

Totowa Hobby Shop in Wayne, NJ which is the town I lived in. We knew the owner who went to our temple, a really great guy. A few years later I learned about Trainworld in Brooklyn and the rest is history.

Cheers, Pete


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## Chiefmcfuz (Dec 30, 2008)

cmscanuck said:


> Dutchess Train & Hobby in Poughkeepsie, NY. Long gone at this point. Dad bought us our first O-Gauge train there, a MTH N&W Passenger Starter Set.


I was there once. Went back a month later and he was gone. Nobody in the shopping center knew where he had gone. They said he moved out overnight. 

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk


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## MartyE (Mar 27, 2019)

My first shop was AB Charles and Sons in Pittsburgh but I remember going to a place on Rt 51 in the South Hills as well. We also went to The Iron Horse also in the South Hills of Pittsburgh.


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## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)

Old_Hobo said:


> 0-$80....? So there was free stuff...?



yup!.


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## bw12 (Sep 21, 2017)

Does anyone remember Woodcraft Hobby Store in Mpls. It was located on Lake Street but closed many many years ago. It was where I first got started in model railroading..


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## Frankrazz (Jul 21, 2018)

The year was 1949 and we lived in Brooklyn, NY. My first Lionel train set, a 224 freight set, was purchased by my mother at Madison Hardware in Manhattan. Four years later, we moved to Uniondale, Long Island. We now had room to set up a larger train layout, not just a circle around the tree. The hobby store we went to was Chris Craft Hobbies, also located in Uniondale. The set we purchased was the Lionel Canadian Pacific F3 and passenger cars. We, my brother and I, still have both the original 224 set and the CP F3 set.


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## Mark C (Jul 11, 2020)

My first hobby shop was "Benty's" in Chicago. It was the early 70s and I was probably 10 or so. I remember it was almost under the "EL" tracks on Belmont Avenue. I couldn't afford to buy much, but I treasured each and every visit there and used to stare (gape) in absolute wonderment at all the amazing things they had in that crowded little shop.

I also remember Woolworths had trains for a time and that was also fertile ground for more staring. I did buy a fair amount then, but it was all the very cheapest stuff, so it never worked very well. First in HO, then later in N since I had very little space


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

There was a huge hobby shop about a block outside of the main gate at Chanute AFB I used to visit a lot while attending technical training for nine months there.

I bought a lot of scale model aircraft, but no trains. I wasn't going to be there long enough for a railroad layout.

They closed up and moved to Champaign when Chanute AFB closed. Rantoul turned into a real hell hole after the Air Force left and the low-lifes took over.


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## Tom17 (Jan 14, 2016)

*We had Glen's Train Shop which I believe became AaronsCityTrains in Akron and the **Whistle Stop in Cuyahoga Falls which both are closed now.*


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## briangcc (Oct 11, 2012)

Field’s Hobby - originally in Buffalo NY...about 30 drive for us. They had converted an old revolving jewelry case to display the N-scale cars and it was controlled with a button the customers could press. Boy what fun for a kid. They carried all sorts of stuff from R/C trucks, trains, model kits. Moved many moons ago to Cheektowaga and for whatever reason stopped selling trains to focus on models instead.

Then K-val Hobbies in Buffalo. I still remember the Looney Toons cars new being on the shelf. Never bought one...should have. Bought several HO trains there though and a couple of the Lionel revolver cars. They did the repairs on my tinplate locos. No longer in business.

At one point there was a small hobby shop right in town..walking distance from my house. Had all sorts of stuff. Didn’t last more than a couple years.

Then came Mainline Hobbies in Clarence. Lasted until one of the owners passed then the other couldn’t keep it going. Out of business several years now.

Niagara Craft and Hobby in Cheektowaga. Had rows and rows of trains....when they first opened. As internet took off...they struggled mightily. Closed a few years back. Big draw was their restored Erie caboose parked outside. Still there under shrinkwrap.

Now if I want something its ebay or an online presence....or train show but I don’t see those happening anytime soon.


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## ogaugeguy (Feb 3, 2012)

For HO gauge I remember numerous forays to Broadbents on Second St. Pike in Southampton, PA. And during my N gauge phase it was drives to Jenkintown hobby in Montgomery County, PA. During the Christmas holiday, I'd purchase from EJ Korvettes and after the holidays, Woolwoth's and later on Woolco would be great for getting post holiday markdowns. Can't recall the name of it but a small hobby shop on Busteltown Pike in Lower Southampton became my choice for HO. I didn't "discover" Broomall's Nicholas Smith until much later in life when I transitioned to O gauge and of course Joe's Train Station , which at that time was located on Street Road in Feasterville, PA. In their own unique ways they were all great "to go" places to quench my thirst for this hobby.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Never went to train hobby shops when I was a kid. 

The first hobby shop I remember visiting was "Prosek's Florist and Military Model Shop" in Winfield IL. First went there because my mom would buy the corsages for her piano students' recitals there. Great place for models and random wargaming miniatures. I bought MANY boxes of 1/72 soldiers there to play with my toy military vehicles and some wargaming models in later years. The kids still run it as a greenhouse and garden shop and it's doing very well. However, they got out of the cut flower business and then closed the model shop after their dad passed about 10 years ago.

After re-entering the train hobby a couple years ago, the first place I went was Zientek in Chicago. Fantastic place with more NOS kits than I've ever seen in one place. Still go there often.


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## MikeL (Mar 21, 2015)

Trainatorium, Sherbrooke Street West in Westmount (Montreal). Corner of Lansdowne I think. I'm not sure when it closed, likely in the late 70s?

Model Railroader had a promotion where they opened their archives for free. I was able to trace the Trainatorium ads (and other Montreal hobby stores) from month to month


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## PrairieKnight (Nov 10, 2015)

West Side Hobby Shop on Mahoning Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio. My Dad bought a small oval N scale train set that we set up on the pool table in the basement when I was 11 years old ....... I was hooked for life. Thanks Dad.


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## JCIS4ME (Jan 4, 2016)

1965 Vines Hobby Shop in Lynwood Calif. On Century Blvd They used to have a wall of built models so you could see what the kits they were selling would look like if you had their skills! Of course at 6 y.o. Mine did'nt look like theirs, I built mine to race down the concrete driveway!


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## Maddog (Jan 14, 2016)

The Original Whistle Stop in Pasadena CA.


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## CHOO-CHOO MIKE (Nov 5, 2015)

Trainland in Lynbrook N.Y. back in the day when the salesmen smoked and gave us kids deals for our hard earned paper route money.


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## vinsk (May 21, 2014)

Mine was The Log Cabin in Brooklyn NY. Back in the 50's it was the place for trains, hobbies, crafts and the official Boy Scout center. My dad took me there all the time. It was like a wonderland for me. The entrance was two large glass doors that opened automatically when you passed through the electric eye. I thought that was pretty neat, and that was back in the 50's. Of course it's gone now. Not many places to capture the imagination of kids today. That's kind of sad I think.


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## ed&bingo (Sep 20, 2015)

Lasus & Sons in New Rochelle, NY


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

An all-train store, The TrainShack, on Hollywood Way in Burbank, Ca. has gone *belly up.* 
I think it was this year but before the pandemic. That's what online shopping is causing.. 
And I too, buy online !


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## callmeIshmael2 (May 28, 2012)

In '57, I was a ten year-old Canadian living in Calgary, and Uncle John's Hobby Shop was it. John also sponsored (from Sep't. to late December) a half-hour TV model railroading show called "Clackety Claxton". Merv Claxton was the host who built an HO layout onscreen in between showing lots of Lionel and American Flyer in addition to H.O. 

Merv Claxton is still into hobbies, altho' immersed in RC these days, not trains. It was at Uncle John's I watched a #2321 Lackawanna emerge from its packing to show a prospective customer; also a #2354 NYC F-unit.

I have written a very good short story, "Clackety Claxton", loosely based on a Merv-like shop owner in the mid-50s who befriends 2 young guys with burgeoning Lionel railroads at home. The story is about hobby shops, trains, family, loneliness, the 50s, teenage sports, all set against a Twin-Cities backdrop. Anyone who would like a copy PM me, please...🚂


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## Madman (Aug 22, 2020)

As a teen, *Jenkintown Hobby Shop* in Jenkintown, Pa was the place where I'd go to for N gauge. As an adult, when I returned to Lionel trains, Nicohlas Smith on 11th and Arch. Broadbent's on Huntingdon Pike also received some of my cash. The Toy Train Station in Feasterville, Pa was my go to place for LGB in the '90s.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

callmeIshmael2 said:


> In '57, I was a ten year-old Canadian living in Calgary, and Uncle John's Hobby Shop was it. John also sponsored (from Sep't. to late December) a half-hour TV model railroading show called "Clackety Claxton". Merv Claxton was the host who built an HO layout onscreen in between showing lots of Lionel and American Flyer in addition to H.O.
> 
> Merv Claxton is still into hobbies, altho' immersed in RC these days, not trains. It was at Uncle John's I watched a #2321 Lackawanna emerge from its packing to show a prospective customer; also a #2354 NYC F-unit.
> 
> I have written a very good short story, "Clackety Claxton", loosely based on a Merv-like shop owner in the mid-50s who befriends 2 young guys with burgeoning Lionel railroads at home. The story is about hobby shops, trains, family, loneliness, the 50s, teenage sports, all set against a Twin-Cities backdrop. Anyone who would like a copy PM me, please...🚂


If you were 10 years younger, you would have had a lot of hobby shops in Calgary.....PM Hobbies, Hobby West, Don’s Hobby Shop, Chinook Hobbies, Finney Rogers, but now Trains and Such is the only real train store....


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## dannyd93140 (May 17, 2016)

Jack's Hobby Shop Main Street Winchester, Virginia. I loved to go there.


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## Kelpieflyer (Jan 9, 2012)

Mine was Spencer's hobby shop barely north of Seymour, Indiana near the site of the first train robbery by the Reno gang. The hobby shop has closed, and there is a sign at the building where the shop was located.


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## RedJimmy1955 (Aug 23, 2021)

For me it was Soukups Hardware in Naperville, Ill. They seemed to always have at least a small demonstration layout running nearer the Christmas season.
Once they moved to another location near the bank in town, I never went there. I heard the owner(s) were quite the collectors...


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## Mixed Freight (Aug 31, 2019)

Fun, cool, nostalgic, and interesting topic, even though it is fast approaching 2 years old now!

I grew up in a small town south of Des Moines, Iowa. We had a hobby/toy shop in our town back in the mid 60's, but I was a little too young to be into trains (or anything else) at that time. Actually, I don't even know if they sold trains, but they probably had some. And it closed down within a year or two after my first visit.

After that, my hobby shops were in Des Moines, both before and after I got my driver's license. Iowa Service Hobby in the Beaverdale area, Hobby Haven in West Des Moines, and A to Z Hobbies on the south side were some of my first hobby shop haunts that I frequented in the 70's. Oh, the pleasant memories! Talk about a kid in a candy store!!!


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## Matt_GNo27 (Feb 7, 2016)

superwarp1 said:


> H&L Child n Sons in Northampton Mass. Full Lionel dealer, authorized service center, toys, doll houses. The place was magical for a five year old. They lasted til the mid 90’s before the family called it quits


H.L. Childs and Son was our "local" train shop, too. They were also a good source for Playmobils (German toy manufacturer). Prior to our finding "Childs," my dad had thought that American Flyer had disappeared with the bankruptcy of A.C. Gilbert. It was a thrill to discover in the '80s that we could get parts, track, and new Flyonel cars for his American Flyer collection. Childs was also the source of my brother's and my O-27 collection.

When Childs moved in the late-80s, they built a fantastic O-gauge layout in their new location.

Here is the obituary of its founder, George M. Childs.


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## superwarp1 (Dec 13, 2016)

They moved twice, ended up in Hadley across the river. The son called it quits in the late nineties I think. i have not found any pics of the old store. Sure would be nice to see the old store


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

Maddog said:


> The Original Whistle Stop in Pasadena CA.


Just saw this now !! 
I've lived in L.A. since 1978 and know Fred the owner of Whistle Stop, having been there more times than I can count..
I also visit the Slim Gauge Guild and the Highland Park clubs...or, open house at the Pasadena club... I've been a member of both East Valley Lines and Belmont Shore MRRs when I was still in N.. Went back to HO... 
Wouldn't be surprised if we've seen one another around the circuit !!


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## Matt_GNo27 (Feb 7, 2016)

superwarp1 said:


> They moved twice, ended up in Hadley across the river. The son called it quits in the late nineties I think. i have found any pic. Sure would be nice to see the old store


I didn't know that. Childs was here when I last went there (street view). My recollection is that the original location was in the part of downtown behind the old Faces building and East of State Street, maybe around Masonic St.?


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## superwarp1 (Dec 13, 2016)

If you looked at the map where the fly by night furniture store is now, 21 state ST. That was Child's first location for three quarters of their existence. They used to have a big billboard on the side of the building of a Lionel diesel with the headlight the lit up at night. Then the Child's built another building heading east just past the train trestle where your second link shows. Not sure why, but Child's sold that building in the early, mid 90' and moved to Hadley in the Hadley village shops. That only lasted a few years before they closed up shop.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Pro Custom Hobbies in Catonsville, MD... man, it was walking into the gates of ShangriLa. I saw my first diesel sound system, a pair of FAs---the dummy carried the electronics and speakers, it was quite a thunderbox to this 14 year old. John Allen had ol' #13, the Stegosaurus switch engine, I had Ralphie the rino from the Bulletproof Packing Co. because of them. I still remember the demonstration of Kadee couplers on a short track.


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## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

My first hobby shop was Maritime Hobbies, pic below, they used to be in Scotia Square Mall where I remember them. I can’t remember if they were some place else before that or not. It was a treat when I got into the city back in those days and see there layout operating.


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## Bryan Moran (Jan 15, 2017)

The sad part about bringing this post back to the top is Art has not been active on the forum for 10 months. As a midwest guy, and one with a great layout and ideas, I miss his (and others) inputs.


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## Desperado (Mar 14, 2021)

Mine was Jim's Hobby City in Kenvil / Succasunna, New Jersey. It was on the corner of US 46 and N. Hillside ave. I was only 12 (1979-1980) at the time and got my first new locomotive - an Erie Lackawanna (GP9?) there. They were, like most, a small store with all types of models and trains. They also had remote controlled air planes and rocket motors all that stuff. Used to love that place. I would always be trying to save money and go in there to buy whatever I could - maybe just 1 pack of new Lionel track - whatever I had enough money for. Then I would look at the accessories and rolling stock and make my 12 year old "plans" for a railroad kingdom!


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## kilowatt62 (Aug 18, 2019)

Just now discovered this old thread.
MartyE mentioned in post #69, a train shop in the south hills of Pgh, PA. It was called Trains n Things. That was my first in the late 60s.
Then for me came Bill & Walts Hobby Shop in downtown Pgh, (still open, different local).
Then A.B. Charles became my go to in the 80s & 90s. Great guy, miss him dearly. 
Didn’t get to Iron Horse trains till the 90s. Store is closed now but, the son still deals in trains and is my local go to.
There were quite a few others back in the day too. Most are gone of course. Only 4 left within a 25 mile radius.


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## Jetguy (Mar 22, 2019)

Fairborn Hobby Shop in Fairborn Ohio. I distinctly remember going there with my father and they had this big classic front window display with an RC boat with a K&B 3.5 outboard. I also remember going to KB Toys in the mall and getting some of my first trains after Christmas 1985. My first trains were both O scale Marx from a garage sale and a Tyco HO set. My father used the plunger resistor controller and 2 Tyco slot car transformers to power the Marx set, and predictably that melted and caught fire in my hand at age 5. But that never really stopped me, just I had a little fear of fire. Sadly, I cannot find a single picture of that hobby shop nor the trains from that age. I did find what was left of my Tyco engine (Chattanooga) and the motor from the Marx but not the shell. I had this habit of taking everything apart to figure out how it worked- even at age 5.


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## Bryan Moran (Jan 15, 2017)

Still no Art - one of the midwest guys. I hope he is OK.


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## hunterwj (Dec 16, 2017)

WMnut said:


> Yes, when i was about 4-6 my Dad would make the long drive to Baltimore MD, to see the window displays in the large department stores. I can`t remember the names now, been too many years ago. The animation displays were totally amazing with Santa's, Elves, Reindeer, Nutcrackers, Dolls, Teddy Bears, Christmas Carolers, Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, the Wise Men, everything connected to Christmas, and yes, there were trains, all of this i do remember. Too a country farm boy, this was a dream come true, one of my fondest memory's, if i sit back in my recliner and close my eyes, i can still see it.
> Merry Christmas
> WMnut


WMnut,
During the 1940's and 1950's I grew up in Middle River above Baltimore and looked
forward to our Santa visit at downtown Baltimore and Montgomery Wards. The window displays, toy department, and train display will remain as distant memories. My first plane
models came from our local drug store out on Wilson Point . Lionel and American Flyer were
always under the tree. My father built an HO K4 brass loco and I was hooked on model trains. 
Thanks Chugman for the post!
Have a Merry Christmas


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## seayakbill (Jan 16, 2016)

When I moved to Columbus Ohio in 1987 there were 4 local train shops that focused on O Gauge electric trains. They are all gone now.

Bill


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