# I know This Is A Long Shot But, Are There Any Train Stores In Virginia Beach



## coblesan (Sep 28, 2019)

I just got a new job with the Navy and am moving to Virginia Beach soon. I was wondering if there are any Train stores in that area. I did a search and came up with Dales Train Station in Norfolk. I was wanting to know if there was something closer, not that Norfolk is that far from Virginia Beach.

Thanks for your help!
Mike


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

coblesan said:


> I just got a new job with the Navy and am moving to Virginia Beach soon. I was wondering if there are any Train stores in that area. I did a search and came up with Dales Train Station in Norfolk. I was wanting to know if there was something closer, not that Norfolk is that far from Virginia Beach.
> 
> Thanks for your help!
> Mike


A search brought up.





HobbyTown Virginia Beach Store


Locally-owned and operated, HobbyTown Virginia Beach, VA is your destination beyond ordinary, #beyondfun! Let us be your guide for awesome RC vehicles, toys, games, models, trains, drones, and more! Stop by to check out events for all ages and hobbies and #makefreetimeawesome!




www.hobbytown.com













Building Your Model Railroad / Rail Modeler Train Store


All the tools, supplies and techniques you need to build your own model railroad empire, featuring comprehensive tutorials on model railroad benchwork, track planning, model railroad software, layout wiring, model scenery, model railroading electronics and operation, model trains and railcars...



railmodeler.com













Hobby Lobby Arts & Crafts Stores


Hobby Lobby arts and crafts stores offer the best in project, party and home supplies. Visit us in person or online for a wide selection of products!




www.hobbylobby.com





Norfolk,
Dale's Train Station
4.5 (131) · Hobby store
Norfolk, VA
Open ⋅ Closes 7PM · (757) 461-3636







"Lots of trains new and old."

Do a google search........search areas close by too.
Might be a few more in driving distance.


----------



## coblesan (Sep 28, 2019)

Thanks for the help. I missed Hobby town Virginia Beach Store. in my searches. This helps.


----------



## SlomoPilot (Jun 18, 2020)

coblesan said:


> I was wondering if there are any Train stores in that area.
> 
> Thanks for your help!
> Mike


Nope; *Dales* and *Hobby Town* are it. *Dales* had everything. I mean EVERYTHING. But . . . some stuff can be a little pricey. They do have some used items. I model mostly HO and they've been great for parts. Their repair guy, Brad is just terrific. It's worth a trip over there even if you just 'window-shop'. I've never been to *Hobby Town* so I don't know what they stock. If you need something basic such as paint, metal or plastic stock there's always *Hobby Lobby* which is closer to the Oceanfront on Va. Beach Blvd.

Other than these places, there's nothing even remotely close by that I know of. There's another *Hobby Town* in Richmond. There's a place Northeast of Richmond in Ashland, *Tiny Tim's Trains and Toys*, that's pretty cool as it's right on an active CSX track; and they have a live webcam of the tracks. They have mostly O and HO gauge with a little S and N scale. There's a place in Charlottesville, *Rail Tales*. They have a lot of HO stuff but are somewhat pricey. 

Up in the DC area, I'd recommend two places. *Toy Trains and Collectables* in Manassas. They're not a big store; but nice people. They have an on-site Lionel repair guy. *Train Depot* in Chantilly is another place I'd recommend. Small but packed with items. They have an off-site repair guy. 

Off and on, we've had seven train shops (that I know of) in the Tidewater area. *Dale's* is pretty much the sole survivor. 

There's a *Greenberg Train Show* coming to the Virginia Beach Pavilion 1/15 and 1/16. They usually have a pretty fair amount of vendors.

Best of luck to you !

Slomo


----------



## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

Just as a general FYI there were two Hobby Town stores in the area where I lived at one time. One was very large and had plenty of train stuff and also did repairs. The other was not as large, had much less train stuff and no repairs.


----------



## SNK (Sep 16, 2013)

SlomoPilot said:


> Nope; *Dales* and *Hobby Town* are it. *Dales* had everything. I mean EVERYTHING. But . . . some stuff can be a little pricey. They do have some used items. I model mostly HO and they've been great for parts. Their repair guy, Brad is just terrific. It's worth a trip over there even if you just 'window-shop'. I've never been to *Hobby Town* so I don't know what they stock. If you need something basic such as paint, metal or plastic stock there's always *Hobby Lobby* which is closer to the Oceanfront on Va. Beach Blvd.
> 
> Other than these places, there's nothing even remotely close by that I know of. There's another *Hobby Town* in Richmond. There's a place Northeast of Richmond in Ashland, *Tiny Tim's Trains and Toys*, that's pretty cool as it's right on an active CSX track; and they have a live webcam of the tracks. They have mostly O and HO gauge with a little S and N scale. There's a place in Charlottesville, *Rail Tales*. They have a lot of HO stuff but are somewhat pricey.
> 
> ...


Dales also had an active O Scale train club as well if that’s you thing. They meet upstairs. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SlomoPilot (Jun 18, 2020)

Gramps said:


> Just as a general FYI there were two Hobby Town stores in the area where I lived at one time.


Oh yeah, I forgot about that one. It was on Independence in the Haygood Shopping Center wasn't it ? I never went in that one. The smaller one, I went in this morning and they really don't have much in the way of trains. Some Woodland Scenics stuff, a little bit of Atlas and Bachmann HO track, a few items of rolling stock; but I only saw two HO locomotives and one O scale. 

I'll have to ask about the O Scale club the next time I'm over at Dale's. I really hate that the HO club lost their space over in the Fairfield Shopping Center. I was just getting ready to join when they got kicked out. 

There's a fairly active S Gauge club here but they only set up their modular layout at train shows and a few other events.


----------



## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

SlomoPilot said:


> Oh yeah, I forgot about that one. It was on Independence in the Haygood Shopping Center wasn't it ? I never went in that one. The smaller one, I went in this morning and they really don't have much in the way of trains. Some Woodland Scenics stuff, a little bit of Atlas and Bachmann HO track, a few items of rolling stock; but I only saw two HO locomotives and one O scale.
> 
> I'll have to ask about the O Scale club the next time I'm over at Dale's. I really hate that the HO club lost their space over in the Fairfield Shopping Center. I was just getting ready to join when they got kicked out.
> 
> There's a fairly active S Gauge club here but they only set up their modular layout at train shows and a few other events.


I was talking about two Hobby Towns north of Atlanta in a poor attempt at making the general point that some Hobby Town stores have more selection than others. I should have been more specific, my bad.


----------



## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

I don't know much about train stores in Virginia Beach, but I do know that Chix has about the best wings I have ever had.


----------



## SlomoPilot (Jun 18, 2020)

Gramps said:


> I should have been more specific, my bad.


Actually you reminded me of a Hobby Town that I'd forgotten about in Virginia Beach so no bad on your part ! 

In general terms though, I wish there were something akin to the state-by-state hobby shop listings that I remember in the back of model railroad magazines in the past. Sure, I can just 'Google it' but sometimes Google will miss one; especially the smaller stores or one where someone is selling out of their house or storage locker.


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

SlomoPilot said:


> Actually you reminded me of a Hobby Town that I'd forgotten about in Virginia Beach so no bad on your part !
> 
> In general terms though, I wish there were something akin to the state-by-state hobby shop listings that I remember in the back of model railroad magazines in the past. Sure, I can just 'Google it' but sometimes Google will miss one; especially the smaller stores or one where someone is selling out of their house or storage locker.


The biggest problem with those listings was that it was like the old Yellow Pages. They were paid listings. If the business didn't want to pay, it never showed up. The 3 biggest hobby shops in CT never showed up in the Model Railroader listing .


----------



## SlomoPilot (Jun 18, 2020)

CTValleyRR said:


> The biggest problem with those listings was that it was like the old Yellow Pages. They were paid listings. If the business didn't want to pay, it never showed up. The 3 biggest hobby shops in CT never showed up in the Model Railroader listing .


Exactly ! Great point . . . . and still today there are small shops that don't advertise that go unnoticed; or owners that operate out of their garage, flea market booth or storage unit. I wish there were a database of these folks so we could find them more easily.


----------



## gleiphart (12 mo ago)

coblesan said:


> I just got a new job with the Navy and am moving to Virginia Beach soon. I was wondering if there are any Train stores in that area. I did a search and came up with Dales Train Station in Norfolk. I was wanting to know if there was something closer, not that Norfolk is that far from Virginia Beach.
> 
> Thanks for your help!
> Mike


Did you ever find anything? We will be moving here later this year.


----------



## SlomoPilot (Jun 18, 2020)

gleiphart said:


> Did you ever find anything? We will be moving here later this year.


To update my earlier post, no - not really. I did eventually go to Hobby Town in Virginia Beach. They carry a little bit of Atlas HO Scale track (Snap Track) and a handful of Kadee products. They did seem to have a good stock of Atlas flextrack in both Code 83 and Code 100. They also stock Atlas N scale flex track and a little bit of N rolling stock.

Apparently there was a small train shop over in Portsmouth that closed a few years ago. I keep seeing train stuff pop up here and there and the seller is in P-town so I have to wonder if it's the owner of the former shop. There was a bunch of S-gauge stuff on the local Craigslist and then last night I found someone in P-town that was listing a bunch of Athearn blue box parts, locomotives and rolling stock. I'm going to attempt to make contact with that person.


----------



## Bill Webb (Sep 14, 2015)

Dale’s is the place to go in Tidewater. They have an interesting selection and are quite helpful. They have some HO also and a neat collection of old toys, etc. They do repair trains.

It is well worth a visit and we are almost an hour away.


----------



## coblesan (Sep 28, 2019)

I went to Dale's Trains just as everyone suggested. That is the only store I found worth going to. The Hobby Lobby didn't have what I needed. I am going to use the internet stores soon as I just purchased a new house and finally have a room designated as a Train Room.


----------



## SlomoPilot (Jun 18, 2020)

coblesan said:


> The Hobby Lobby didn't have what I needed.



The Va. Beach Hobby Lobby seems to only carry Bachmann sets and some turnouts. They do carry some paint and a decent scratchbuilt supply. If you're in a pinch, Hobby Town carries Atlas flextrack and some other items in HO and N scale.


----------

