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Where was your first hobby shop?

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#61 ·
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.

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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.


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#65 ·
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.
 
#68 ·
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.
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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.

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#69 ·
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.
 
#72 ·
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.
 
#73 ·
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
 
#74 ·
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.
 
#76 ·
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.
 
#77 · (Edited)
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.

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#78 · (Edited)
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.
 
#79 ·
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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