[JCIS4ME]

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!

 

[Maddog]

The Original Whistle Stop in Pasadena CA.

 

[CHOO-CHOO MIKE]

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.

 

[vinsk]

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.

 

[ed&bingo]

Lasus & Sons in New Rochelle, NY

 

[65446]

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 !

 

[callmeIshmael2]

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...🚂

 

[Madman]

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.

 

[Old_Hobo]

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....

 

[dannyd93140]

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

 

[Kelpieflyer]

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.

 

[RedJimmy1955]

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...

 

[Mixed Freight]

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!!!

 

[Matt_GNo27]

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.

 

[superwarp1]

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

 

[65446]

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 !!

 

[Matt_GNo27]

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.?

 

[superwarp1]

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.

 

[shaygetz]

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.

 

[BigGRacing]

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.