I miss the local hobby stores and my old True Value that had a section devoted to trains. You can buy your hunting rifle, camping gear next to your G scale or Lionel trains. I miss the simple times when layouts were smaller, engines simple. Im sure Vic will agree with me.
Woolworth’s soda fountain counter…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Ken, oh yea. After shopping at Woolworth’s, we would have lunch there. It was like a whole afternoon event.
Around here we had a chain called Hills. They had decent stuff at low prices, and after shopping, I would get a frozen coke and soft pretzel at their snack counter. When someone asks where I live, I use the old Hills plaza as a landmark, but only to those who I think are old enough to remember.
Anyone near Northern New Jersey will remember Two Guys (From Harrison). Their after Christmas sales were great. I would get HO trains at 75% off.
There was a shortline railroad, the Raritan River Rail Road, that would deliver 2 boxcars of toys a week around Christmas, to their siding in East Brunswick. Store, railroad, tracks, sadly all gone.
Horn & Hardart’s AutoMat…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Lou Luczu said:
Anyone near Northern New Jersey will remember Two Guys (From Harrison). Their after Christmas sales were great. I would get HO trains at 75% off.
There was a shortline railroad, the Raritan River Rail Road, that would deliver 2 boxcars of toys a week around Christmas, to their siding in East Brunswick. Store, railroad, tracks, sadly all gone.
My dad was the store manager at Two Guys.
It is very hard for Hobby Shops to stay in business, when you have customers coming in to look at what they want to buy and then leaving to order it on-line. As a consumer though I do not like to be ripped off either, I have seen people in Hobby shops pay double of what something is worth, because they are not aware of the prices.
Phil’s Narrow Guage.
One of the best suppliers off parts for my scratch building. Castings, trucks, siding, custom wood pieces…
For those in NJ don’t know if you remember the Hazlet train shop. They didn’t carry G-scale but were a huge Lionel retailer and was one of the few places that could rebuild and restore roached Lionel products.
Never gonna happen, but it would be nice to be able to once again take the train (San Juan) from Durango to Alamosa and then the overnight to Denver.
We drove this summer (from southwest Colorado) to Chicago to visit my sister and the drive from Durango to Walsenburg is still awful as ever, if not worse. And the traffic in Pagosa is ridiculous.
Just getting from Durango to I-70 via Colorado Springs/Limon pretty much takes up the entire morning. I’d much rather take the train…where I could use the baggage car for luggage vs the minimum you can take out of Durango/La Plata airport.
There are alot of nice memories from The Good Old Days. There are also alot of not so nice memories from those days. It’s a trade off, in my opinion. Bottom line is, if you can keep your values through the changing times, you’re ahead of the game.
Joseph Lupinski said:
For those in NJ don’t know if you remember the Hazlet train shop. They didn’t carry G-scale but were a huge Lionel retailer and was one of the few places that could rebuild and restore roached Lionel products.
For those in PA …Dick and Doris at “”“The Station”"" on 9th st. in New Cumberland “still does but not sure how much longer.” They do carry G scale and a total hidden treasure! “”""“They do usually have coffee on hand and sometimes doughnuts Saturday mornings”"""""!
Swing by and pick me up Ken !
Thoughts and questions on this topic
Will this hobby shop survive by there current standards of manufacturing by the suppliers?
Is it possible to keep them in business if many continue to support them or is it better to complain about them?
Is it better to complain about lost services or do something about preserving them ?
Thoughts with any experience on this issue
Wait wrong thread!
this post has been edited by: Rooster
" Rooster " said:
They do usually have coffee on hand and sometimes doughnuts Saturday mornings""""""!
Swing by and pick me up Ken !
Chocolate donuts???..(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Bordellos…and barber shops that would do shaves…women that look like women…!!
Bordellos? You just have to know where to look.
Barber shops, they are all gone, its hair salons now. And I don’t want that 20 something, giggling girl at the salon, anywhere near me with a straight razor.
Women that look like women. Again, you have to know where to look. Sure, too many look like clowns, or highway overpasses from the wrong side of town, but there a still a few lookers out there.
Fred Mills said:
Bordellos…and barber shops that would do shaves…women that look like women…!!
Barber shops that shave? Why? I can shave just fine at home… cutting hair is what I like and the barber shops near me do just that.
BTW, my women look like women.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)
There used to be 3 large scale shops in southwestern Ontario. We even had LGB products inside the Home Hardware store in Goderich, Ontario. Everyone misses these stores and no one wants to take on the venture. I know, why don’t I do it? I would if I were 20 years younger. Really miss going into a G scale shop. Regards, Dennis.
In Ambler, Pa., there is Bussinger’s Trains. It’s located in the old waiting room at the Ambler Train Station. The store has been there for at least twenty years, maybe more. I knew Bussinger from my “O” scale days. That was before he had the store. His daughter or possibly granddaughter has taken over the shop. He deals mostly in “O” gauge trains. The store seems to be thriving. It’s tiny compared to most shops I’ve seen.
The Lionel section and display at Western Auto.
Western Auto.
The multi-gauge layout at Columbia Cycle and Toy.
Columbia Cycle and Toy.
I do not miss the bugs at the drive-ins or the pushy people at the snack bars.