Some of you that are into LGB or were in the Big Train Operators club might know the name, he had a large and beautifull LGB European layout in his home’s basement in Carmel IN. He and his wife are moving to a condo and possible on to Florida. He kept a few things for under the tree and to stay active in the hobby, but the bulk of his collection(all European) is up for grabs at Zionsville Train Depot. Quite a bit went fast but there are still buildings, a few engines and cars and a bunch of LGB track. David’s layout was featured in LGB’s Telegram magazine and I have seen pictures of it in other locations as well. I ended up with his 2080d Harz engine, the Becks brewery complex and the beer garden resturant for my garden railway. Just thought a few here might know of him and want a chance to pick up a nice clean Euro LGB piece for their collection and support the reborn Watts Train Shop.
Hello Mike-
Please help with the definition of LHS - I’m out of the loop.
Secondly, is the Watts Train Shop back in business? If so, where? That is good news.
LHS = local hobby shop. (An increasingly rare term)
The Watts Train Shop closed when the Watts family decided to step away from the train business. Rick Whitt(counter sales) and Ross Buttrum(technician) from the old Watts shop opened a new shop under the name Zionsville Train Depot down on 106th street in Zionsville Indiana. Rick and Ross worked for many years with the Watts family at the old shop. Rick still carries LGB both used and new, along with any other brands of G scale he can get. He also has a collection of Lionel and MTH O scale he is clearing out. He also carries the Playmobile line, Chuggington and Thomas the Tank wood toy trains for the kids. What LGB he has varies wildly depending on collections on hand. Beyond track and service parts, most new LGB is ordered upon customer orders for specific items. He has a website but its only a main page right now, the Estore isnt functional yet. Been trying all I can to help out so he can grow and stay in business. He has an Ebay store as well, with about 2 pages worth of items listed in all scales. He takes trains in on trade and on consignment. Off the top of my head in LGB he has a #6 C&S mogul, a new production mogul, a few Euro locomotives from the D.G. collection, a mix of American and Euro rolling stock. A pretty good selection of used(indoor use only) LGB track and turnouts and of coarse parts from Massoth and LGB. There is a selection of AML 1:20.3 logging skelleton cars, Jackson Sharp passenger cars(C&S I think), Some Kalamazoo stuff in boxes not yet out on the sales shelves but it is for sale I believe. There are still several buildings, mostly Euro, from the D.G. collection available. Mike