Brick & Mortar

[Trainman203]

My eyesight is gone already 😂😂.

[Trainman203]

Yesterday I saw a sad scene I've seen beforehand, a train-only LHS in declining health that won't be reversed.  There were a number of empty shelves that won't be restocked.  Locomotives aren't being restocked in any numbers. I talked to the owner who said the model railroad customer base was steadily declining and that the only business he could count on any more was Lionel winter Christmas tree train sets. 

Looking at his stock though, he appeared to be trying to serve too large and generalized a market... without going into too much detail about unsalable and poorly chosen quirky detail items and distant road name items of no local interest. His biggest thrust seemed to be disposition of deceased modelers "estate " items, meaning a Matterhorn of broken and poorly painted cars and structures with glue fingerprints all over them. I did get a few of these with possibilities if disassembled, modified , and repainted in less garish and gaudy toy train colors.

The owners are older and I can tell either won't want to or be able to go much longer.

When this places closes a familiar sad drama will repeat itself, basically other hobby shops in better shape cannibalizing the remaining inventory for pennies on the dollar, only to either close down a couple of years later themselves or go all RC.

I had a long talk about this with my friend who runs an operation that only does train shows and a limited internet business with no actual store.  He says that after 15 years, they are just beginning to see a stable flow.

[bbmiroku]

As I read these tales, the song that's playing in the background of my mind is "Another One Bites the Dust".

[Trainman203]

There's one here in town that's half trains and half military models.  No RC.  That means an adult Model building mindset in the store.  Trainwise it's not so bad with structures kits, RTR plastic cars, basic track, and best of all, a pretty good stock of scratch building stuff like sheet basswood and styrene, styrene shapes, stuff for galvanized tin roofs sand such.  And there is a very good supply of paint too albeit military oriented.  You can find what you need there pretty much, although you can't browse a hundred kits like you could in the Golden Days of Yore.

[in2tech]

In my large city there is really only one local hobby shop left. And it is in an area where rent I would think is affordable for them versus say a NEW strip mall or large mall with department stores attached. They also cater to all hobbies pretty much or they would never stay in business, RC, Plastic Models, G, HO, N, and paint supplies , glue's, you name it pretty much. Why it's a gold mine for plastic model hobbyist I would think as well as model railroad hobbyist with open boxes, loose items, as well as brand new. Do they have the inventory of a internet retailer of course not, but you can find some gem's in that place. Bought a Model Power N Scale already built and not in a box for $1.00. Of course someone getting out of the hobby sold them their stuff, but I don't care. I saved about $20.00 on the house I bought, and am very happy. That's is also what you can not do online. Buy open stuff, etc...

Hope this place never goes out of business!

https://youtu.be/Ubsyu1u8VQA

I made 3 video's in the store one day after asking for permission! It's crazy full! No sound in some of the video's! Or very low sound!

[Trainman203]

Pretty good looking stock of stuff.