Great Model Train Store Resources Online For the Serious Model Railroad Hobbyist



Posted: Monday, December 28, 2009

by Jimmy Hardwick
Model Train Mastery

There are many places you can shop for products to use in your model train layout. Brick and mortar storefronts with large product selections are not always conveniently located near everyone. That is why many people utilize mail order and internet model train store companies for their hobby purchases. Some stores carry only specific brands of products and others carry items produced by a variety of manufacturers. Shopping is more convenient on websites that carry not only locomotives or train sets, but also track, power supplies, rolling stock, buildings and structures, landscape scenery, and figures.

You will find that you most often save on shipping costs if you order multiple items from the same resource as opposed to several orders from multiple suppliers. If you carefully compare prices prior to purchase, you might find that paying a little more for an item at one store still saves you money overall based on shipping and prices of other products purchased.

Lantz Hobby Shop Inc. out of Horseheads , New York launched their website, wholesaletrains.com, in 1999. They were one of the first hobby shops to launch online. In 2001, they began to offer secure online shopping to their customers 24/7.

They offer train sets made by Lionel, Atlas, and MTH. They have steam and diesel locomotives, trolley and handcars, freight and passenger cars, industrial rail cars, two and three rail track, and industrial rail track.

Wholesale Trains offers some impressive train sets such as the Dewitt Clinton Heritage Set by Lionel. It is 1:48 Standard O scale and a part of the Heritage Series of 19 th century steam locomotives. The passenger "coaches" very closely resemble actual stagecoaches from that era.

It is well worth a visit to their website to check out the many products they offer for serious railroading hobbyists. Whether you are searching for figures, buildings, tunnels, trestles, bridges, lighting, vehicles, or parts, you want to visit the Wholesale Trains site.

Internettrains.com out of Brea , California , is another great site to visit if you are searching for model train products. They offer trains by manufacturers such as Athearn, Bachmann, Atlas, Lionel, and Walthers.

Internet Trains offers products in Z, HO, O, N, S, and some larger scale models. They also carry smoke fluid and pellets, motors, lighting and electrical, weathering paint, decals, scenery, DCC, sound, display cases, tools and more.

These are only two of the many model train store sources offering products for your railroading layout. You can visit various train forums and ask other hobbyists for information on where they purchase their products. Another good source of suppliers is at model train shows. The attendees of the shows are usually very avid train enthusiasts, and most all of them are happy to discuss the hobby and share their knowledge with you simply because of their love of railroading.

Remember to compare prices and shipping costs among various suppliers. All aboard!

Jimmy Hardwick has been a model train enthusiast for over 30 years, and loves helping others get started in this noble hobby. For insights on kind of help available from a model train store, as well as many other helpful tips, be sure to visit his website ModelTrainMastery.com.

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Anonymous 2 years 108 days ago.
In regard to train items, many are non-returnable and you wont no which until you try to send something back.  That is deceptive, and I would not shop there again.
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