Monday, February 02, 2009

Model Railroad shops in the Bay Area

Surprisingly, there are quite a few local shops that claim to carry Maerklin.

The Eisenbahn Clinic is a one-man operation in Hollister. Not really a shop, but Wolfgang repairs and modifies locomotives, and does various fine mechanics work.

Hobbytown USA is a franchise chain with a store nearby in San Jose (on Blossom Hill), which, unfortunately, has a very small railroad section (the only good thing there is the magazine stand). Maybe better that way, I might leave quite some money there otherwise, since they are so close. The store in Fremont is supposed to carry Maerklin. Haven't been there.

D&J Hobby in Campbell used to carry Maerklin, both HO and MiniClub (Z). Last time I was there their model railroad department looked rather sad with lots of empty shelves and the same old stuff I've seen a year ago, that apparently they couldn't sell. Even their selection of US brands in HO or N scale was pathetic.

Tom's Trackside Trains in Burlingame is supposed to have Maerklin. When I was in the vicinity a while ago, they were closed, so no idea if they actually do.

Loco Boose Electric Trains in Redwood City is another store I want to check out some time.

Franciscan Hobbies sounds promising with a large selection of brands and stuff in the store. Worth a shot for getting supplies for the living room table...

A quite impressive store for american brands, as well as basic scenery material and other supplies is The Train Shop in Santa Clara. They are a tad on the expensive side compared to buying online, but are local, and have a huge selection of inventory, what else can you ask for. The store is pretty old fashioned, but functional.

Do you know any other model railroad shops in the South Bay or Peninsula? Add them in the comments.

1 comment:

Bernhard said...

If forgot about Talbot's Hobbies in San Mateo in the article. They have an execellent selection of various paints and pretty complete Woodland Scenics and Evergreen selections.

The Train Shop is more complete and has a wider variety of materials, though. Talbot's has a small but fine selection of Maerklin cars and locomotives.