Views from the underground
Local retailers keep us going
IN THE JULY ISSUE, I asked the readers to share memories of some of the people who had helped shape their toy train collecting years. Plenty of you responded, many mentioning people who had owned the train shops you used to patronize, but sadly are no longer in business.
These fellas had great relationships with the owners and spent a lot of time at those stores. Many of the old stores were established in the postwar years. We all remember those shops from our youth.
But there was a resurgence of new train shops during the years 1975-2000. These stores reflect the growth of the train hobbies during those years. I opened the Underground Railroad Shoppe in New Castle, Pa., in 1985.
I hope to continue to run the store for many years to come. When I’m ready to retire, I’ll pass it on to another train enthusiast. I’m having too much fun operating it for now.
The brick-and-mortar stores – the “old-time hobby shops” – provided a wealth of information and entertainment to every visitor. Think about your favorite store, where you could see all the new items offered each year. Also, there probably was a large selection of vintage trains the store had purchased and was now recycling back into the hobby.
Besides the trains, store owners shared their experience gained in the train hobby. Customers also exchanged their information and their own knowledge about the train hobby.
I learn something new every day I am in the store. I share that knowledge with everyone who comes in and wants to chat about trains. It is in this old-fashioned way we established the first “blog” before we even knew what a blog was.
The traditional shops also offered people great opportunities to buy, sell,
Tand trade trains as well as get expert repair service.
Sadly, many of these old train stores are disappearing from today’s business landscape. The pandemic has caused many of these brick-and-mortar train stores to close up. Every day, I hear of another shop that’s not going to return. The loss of business during the shutdown combined with the ongoing costs was too much for their owners to absorb.
Frankly, I don’t see many new stores developing on the horizon. We should, therefore, appreciate the local shops while they’re still open.
I know that mail order is a lot easier to conduct, but we miss the personal contact of the local train shops. Personally, I’ve missed the camaraderie and contact with train collectors during the many months my store was closed during the pandemic.
I continued to take mail-order business and conduct curbside pickup. Yet those dealings weren’t the same as the personal contact I have with the customers. I now have opened with reduced store hours. But I hope to be open fulltime this coming autumn to prepare for the Christmas season. After all, it was a sad Christmas at the store in 2020. Our Christmas layout was missing for the first time since 1985.
We’re looking forward to next year with as much hope and enthusiasm as you are. I’m asking you to support your local train stores any way you can. We really need to hang on to one of the good things we still have from the past.
Keep searchin’.
“WE SHOULD APPRECIATE THE LOCAL STORES WHILE THEY’RE STILL OPEN.”
the owner of the Underground Railroad Shoppe in New Castle, Pa., writes this exclusive column for
He can be reached at 1906 Wilmington Rd., New Castle, PA 16105 or by email at trainplum@yahoo.com