Stang, if you want to throw money away, buy a boat. At least you get have fun while you're you're dumping money overboard.
I think the LHS is a dead duck, with a few exceptions. I used to go to hobby shps to see what was new. With the internet, I know what's coming out, sometimes before the hobby shop knows. I also used to go to hobby shops because I bought a kit and got stumped by something. The owner was usually a model railroader and could help me out. Now, most hobby shops have trains, R/C cars, rockets, aircraft kits, ariplane kits, car kits...you name it. The owners can't be an expert in everything so they tend not to be any expert in anything. Even the one I drive 70 mile to get to, which is a pretty good shop, has owners who do their best, but I'm usually met with a blank stare if I ask about something like a Walthers street light they don't have in stock. I usually have to show them where it is in the Walthers catalog and then they say they can order it for me. Well, sure, but I can do that myself and not have to pay full retail.
Model railroading has become somewhat of a commodity business, like buying milk. You don't go to a grocery store because they have a particular brand of milk, you just buy the cheapest one they have. Back in the days, I'd go to a certain hobby shop (actually, train shop) because they had the best stock of detail parts or Plastistruct or paints. I'd almost always find something else to buy while I was there. Now, there are very few train shops and hobby shops tend to stock very little in the way of those small parts we all need. Plenty of RTR Atlas, Bachamann, and Athearn locomotives and cars but they are a commodity, like milk. If I'm going to have to order detail parts on the web, I might as well order commodity items at the same time. No sales tax, no driving, and I usually get what I need in a few days. A bricks and mortar train shop is the last business I'd want to get into today.