Best Hobby Shops on the Web


Hey Erik,

I compared a few Lionel O gauge prices at Hiawatha Hobbies. I am much more familiar with Lionel prices then I am HO prices and they are a bit higher then other dealers with some prices being considerably higher then MB Klein/Model Train Stuff and Train World. Like always, know what your looking for and compare prices. I may have gotten a good price on my purchase because it is a discontinued model. I am just glad they had one in stock and in fact they have one more!
 
My favorite and in my opinion the best hobby shop, MB Klein/ Model Train Stuff has flat rate shipping until June 15th for fathers day.

shipping.jpg


http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/
 
tootnkumin said:
Has anyone dealt with Perry's Hobbies in Morgan MN 56266, particularly with regard to their Lay-a-way service ?
Click to expand...

Update to my question. Got 2 Genesis MRL SD70ACe's and a clay slurry car from them, could'a had a 3rd Ace if I hadn't dallied for a day making up my mind. They operate out of Becker's Super Value in Morgan, MN, so a relatively small operation, have a good website, only gets updated a couple'a times a month, so always call to confirm availability/quantities in stock, so hence the reason for the only 1 clay car. Good to deal with and their packaging is the equal of MB Klein's. Recommended.
 
Also found more of the Clay slurry cars and the box cars I was chasing at Perry's over at Overland Hobbies. Good prices/communication and the same level of care in packaging. When you're ordering from my distance that's important. Stuff takes a battering in the post. I of the clay cars from Overland (3 pack) had had the outer and inner wheelset from the opposite trucks jarred loose, absolutely no damage evident on the packet or the postbox. Could have happened before they were packed I suppose, but I noticed them straight away by the rattle, so doubt it.
 
G'day all , For mostly our Aussie forumers....but international as well....If you're chasing either BLI or Intermountain locomotives there's a great little EBAY store called Bonzy 69 Trains....He often has these companies and also Bachmann locomotives for seriously good prices...Often has 15% off or more sales...I got two lovely ATSF Yellow and Blue highly detailed BLI SD40-2s for $259 each including delivery and three ES44ACs for $249 each over two orders before that...They were Intermountain models...He ships next day and will do Express Post on request...Great dealer... Also another two....Little CabooseTrains 2013 on EBAY or littlecaboosetrains.com.au via internet and Orient Express Model Railway Shop....The latter is the place where I finally found some nicely priced Athearn Genesis SD70ACe's .Courier delivered next day..They are different in that they have full retail in Adelaide , South Australia but they have a large online listing and cover US items better than most..All are great to buy from in OZ if that helps....
 
Hadn't checked out Orient Express before, what did you get in the way of ACe's? Had a look, but they only listed 4 in stock of lesser known RR's (here at least). Did at least find when the MRL's were released (2010) and quite surprised to see 4 road #'s (only knew of 2).

Just a note about my-hobby (ebay) whom I'm buying from now, they don't process orders after 3pm their time till the next day, or Sat, Sun or public holidays. I won my last auction with them at 3:50pm Friday and therefore won't get my invoice till about 12pm Monday at the earliest, EAST. By which time with my luck, our dollar will have done it's customary nose dive from it's current high.

Another plus for MB Klein's. They're on the ball, there's not another e'tailer comes close to them for customer service.
 
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G'day Toot...I forgot to mention something about Orient Express...They don't list a great deal outright online but the bloke who told me about them said to just email them via their "Contact Us" page...and a chap called David will look after you...He will let you know what is currently in stock.send you a detailed inventory and..what's soon to be available etc...It's really good..
I wanted some BNSF Athearn Genesis. ACe's badly. The first order was a Genesis with Full sound and a Genesis , no sound...delivered NEXT DAY..from South Australia to Tasmania for $590 I think it was.... About two weeks later I bought a second Full sound , different road numbered BNSF Genesis for $330 all up, delivered next day again to my door...Since then I've bought several wellcars and a couple of other things...so what you see on the web page is only the tip of the iceberg...Try emailing them and they'll very quickly let you know what they have or can get for you..Star Track couriers , not Australia Post is their usual delivery method....Hope that helps...Cheers Rod..
 
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G'day Toot and all....Just a quick question without notice , our great friend , Louis , often refers to how good MB Klien is and their customer service is legendary and you also agree as do many other fellow forum-ers but what's the postage to Australia like..?...What puts me off is that another US store quoted me $85 postage USPS for two SD40 models about 2 years ago..The model prices were about $50 cheaper than what I could buy two here for but by the time I factored in $85 postage compared to $18 postage here..I was actually worse off..I'd love to buy some great stuff from the US but postage will always seem to bite me on the bum to put it bluntly...What's MB Klien like on that front ?...Cheers again...Rod...
 
Postage is a problem with many US e'tailers because some don't tell you the postage before you buy, or as I found with internettrains.com when I first did a pre-order with them, they charged a high postage and then refunded some back later. MB Klein's usually use USPS Priority International for most orders of any great value (not sure where the price point is, as I got 4 packs of #158 couplers and a couple of 60' boxcars (clearance) that they sent International Parcel post.

Their checkout system gives you the available options and prices BEFORE you finalise your order, and you can then work out your cost vis-a-vis exchange rate, bank, paypal fees and complete the order or cancel if you wish (empty your cart). They usually ship the same day (week days) and parcels usually arrive Aussie in 7-10 days, then it's up to AusPost (no extra charges) to get it to you.

Do a test run on something, Rod. As I said, you don't have to complete the order, I've done it several times.
 
G'day Toot, Just FYI....I contacted Orient Express Model railway Shop...via sales@orientexpressmodels.com.au......and David filled me in on what I'm after... 56' Huskys and 53' articulated well cars (athearn) will be available in November when Athearn does a new run of them...so I'll have to wait til then for Athearn ones anyway... I asked about Montana Rail link in SD70ACe...Sadly Athearn no longer make them...They (Orient Express) did have them but once sold out they couldn't get any more but they may be re released at a later date...The next Athearn Genesis MRL loco to be released , also in November is the F45....so David said. I went to the Athearn website and discovered that Athearn Genesis had Montana Rail Link SD70ACe in eight different road numbers and they're all sold out now and the locomotive model has been listed as "retired"..That's a real shame...so hopefully one day public demand will get Genesis to re release it..I wonder how many other manufacturers make MRL SD70ACe's...Cheers Rod...
 
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The Genesis MRL ACe's were a 2010 release of the pre-insulated cab version, starting with Road# 4301 (4 #'s). MTH released 2, 4304 & 4308. I've been told Kato also did some. Whether any more in the 4300-4315 series will get released is probably doubtful. MRL have now got about 6 of the new insulated cab series which start with #4400. Hopefully Genesis will announce a new model of this prototype soon. Considering the competition there is on US-ebay for anything MRL, with prices going well above original retail, they'll take notice and do at least another 4. I have 2 Gen 4301's as I have mentioned somewhere, there was a 4313 in Canada, wouldn't do international shipping, and 2 of the 4304 MTH's, so a bit of renumbering needed. Will only consider more MTH's if they're the DCC ready ones.

The main spotting feature for the insulated cabs is a vertical joint line just behind the nose that continues over the top and another near the cab base (horizontal) and then up at about a 45Deg angle. The last of the real F45's, 390 & 392 have just been retired. Both were slated for scrapping, 392 is no more but 390 has received a last minute reprieve and rumoured to have been sold to possibly a museum or tourist line. It was their only GN original and apparently also had updated control systems. There'll be a rush on that # if Athearn cotton on.

Almost all of their remaining SD45's have also been scrapped since the introduction of these latest ACe's. Going by the new roster on the Yahoo group, only 2 remain. It is a bit confusing because they had/have both 45's and 45-2's as you would expect them to appear, but many of the 45's with their flared radiators had been rebuilt to -2 status and are listed in the roster as such, but of course don't look like -2's. They also have done the same with their SD40's but do have 1 genuine SD40-2 (#250) which has been modelled in both bluebox and as I discovered last night on US ebay, in the upgraded RTR, Kato have done the SD-40's. MRL still runs GP & SD9's (some modified designated 19-1's), SW switchers (9, 1200 & 1500), GP35's & SD35's.
 
Something I discovered tonight while browsing. Athearn's ACe's BNSF variety have already been released with the isolated 'comfort cab', announced in Jan 2010 in #'s 9131, 9210, 9271, 9303. The MRL's were announced Dec 2010 (presumably released 2011). Strangely, as far as I can see on Athearn's list, as far as BNSF goes anyway, all the subsequent releases only have the non-iso cab. I have #'s 9388 & 9399 which makes the sequence of numbering seem a bit odd, not just from a modelling perspective but from the prototype as well.

So, we should be able to expect an earlier release of the MRL 4400 series, as the moulds are already made, have to start making inquiries of Athearn as to when. Maybe they're waiting on the new logo decals. Microscale have them #60-5006.
 
Rodney,

Sending anything to Oz from the US is going to cost you an arm and a leg, despite the seemingly cheaper prices here, the postage (as you discovered) will make it unprofitable. You might want to look at England and see if what you are after gives you a better return. I bought a heap of electronics for my layout from the UK (courtesy of Suzie X) and the postage from there to here was pretty good and fast by Royal Mail.

Did a mock up shipping thing through UPS, take a look at the cost:

https://wwwapps.ups.com/ctc/request?loc=en_US&WT.svl=PNRO_L1

Also US Postal Service (USPS):

http://ircalc.usps.com/MailServices...lingDate=6/20/2014&MailingTime=8:00 AM&dv=300
 
G'day Tony and Toot...Thanks for the info...I emailed Athearn Trains..they responded very quickly too...They said that neither BNSF or MRL are currently in production but that at some stage in the future they may re make an updated version...I'm so glad now I bought three new SD70 ACe Genesis's last year at Orient Express Models in Adelaide..
For curiosity purposes I had a look for MRL's on EBAY...found a couple of SD45s...brand new $143...but....as you correctly say...postage is a killer...$53 for one loco...
You're right about England ,Tony.the postage is definitely cheaper it seems...All up I have five BNSF SD70Ace's... 4 x Genesis...(one was second hand without a decoder. and the other is an MTH..problematic to program though...okay now.. we sorted it out via NCE Powercab..but lousy for consists...due to DCS issues..
Hey Toot.....There HAS to be some of the models you're after old stock , somewhere.....Louis Bruette found a great GM50 (GP40) model at Hiawatha Models..he was saying.
Hope you find soon a place to hook onto anything you need...If I spot anything at all I'll post a thread...I was interested to find a great video about MRL (using the most beautiful looking SD70 ACes..) as partners with BNSF on and around the Mullan Pass..apparently there's a joint venture with them...That's great...I really do like MRL stuff.
Cheers Rod..
 
MRL (Washington Corp) is leasing the trackage/facilities from BNSF till 2047, when possibly they will buy it out. I've got a search on ebay for anything on there, might extend that to include the UK. Postage for single items almost makes it on par with what dealers are charging here, the more items, the less per item.

Bonzy69 though seems to be the only one who has decent specials,when it is better to buy from him. Others mostly charge MSRP plus and then AusPost as well, so buying from O/seas still usually is cheaper, just gotta wait a couple of weeks more to get it.
 
G'day Toot and all forum-ers....Yep ..Bonzy 69 does do some good specials...all of my ES44ACs from there were around the $250 mark...The BLI SD40-2s were about $270 each..and there was a three month wait for them after he ordered them in for me in ATSF schematics....Had a look at Hiawatha Hobbies today on Louis Bruette's recommendation and will do the same with MB Klien....as you guys have said they're really good...Looks like the best way as you say is to do a few items order and the postage works out cheaper that way...Hiawatha have very nice stuff...prices seem good too.... Cheers Rod...
 
Hello, fellow railroaders!

I have a few Power City Trains which, from what I understand, are closer to TT scale than to HO scale. And in addition to this, I read a post somewhere about how Power City Trains won't fit on HO scale tracks. Can anybody confirm or deny if they will fit on a TT scale track? And if so, which hobby shops are good at selling TT scale items?
 
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