# the closing of Trains West



## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

After 20 years of being the only railroad only hobby shop in albuquerque we are closeing our store ...... like may things in life it is do to several things rather then just one 

My father passed away may 28 2012 ..... and worked in the store he loved to the very end 

our economy slump has not helped as most people have less to spend on there hobby

our world has changed ..... more and more people are buying on the internet sometimes while standing in our store looking at stuff and asking me questions ... i find this very rude 

the manufactures make it tougher and tougher by going direct or selling on ebay also or cutting the discount or taking 4 to 5 years to make stuff 

and of course the bills keep going up in price ... and no matter how hard i try to keep overhead down it still takes selling 300,000 worth of stuff just to pay the bills and make no money ... I have grown tired of working at just above min wage just to keep the store going 

and lastly my health which has never been great is giving me trouble yet again ...... really thought after my trouble a year and a half ago i would get a break but it looks like not ...

I have been at the task of selling off the store stock for a month now ..... have sold hoops of stuff ..... but wow there is lots of stuff in our store .... some of which has been there for the whole 20 years ..... and the added stuff from my father's estate .. he loved model railroading 

the whole thing is very sad .... he and i started this monster together 20 years ago ..... and i really thought I would carry on after he was gone ..... but our world has changed 

but even with all that i look back at some of the great fun I have had with modelers of all types that have come into our store and life


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi scott 

I feel your pain. 

Life and the business. World has surly changed. 

Sadly peoples respect for others has changed also. 

If you have any mdc coal hoppers i may be interested in them. 

Good luck


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

sorry no MDC hoppers at all


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Hi Scott-

Very sorry to hear of your closing, and best wishes for the future.

I have passed through Albuquerque once a year for the last 3 or 4 years, and would always visit your shop. I would grab handfulls of large scale details, which are sometimes hard to find, and stuff them in my truck bed to take back to Maryland. I recall the last time I visited, you told me how to get to the airport to pick up my daughter for a visit, and my reluctance to leave your store resulted in her sitting on the curb at the airport for a few minutes.....







..who knew ABQ had a rush hour???

Regards

Jerry


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## VictorSpear (Oct 19, 2011)

Scott,

Would you not consider transforming into an online web store, where all you needed was your basement or shared storage with racks, an old pc + a phone/fax machine + some inspiration ? Many of us would be glad to help out here I'm sure with e-commerce/mobile web tips, templates, designs and ideas at no cost, -- rather than see another flag fall in this accursed economy.

Cheers

Victor


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## N1CW (Jan 3, 2008)

*Scott*

*Did you handle/sell Ralph Brown's Great Trains G-gauge trains 20 years ago?*
*
Ralph sold the G-gauge line to another man who built the trains for 7 years*
*"Until it was no longer FUN".*

*It has been FUN looking into the history of the company and I just wish*
*I was able to meet/talk with some of these "Founding Fathers"....*


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry to see you go, Scott.... Understand the frustration.... 

Best of everything...


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Sorry to hear that. The economy is shifting in ways that make it a really tough slog for hobby shops. best wishes to you


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Sorry to hear this... Have you considered putting things up here on classified? Should bring you a better return over ebay if it comes to that. 

Regards, Greg


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Very sorry to hear this Scott. 
thanks for sharing it with us.


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

never carried great trains


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

Posted By VictorSpear on 22 Aug 2012 07:17 AM 
Scott,

Would you not consider transforming into an online web store, where all you needed was your basement or shared storage with racks, an old pc + a phone/fax machine + some inspiration ? Many of us would be glad to help out here I'm sure with e-commerce/mobile web tips, templates, designs and ideas at no cost, -- rather than see another flag fall in this accursed economy.

Cheers

Victor


would never do that ... would be the death of other hobby shops ..... and just wrong


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 22 Aug 2012 03:29 PM 
Sorry to hear this... Have you considered putting things up here on classified? Should bring you a better return over ebay if it comes to that. 

Regards, Greg 

listed a few things just now .... too much to list .... drawback is my fathers stuff has metal wheels and kadees ...... never sold on ebay but may have to learn .... got one month to make it all go away 
can always call me at the store 1-800-981-2322 .... no track left ... or parts .... down to mostly my fathers locos and cars


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry to hear. Yes, business is getting harder and harder.


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## Robby D (Oct 15, 2009)

Scott, 

Would you not consider transforming into an online web store, where all you needed was your basement or shared storage with racks, an old pc + a phone/fax machine + some inspiration ? Many of us would be glad to help out here I'm sure with e-commerce/mobile web tips, templates, designs and ideas at no cost, -- rather than see another flag fall in this accursed economy. 

Cheers 

Victor 



Do you really think its that easy?


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

I think Scott's heart isn't in it anymore. 

Let face it, Scott shared this business with his father and the pardnership was much more valuable then the business itself.


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## VictorSpear (Oct 19, 2011)

Robby,

Never implied anything was ever easy. Even driving to work can be painful at $4/gallon plus with even more hikes coming it isn't uncommon to work-from-home all week, even at IBM. 
All I was suggesting was another way (among several) to somehow continue the two-generation family business and fight on, soldier. The hobby battlefield has merely begun the shift to the digital arena. It doesn't make it any simpler or easier.

(Harvard and MIT offer online courses today like every one else but online education would have been considered 'preposterous and sinful' just seven years ago. Maybe they painfully recognized survival trends too ?)

Cheers
Victor


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

face to face is what makes a hobby store work ......

hobby stores help the hobby by showing people how things work .......

half my time is spent telling people not to buy something becouse it does not work the way they think ...

having a mindless job filling an order from a fax machine or email does not help the hobby or sound like any fun at all .... 

above all my father was about promoiting the model railroad hobby .... not about money 

but it takes money to pay the bills ...... and these days most people think the time in the hobby shop is free .... it is not .... it is paid for buy buying stuff in the store at full pop 

there is no hobby shop owner making big bucks .... they just get by .... so be nice to them as lots of people these days are not


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

buy the way.... i lowered the price of the lgb f-unit .... it looks new and is a great deal ... and at that price my loss is like 300.00 as i paid 640.00 for it


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## N1CW (Jan 3, 2008)

*Scott*

*E-mail sent for the Pennsy A/B unit.*


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

got it ..thanks


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

I just added a bunch of cars and a loco to the clasifieds ..... some are rare cars 


still have stuff left


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## N1CW (Jan 3, 2008)

*Scott*

*Thanks for the Pennsy A/B units......sweet......*

*I was able to 'play sparkie trains' this morning....*

*Your Dad's units on "ON POINT"*
*the_Other_Ray*


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

they look good ... glad they found a good home where they can run and play


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry to hear you go. Another sad day for the RR hobbyist. Later RJD


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