Model Railroading > Landmark Chicago Hobby Store Closes

An article in the Metro section of the Chicago Sun Times
of January 1, 2006, it was reported that Trost Modelcraft
and Hobbies will close its retail store on West 63rd Street
in Chicago. The hobby shop has been in business for 78-years
at the same location.

"I didn't want this to happy on my watch," said Roy Trost,
62, the son of co-founder Edward Trost. "I gave it a couple
of years to make it, but there wasn't a month in those 24
months that we made a profit. My pockets aren't that deep."

"Mike Trost, whose real name was Marzell, is credited as
being the founding father of the hobby industry. He had a
sign in his office that read: "We are in the hobby business
14 years before it became an industry in 1941." In a 1997
profile in the trade magazine Model Retailer, Mike Trost
was hailed as the "Father of the Industry."

Chicago has lost another landmark business. First, Marshall
Fields is taken over by Macy's and the Marshall Field name
will disappear. Then, Berghof Restaurant in downtown is
closing and, now, Trost Hobby.

What a shame.

peddler

A shame????? Bah. This was a full retail price hobby shop. I never went there. On the otherhand I frequent Hands to Work, Zientek's, Lombard Hobbies, even Al's Hobby in Elmhurst and Des Plaines Hobbies. And for traction and transit specialties, ChicagoLand Hobbies.

David Harrison

I remember going to Trost with the local hobby store owner in the mid 70's a few times. While he filled his orders I would look through the dusty shelves of model railroad supplies for items that had long since been out of production. I have great memories of some of the treasures that I found. Ancient Athearn, Marx, etc....
By todays standards perhaps not much to write home about but back then to a teenager I was a kid in a candy store.
As for discounters....... I pretty much shop at any hobby shop where the OPEN sign is on!
A F Niederer

DHarrison Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A shame????? Bah. This was a full retail price
> hobby shop. I never went there.
> David Harrison

Yeah, we wouldn't want a family that owns a hobby shop to make a profit, now would we?

OK, everybody whose desire to help somebody else make a profit supercedes their desire to spend no more than necessary for anything, raise your hand.

Hmmm, not seein' a whole lot of hands out there in Internet Land.

It's why WalMart grows and Joe's Five and Ten disappears.


SantaFeCF7 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yeah, we wouldn't want a family that owns a hobby
> shop to make a profit, now would we?

One of the reasons this shop is closing, but not mentioned, is the neigborhood. Yes the Chicago Lawn area has changed quite a bit since the first time I went to Trost Hobby Shop 40 years ago. It was quite a place back when I was 11 years old. At that time, every model available was in stock. For the last 20 years they have not kept up with model railroading. In recent visits I would rarely see anyone else looking at train models. Trost was also a distributor with a warehouse on 47th st. Is that part of the business to continue?
Ken Lanovich

peddler Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> An article in the Metro section of the Chicago Sun
> Times
> of January 1, 2006, it was reported that Trost
> Modelcraft
> and Hobbies will close its retail store on West
> 63rd Street
> in Chicago. The hobby shop has been in business
> for 78-years
> at the same location.
>
> "I didn't want this to happy on my watch," said
> Roy Trost,
> 62, the son of co-founder Edward Trost. "I gave it
> a couple
> of years to make it, but there wasn't a month in
> those 24
> months that we made a profit. My pockets aren't
> that deep."
>
> "Mike Trost, whose real name was Marzell, is
> credited as
> being the founding father of the hobby industry.
> He had a
> sign in his office that read: "We are in the hobby
> business
> 14 years before it became an industry in 1941." In
> a 1997
> profile in the trade magazine Model Retailer, Mike
> Trost
> was hailed as the "Father of the Industry."
>
> Chicago has lost another landmark business. First,
> Marshall
> Fields is taken over by Macy's and the Marshall
> Field name
> will disappear. Then, Berghof Restaurant in
> downtown is
> closing and, now, Trost Hobby.
>
> What a shame.
>
> peddler

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OK, everybody whose desire to help somebody else
> make a profit supercedes their desire to spend no
> more than necessary for anything, raise your
> hand.
>
> Hmmm, not seein' a whole lot of hands out there in
> Internet Land.
>
> It's why WalMart grows and Joe's Five and Ten
> disappears.
>
>
> SantaFeCF7 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Yeah, we wouldn't want a family that owns a
> hobby
> > shop to make a profit, now would we?
>
>
>
>
>
I'm not saying I don't like to save money, but there is also something that is getting harder and harder to find anywhere these days - loyalty. I only buy a little at a time, and if I order something from my LHS though it may cost more, once it arrives, they'll hold it in my Will Call stack until I can afford to pick it up. Internet dealers you gotta pay the moment it gets in or lose out if they sell out before you can save the money. Plus, I like being able to spend time down at the hobby shop, talking to the employees and other friends. If you prefer to buy on the 'net, that's fine with me, I'm not judging that, I just prefer to go down to the shop and enjoy myself and maybe help a store stay in business. What really kills me is how many people here go online to order ALL of their model trains, except for parts, and then bring the trains into the local shop and expect their trains to be repaired, AT NO COST!! They get all flustered and pissed if they get charged for the repairs, but they refuse to buy any of their trains from the store. If it's bought there and something breaks or breaks down, they repair it at no charge.

gtw1516 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > One of the reasons this shop is closing, but
> not mentioned, is the neigborhood. Yes the Chicago
> Lawn area has changed quite a bit since the first
> time I went to Trost Hobby Shop 40 years ago. It
> was quite a place back when I was 11 years old. At
> that time, every model available was in stock. For
> the last 20 years they have not kept up with model
> railroading. In recent visits I would rarely see
> anyone else looking at train models. Trost was
> also a distributor with a warehouse on 47th st. Is
> that part of the business to continue?
> Ken Lanovich
>

Indeed, the Chicago Lawn neighborhood has changed.
Still, Trost did not pack up and leave. I am certain
they thought more than once about moving to Palos,
Orland or Tinley Park but continued to make the most
of it for as long as possible.

I have very fond memories of riding the streetcar
up 63rd to go to the Marquette theater with a stop
at Trost. Sometimes I missed the movie. I bought my
first kit from them and they patiently explained the
parts and each step in the process. Even as a young
kid, I always felt welcome in the store.

As far as the distribution business,the newspaper
article indicated it will continue to operate as
long as possible.

peddler

I much prefer buying from a local hobby shop than buying a model over the internet.

Additionally, I used to enjoy visiting hobby shops in other cities during my travels. In the 1970s, when I had time between trains in Chicago, I would always stop over at All-Nation or Downtown Hobby (Brentano's with its big selection of railroad books was also a "must-visit"). Unfortunately, hobby shops in downtown locations seem to have disappeared in most cities, including Chicago.

I never made it to Trost...

Dave

I have never shopped at Trost Hobbies. Even though I live in the suburbs, I always shop at Lombard Hobbies and Americas Best Trains in Itasca. Americas Best has an outstanding selection for any gauge. There prices are slightly higher than the internet. I have worked for them part time, and the place is always packed. Lombard Hobbies is cheaper but the selection is not as good. All said and done, either is the best you will find in the Chicago area based on price and sevice.