Model Railroading > Life after Caboose

Just wondering where all the regular Caboose Hobbies customers(particularly mail order),plan on spending their hard earned,now that this fine establishment is closing.I have had fantastic service from them over a lot of years,and nothing was ever a problem for them ,even though I live in Australia.I do business with Walthers(also outstanding service),but always enjoyed my discounted prices at Caboose.What do you think my best options would be from now on.
Regards,DK

Spring Creek Model Trains in Deshler Nebraska has to be one of the largest remaining train stores in the midwest. Dave and Deb are great people! WHile they may not be as "big" as caboose was they certainly know how to treat you as customers. In my 30 years experience of going to coboose i was an out of towner and often got treated like i was in the way. Maybe i wasnt the only one that got treated that way..just saying! Spring Creek's shelves certainly are'nt empty either!
Zuckers are are growing and growing throw them your support!  Just my $.02



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/16 09:31 by trainupaboy.

Caboose Hobbies has never been my main source of trains, mainly because of my distance away and associated higher shipping costs vs. some other vendors.  Because MB Klein is near me and because they have generally the lowest prices, combined they are my best option for model trains.  I have a few other vendors which include Spring Creek, Engine House, Lombards and Toy Train Heaven, when I can't get what I need from MBK.  I agree with the above post, Spring Creek has provided me some very excellent and personalized service and I can't say enough good things about them.  I've bought quite a few Athearn RTR diesels from them and a number of freight cars.

I have gone further afield in a few cases when the above vendors didn't have it in stock and in those cases it's been a variety of places I go to only as needed.  Caboose was one of the that was in my secondary or tertiary suppliers (above), although I've done some brass business with Cabbose Hobbies for some key items.  Of course they will leave a major void for many hobbiests.

Cheers, Jim Fitch



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/16 09:51 by SPDRGWfan.

I've bought from Trainworld and I'm happy with the results.  The only thing I don't like is that they don't tell you what the shipping charge will be at checkout.  So the total price is an unknown.  But the price I paid for the locomotives was cheap enough that with shipping it was still a good deal.
 

I agree that although visiting Caboose Hobbies was a HUGE treat for any visit to the Denver area, they were never a major player in my spending.  I am blessed to have had access to several local train stores over the years in the Lincoln - Omaha, Nebr. area.  The House of Trains is still operating after all these years in Omaha,  Randy's Roundhouse is a fine store and gives great service.  He does mail or phone orders, also.  Randy is a model railroader, so he really tries to get the customer what they need to get their projects finished.  Then, of course, there is Spring Creek Model Trains which is another fine shop run by very good people.  I have bought from Dave and Deb for years but just recently made the two-hour trip down to see the store.  It's almost a good thing that my wife was with me as I would have bought way too much otherwise!  

Another "unpopular" source is still eBay.  There are still some good dealers operating there who provide good products at decent prices.  I will publicly admit that thee are several dealers that I frequent there, and sometimes a pleasant surprise shows up in the listings.

So, Caboose Hobbies will be mourned for the mecca that it once was, but most of my personal pre-orders are at Randy's Roundhouse in Lincoln, NE.

Gary B.
Waverly, NE

Having no hobby shop anywhere in the vicinity in my part of California, I had used Caboose Hobbies for just about everything in recent years. Earlier this month I tried Trainmastermodels.com located in Buford, GA, some 3000 miles to the east. Their website has photos for almost everything they sell and an impressive range of stock. I think the shipping charge was $6.95 and the order arrived via USPS in 5 days.  

Thanks Gents.Some good info in your replies,will give them all a go at some stage.
Regards,DK

trainupaboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Spring Creek Model Trains in Deshler Nebraska has
> to be one of the largest remaining train stores in
> the midwest. Dave and Deb are great people! WHile
> they may not be as "big" as caboose was they
> certainly know how to treat you as customers. In
> my 30 years experience of going to coboose i was
> an out of towner and often got treated like i was
> in the way. Maybe i wasnt the only one that got
> treated that way..just saying! Spring Creek's
> shelves certainly are'nt empty either!
> Zuckers are are growing and growing throw them
> your support!  Just my $.02

Spring Creek is OK, I've bought some items from them but only because I could not find it elsewhere. Since they are basically a RTR shop and don't carry detail parts, decals or paint. I typically do not have them in my top five spots to visit. I do catch them at the various train shows, but they typically are the highest priced dealer at any show I got to. They also do not seem to rotate anything out of the show stock, its mostly shelf worn and not appealing to buy at a 10% discount from full retail. To me the praise everyone seems to throw on the shop/show vendor is over rated and unwarranted. MB Klein and EBay are my go to places anymore or House of Trains if they happen to have something in stock and I want it quickly.

I'll certainly endorse both MB Klein and AA Hobbies in Rhode Island. The latter's proprietor takes advance reservations and I believe his standard discount is 15% off MSRP, which combined with the ability to make an advance reservation is reasonable.
 

I have to say, there is a lot of bad information in this post.  While it is true that they don't carry much detail or decals with them to the shows, they do carry a full line of detail parts, decals and anything else you might need.  As far as their discount, their standard discount on most of their items (ones without a short dicount from the distributor) is 20%.  As far as box worn product, not really sure about that.  Most of their stuff either sells quickly, or is rotated out with new stock from the store.  

Hope this helps,

Vince Smith

rsanchez Wrote:

> Spring Creek is OK, I've bought some items from
> them but only because I could not find it
> elsewhere. Since they are basically a RTR shop and
> don't carry detail parts, decals or paint. I
> typically do not have them in my top five spots to
> visit. I do catch them at the various train shows,
> but they typically are the highest priced dealer
> at any show I got to. They also do not seem to
> rotate anything out of the show stock, its mostly
> shelf worn and not appealing to buy at a 10%
> discount from full retail. To me the praise
> everyone seems to throw on the shop/show vendor is
> over rated and unwarranted. MB Klein and EBay are
> my go to places anymore or House of Trains if they
> happen to have something in stock and I want it
> quickly.

I have been active in model railroading for more than 20 years and have purchased from Caboose Hobbies extactly once: I was on vacation in Denver last year and stopped in for the novelty of it and came out with some books. I can't imagine this is as big a deal as some people would lead us to believe.

Let's see. Hobby Smith and Whistle Stop in Portland OR, Tacoma Trains, ModelTrainStuff (MB Klein) and Des Plaines Hobbies. I can find most of what I want at those four, plus Tangent., and Perry's Hobbies in Minnesota for books.

> Spring Creek is OK, I've bought some items from
> them but only because I could not find it
> elsewhere. Since they are basically a RTR shop and
> don't carry detail parts, decals or paint. I
> typically do not have them in my top five spots to
> visit. I do catch them at the various train shows,
> but they typically are the highest priced dealer
> at any show I got to. They also do not seem to
> rotate anything out of the show stock, its mostly
> shelf worn and not appealing to buy at a 10%
> discount from full retail. To me the praise
> everyone seems to throw on the shop/show vendor is
> over rated and unwarranted. MB Klein and EBay are
> my go to places anymore or House of Trains if they
> happen to have something in stock and I want it
> quickly.

I was just at their store on Saturday and found a couple of the Details West antennas that I needed to finish a PTC antenna array project.  They have quite a bit of stuff in the store, no not what Caboose carried, but still quite creditable.  Dave mentioned that their website needs a makeover.  He wants his son to address that issue.  So hopefully their web presence will improve.

Gary B.
Waverly, NE

Trainmaster in Bluford was very good for getting some very odd items, but so is my local cash-only place with no internet presence (Zientek's). Des Plaines does stock a huge range of detail and scenery items in store, but at full retail. I've had luck getting some odd stuff in their used section though.

Lombard Hobbies has lots of stock and good prices.

Tom

I can drive 2.5 hours and get my stuff from Spring Creek, or I just call them and they send it. They are some very good people to deal with. They keep up with all of the current products coming out. They also do special runs on rolling stock that you can't get anywherre else. I for one have helped them unload and load at several train shows and I sure didn't notice the worn out boxes that was mentioned in a post above. I have seen that stuff with several other dealers before though. I can spend hours in there store just looking at all of their stock. So to answer the question; Spring Creek model trains will get my business. And no I am not affiliated with them, I just concider them as friends.
Glenn Hoover

There is something I have not seen much in the forums on this topic that I thought I could offer for a different perspective. I have been a patron of CH for over 25 years. I discovered the store soon after moving to the Denver area while attending graduate school. First, it was the place I found out about local clubs and events, which led to me joining a club, which I was a member for 20 years. Since I always lived within 20 minutes of the store, I visited there often, especially after purchasing my first house and building a layout. Several staff and eventually managers got to know me and what initially began as a customer-employee relationship developed into friendships. The store was a place to get advice from experienced modelers, thumb through books to get prototype information, and browse the aisles looking at thousands of pieces of details, equipment, and materials getting ideas for a modeling project. I ran into other frequent patrons and it was a place where I would sometimes spend half-a-day looking at things, running into friends and test running new products.
 
I’ve seen several responses in the forums dismissing the closing of the store on the basis of having an ability to purchase items online at other locations, but that is not the point to be made. It was more than a place to purchase product, it was a place to engage with other people who shared a common interest. It was a place to browse through several magazines and choose the ones I wished to purchase, since I couldn’t subscribe to them all. A brick and mortar store is a place where you can put your eyes and hands on something, compare items and make a decision whether to purchase or not, instead of buying something online only to find you don’t like it when you get it and have to go through the hassle of returning it. I could go down to the store and pickup a few $2.95 detail parts and not have to wait a week or two for it, and sometimes have to pay more for shipping than the product itself. I don’t want to spend a significant portion of my hobby money for shipping services. You want to buy ready –to-run product, that is fine, but you are a collector. You want to develop an idea, invest in research, exchange ideas, solve challenges and create something of your own endeavor, then you are a modeler and will find this trend disappointing and surely will miss the local hobby shop.
 
Bob P
 

Big stuff like locos and cars, I generally get from MB Kleins. Or ebay. 

Detail parts and decals, I buy off Ebay from j-tprantle. Fair prices and very fast shipping. 

Darryl
I use Overland Hobbies.  Brian and Missy Marsh (... and Jake) provide excellent mail order service for overseas customers.  MBK is myback up but they do not accept advance orders.

Rick

Des Plaines Hobbies in Des Plaines IL has always impressed me with their selection and service.  They are willing to 'find' things for you and humans answer the phone.