New York City hobby shops

[Tecchan]

Hi there,

I have the luck to go to the Big Apple for a week in september and I wanted to know if there is good hobby shops.

I'm interested in japanese rolling stock and scenery as well as Tomix tracks, not really on US materials. If there is some nice train related expos/museum, it can be interesting too! :-)

 

So if you have good addresses in Manhattan or around, feel free to share them!

And if you have good addresses for non-train related things, I'd be glad to heat them!! 

[Nick_Burman]

Kumo,

 

I doubt if you'll be able to find anything Tomix in the Big Apple. And if you find any there is a chance that it will be more expensive than in Japan...

 

For US/general stuff, try Trainworld on MacDonald & Ditmas Avenue in Brooklyn (easy to get there, there is an "El" stop right over the store) or the Red Caboose on 42nd St. (?) in Manhattan (beware owner with strange, New Yorker, sense of humor). There is a store out in Queens (take NYCTA or Long Island RR train to Forest Hills station, then walk several blocks south untill you reach an avenue. Turn left on the south pavement.) which used to have a small stock of Japanese stuff, forgot the name now, in any case buy a copy of Model Railroader and check the listings at the back, you'll find more addresses.

 

Railfanning...check Grand Central Station (unmissable - bring a mirror to look at the Zodiac painted on the roof without risking a stiff neck). Also check the best little known train museum in the area, the Transit Museum located in a closed NYCTA station in downtown Brooklyn (and check downtown Brooklyn itself, it's much more fun than Manhattan...), can't remember the address right now, any TA employee will be able to give you directions. The NYCTA system itself is fun to ride if you can get a train with a front view - watching the signals change ahead of you during rush hour and noticing the motorman's reactions is very interesting.

 

 

Cheers NB

[bill937ca]

Like Nick said Tomix track is rarely carried outside Japan. You'll find Kato track all over the place but not Tomix.

[Tecchan]

Thanks a lot guys!

I'm not expecting much for rail fanning on this trip but it was too bad not to ask. :-)

[Martijn Meerts]

When I visited the JRM guys in Washington, I also took a trip up to New York by train to meet up with Bernard. I have to say, I really enjoyed the train trip.. Took the Acela from Washington to New York, which was a really comfortable ride. For the return trip I took the Northeast Regional (I think), and sat in the diner car. I thought it was really cool because it sort of had this old fashioned American diner look you often see in the older movies.

 

Grand Central Terminal is definitely amazing, really has a great atmosphere as well. It wouldn't have surprised me to see steam trains pulling in and out of there, it really looks steam era :)

 

There is a train store in New York, Bernard will be able to tell you where. He took me there when I visited. It's an interesting store, a LOT of stuff, but also a LOT of stuff that's been there a LONG time (judging by the dust :)). Not cheap, and mostly American stuff, but I did see the occasional Japanese train, and even some Dutch stuff.. The Dutch stuff was prices outrageously though, about 3 to 4 times what it costs here :)

 

 

(Damn, now I feel like going back again  )

[Bernard]

Kumo - Wpw you got some really good advice in just 3 posts! (Nick how do you know so much about NYC?)

         

TrainWorld is a nice visit BUT there isn't a lot of Japanese RR items in the store...if any, except for Kato track and other Kato track accessories there isn't much. 

 

The Red Caboose located at 23 West 45th. The prices are high and as Marti said, the stock looks used and dusty but worth an interesting visit.

http://theredcaboose.com/

 

Not far from there is a Japanese Bookstore called Kinokuniya. They aren't far from the Red Caboose, 42 & 6th Ave (or Ave. of the Americas) Bryant Park is right in front of it.

 

I haven't been to the NY transit museum which is located in Brooklyn not NYC so it's a bit of a trip by subway to get there. http://www.mta.info/mta/museum/

 

If my schedule permits I can show you around the city BUT ask Marti if he survived my tour?  (I walk a lot!)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/kinokuniya-bookstores-new-york-2

[cteno4]

Kumo,

 

i second nick's recommendation of grand central station. its really a treat! very nicely restored, will give you a image of what it was like in the grand days of trains in the us. they also have a small exhibit area that can have some really interesting exhibits in it at times.

 

also great japanese bookstore up near the main public library. bernard or aaron should be able to zoom you in on it, i always forget where it is. with some searching they usually have a few good train books!

 

get out on the water (ferry ride, watertaxi or boat tour) as well as you get to see the city from a whole different angle of looking at the skyline (especially after dark). also walking across the brooklyn bridge is fun. only a mile or so. there are lots of small restaurants and cafes on the other side in brooklyn to have a coffee and bite to eat and see the city from a distance as well.

 

if you like art the nagouchi museum out in queens is fantastic more off the usual nyc art scene. of course theres the met, Guggenheim, nat history, and others that you can get lost in for days...

 

a friend was just at the mta transit museum recently and enjoyed it

 

http://www.mta.info/mta/museum/

 

enjoy!!!

 

jeff

[Nick_Burman]

Kumo - Wpw you got some really good advice in just 3 posts! (Nick how do you know so much about NYC?)

 

I've been to NYC 4 or 5 times in the past, either on purpose or on my way to/from somewhere else. I did my homework before leaving, left the tourist places to the tourists (but I DID go to them, eventually...) and went train riding/railfanning/hobby shop hunting. I guess that I've just about ridden the whole TA system (I have a complete set of track maps) and I even (twice) made my way to the Cross Harbor Railroad down in Red Hook. Sometimes things did not quite work as I expected...like the time I stepped off a LIRR train in Montauk in the middle of an winter Atlantic gale (left the train, staggered around the station against the howling wind and returned - soaked -to train to await trip back to Jamaica 2h later...it was so windy that the coaches were gently rolling on their trucks!) or the time when I had to catch a bus from Huntingdon to Amityville (a N to S trip down the middle of LI, for the unitiated) because the third-rail shoe on a train caught fire during a snowstorm (my visits were mainly in winter because that's when we have the long holidays here in Brazil) and blocked the line for several hours. But I chalked everything up to experience...

 

The Red Caboose located at 23 West 45th. The prices are high and as Marti said, the stock looks used and dusty but worth an interesting visit.

http://theredcaboose.com/

 

And, as I've said, beware of the owner's twisted sense of humor...

 

I haven't been to the NY transit museum which is located in Brooklyn not NYC so it's a bit of a trip by subway to get there. http://www.mta.info/mta/museum/

 

Hey, what's this story? Brooklyn has been part of NYC since the 1890's! Much better place to stay than Manhattan, if one can find accomodation. The Transit Museum is a couple of blocks away from most of the major central Brooklyn subway stations.

 

 

Cheers NB

[Nick_Burman]

Thanks a lot guys!

I'm not expecting much for rail fanning on this trip but it was too bad not to ask. :-)

 

There is a lot of railfanning to be done in the NYC area, although one really needs a car to get to the more out-of-the-beaten-path places. You can ride the Northeastern Corridor towards Philadelphia, or ride Amtrak to Albany and back (beautiful scenery on the Hudson River valley, especially around West Point). NJT's/Metro-North Port Jervis line also has some good scenery on its north end (Moodna Viaduct). If you like big Alcos you can go and check the Morristown & Erie's enginhouse at Morristown (just north of the NJT station) and there is a nice little museum at nearby Whippany (accessible by bus from Morristown) at the former M&E station. And for sheer train volume, check Jamaica during rush hour (OK, OK, Shinjuku it ain't but you've got the idea...).

 

 

Cheers NB

[Nick_Burman]

 

get out on the water (ferry ride, watertaxi or boat tour) as well as you get to see the city from a whole different angle of looking at the skyline (especially after dark). also walking across the brooklyn bridge is fun. only a mile or so. there are lots of small restaurants and cafes on the other side in brooklyn to have a coffee and bite to eat and see the city from a distance as well.

 

 

Also walk along the Brooklyn Promenade - great view of Lower Manhattan and it's free...while there, look down and you'll be able to see the remains of one of the "vest pocket terminal" switching railroads which once dotted NYC...

 

 

Cheers NB

[Martijn Meerts]

The Japanese book store is pretty cool.. Bought a real nice book with various Japanese layouts in it with some great pictures. Funny enough, a Japanese book about Japanese N-scale bought in a Japanese book store is my main souvenir from New York :)  (I did buy something New York-ish from the Disney store for my sister, so that doesn't really count :))

 

 

I was pretty beat after Bernard showed me around, but it was great. I've seen so much more of New York than I would have if I'd have walked around there on my own. Of course, I was only there for a day and a half just about, which is nowhere near enough :)

 

 

If you're up to taking a trip outside of the New York, I really enjoyed the Pennsylvania rail road museum. Might be difficult getting there without a car though since it felt to me like it was in the middle of nowhere. Of course, much of America feels like it's in the middle of nowhere if you're used to a fairly densely packed country like the Netherlands :)

 

The ride in the steam train they've got going there was great, and the open turkey sandwich on the train was even better 

[Tecchan]

Thanks a thousand times! :-)

 

I won't railfan a lot mostly because I don't have much interest in US trains and also because I go with my girlfriend and I don't think that she would enjoy it a lot. :-D

But I'll check the various stores and definitely visit the book shop! I hope I can find books and magazines about trains.

 

And of course we'll go to Grand Central, it's a must see if you visit NYC.

We won't have the occasion to go outside a lot, we'll try to Brooklyn and a boat trip around but for long trips around the coast, we'll have to go back! ;-)

 

Anyway, thanks to you all for the tips! :-)

[cteno4]

kumo,

 

simple boat rides are ferries to ellis island, statue of liberty, they then beg to spend some time there at the attraction though, or even staten island which you can do in like 1.5 hrs over and back. there are also dinner and cocktail cruises, but these can be expensive and cheesie. its also good to get on the water to realize how much of nyc area is water and its big part of its history. nowdays with the big buildings you can visit nyc and really not realize its surrounded by water!

 

central park is also great, nice place to wander around. just off the park near the nat history museum there are many cafes as well that are in great areas to sit out and watch the world go by.

 

ive been to the city many times and its great as each visit i really do find something new and it always feels like a new trip each time!

 

enjoy!

 

jeff

[Bernard]

Ellis Island is a wonderful boat trip...better than the Statue of Liberty but they are a package deal on the boat trip so do both.

There is also a "Circle Line Cruise" around Manhattan that the last time I took it....(15 years ago) was very informative on the history of NY and landmarks to see when in Manhattan.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Of course, if you just want to see Ellis Island and the Statue of liberty without visiting them, then the Statten Island Ferry is well worth taking a trip on. Added bonus...it's free. You also get a cracking view of the Manhattan skyline thrown in.

 

I spent a week there last year, which included such diversions as a Ghostbusters tour...unofficial, just something we put together after a few minutes on the web, getting Art Deco overload and walking all the way from Battery park to Grand Central station; there were some sore feet after that one! 

[Lawrence]

We were in NY a few years ago and went into Red Caboose, really not that obvious where it is and strange opening hours, but a real Aladdin's cave once you are down there, easily 2 or 3 hours worth of browsing.  When we were there, practically right opposite (up some stairs) was another train shop that was in its infancy and I actually picked up a few bits in there, sorry but the name escapes me.

[Bernard]

The train store across the street from Red Caboose was very good but very expensive.....they carried top quality items and had a lot of Kato Japanese stock. Unfortunately they went "out of business" and the Red Caboose bought them out.

 

 

We were in NY a few years ago and went into Red Caboose, really not that obvious where it is and strange opening hours, but a real Aladdin's cave once you are down there, easily 2 or 3 hours worth of browsing.  When we were there, practically right opposite (up some stairs) was another train shop that was in its infancy and I actually picked up a few bits in there, sorry but the name escapes me.

[ed1303vw]

Hi all,

i have been to many cities in the USA,

SFO,LAS,LAX,ORD,NYC,BOS,

also i have been to many European cities, i have always done my homework regarding the location of Train /Hobby stores,

HOWEVER NEVER have i seen such a range as i did when i visited TOYKO

what a place, suitcase overflowed,

i even went back on the last day of my holiday and spent the last bit of cash i had....

regards

ed 

[cteno4]

Japan seems to have a much larger adoption of hobbies than elsewhere in the world and thus the LHS is alive and well. making things also seems to be part of the culture more as i was always amused at folks sitting waiting for diner and they would be building some little toy or figure from one of the 100Y machines, even with a date there! something you dont see adults doing at all here in the states! even admitting to having hobbies like trains etc is many times seen as childish by many.

 

the internet does not seem to have done the same damage in Japan as elsewhere to the LHS. I was amazed in my trips to Japan where and when i would run across a small doorway to a tiny shop that was some form of hobby shop. usually a couple of people hanging out, always struck me as a big missing part of our culture in the last decade or two. as a kid in the 60s and early 70s i use to hang at our town's two main hobby shops all the time. i could spend hours looking at things and new all the staff well. they would tolerate me as they knew that they got virtually every penny i made at odd jobs (and i made more money than most all my age with good work and willing to do more time at it).

 

im surprised how many friends i have that have no real hobbies. i pity them when they retire and i see its a missing part of our social fabric.

 

almost all the hobby shops in the dc are are gone except for one chain and R/C is the main thing now, with a smattering of trains and models. i still try to support them as i think ive probably bought just about every form of evergreen styrene strip stock from them over the years as well as paints, tubing etc. unfortunately their train stuff is start american n so nothing i would buy and no unitrak anymore.

 

jeff

[ed1303vw]

http://youtu.be/1akpxXD8KfQ