Visiting Salt Lake City

[Day One]

I'm in Salt Lake City today thru Sunday and am looking for some recommendations on Hobby Shops to visit or other RR related things to do...

[SquirrelHollow]

I can't say that there's a single hobby shop I could recommend....   MRS Hobby was decent, but a recent move and catering to clubs has bumped them down the list a bit.  I used to love Douglas Models, as a kid... but, hear they're not so great any more (haven't been there for 15+ years).

Most of the hobby shops around here have gone to the dark side (RC cars, helis, planes, boats).  It can be difficult to find decent plastic model selections some times.


As far as 1:1 stuff -
If you have the time, Ogden's Union Station has the Utah State Railroad Museum, John M. Browning Firearms Museum, and Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum.

The Browning museum has many original prototypes of Browning's designs (if you're into guns, or the guy's mechanical genius).
The Railroad Museum has something like 36 locomotives, including a DD40, SD45, GE Turbine, 4-8-4, 2-6-0, RSD-15, 0-6-0, S-2, and 44 Tonner.
The Car Museum isn't huge, but does have some fairly rare automobiles - more than you would think are still running and driven (including the 1901(?) Olds.

If you don't have a car, UTA buses, Trax, and FrontRunner should be able to get you there.

[Nato]

  Other Railroad Related things to do. Drive up to Ogden and visit the Utah State Railroad Museum located in the Ogden Union Station. It is only an hours drive, unfortunately the Front Runner Commutter Train does not run up there on Sunday's. Phone me 801-277-0193 if I'am available get directions, drive to my house and see my layout. Nate Goodman (Nato).

[Puddington]

I was totally snubbed at Douglas Models a few years back.... three old guys hangin around wouldn't give a potential client who took a taxi to their store the time of day...... it appeared that common good manners and salesmenship was harder to find than a beer in SLC..............( and we did find that ! ;D)

The Union station is cool - make sure you see that !

[Dave Schneider]

Speaking of beer, while you are there make sure you try the Polygamy Porter. I had it at the bar in the SLC airport but I'm sure you can find it around town.

Best wishes
Dave

[Day One]

Thanks for the replies! I got busier with work than I thought I would and didn't really get much of a chance to get out. Now I'm back at my hotel after enduring a cold, wet, and snowy supercross race at Rice Eccless Stadium and have just a few hours in the morning to kill before my flight home.

Right now the hotel bar is calling my name so I will definitely check out the beer!

[Nato]

     Pud,Douglas Models does not exist anymore. MRS (Model Railroad Station) Hobby Shop mentioned in the first reply post bought Douglas Models about 4 years ago it is now a downtown branch of MRS. When I was a kid growing up in SLC Douglas was a regional distributor for a large part of the Intermountain West Utah, Idaho, parts of Nevada,as well as a retail store. They distributed plastic model kits to drug stores 5&Dime stores you could even purchase Globe later Athearn HO kits in my local drug store that were distributed by Douglas. Their old downtown store was a general purpose Hobby shop, planes, trains, plastic kits. They later instutited a policy of being open only from noon till six on week days when school was in session,also moved to a suburban local and began to go down hill. Not much of a selection of model trains and even less N Scale. It was several years after their move back down town that MRS bought the storeat least there is now a fairly decemt selection of trains including N. Yes even myself as a local young adult had the same expierence there, several old pharts (which I now am) BSing with the lone sales clerk and ignoring me. Nate Goodman (Nato).

[Puddington]

    Pud,Douglas Models does not exist anymore. MRS (Model Railroad Station) Hobby Shop mentioned in the first reply post bought Douglas Models about 4 years ago it is now a downtown branch of MRS. When I was a kid growing up in SLC Douglas was a regional distributor for a large part of the Intermountain West Utah, Idaho, parts of Nevada,as well as a retail store. They distributed plastic model kits to drug stores 5&Dime stores you could even purchase Globe later Athearn HO kits in my local drug store that were distributed by Douglas. Their old downtown store was a general purpose Hobby shop, planes, trains, plastic kits. They later instutited a policy of being open only from noon till six on week days when school was in session,also moved to a suburban local and began to go down hill. Not much of a selection of model trains and even less N Scale. It was several years after their move back down town that MRS bought the storeat least there is now a fairly decemt selection of trains including N. Yes even myself as a local young adult had the same expierence there, several old pharts (which I now am) BSing with the lone sales clerk and ignoring me. Nate Goodman (Nato).

I was there in 2003 I think and I was shocked at the reception I got.....sounds like I shouldn't feel "special"..... ;D

[AlkemScaleModels]

I recall a pretty decent MRR shop near the old trolley barn. I can't remember the address of the shop. The trolley barn is now a shopping mall. Is it still there?

[SquirrelHollow]

I recall a pretty decent MRR shop near the old trolley barn. I can't remember the address of the shop. The trolley barn is now a shopping mall. Is it still there?

Yea.  The mall is still there...  But, I don't know of any hobby shops worth mentioning.  A quick Google search (trying to jog my memory) didn't turn up anything, either.  (Didn't turn up any real hobby shops in the area.)

[Day One]

I initially did a google search for hobby shops and when the results came back pretty lack luster, I posted up here looking for suggestions. It sounds like I didn't really miss anything great as far as hobby shops go. That's OK though. I've had some really good luck the last month and my wallet can prove it. Houston had a great hobby shop with a TON of N (Papa Ben's Train Place) as did Seattle (The Train Center), St. Louis was a bust for N. If I'd been into O, St. Louis would have been a great place. As it was, the one place I visited was horrible. Walked in, no other customers there, guy behind counter didn't even look up when I said hello, and later when I did find something in N to purchase, I had to get him and have him turn on the breaker to the powered display case for the N stuff so I could retrieve the item myself. The shop keeper was too busy watching TV shows at full volume on his PC to take care of the only customer in the shop.

Nate, I would have loved to be able to see your layout but my schedule just didn't allow it. If I'm back there next year I'll try to plan ahead and make it happen.

Next weekend I'm heading to Vegas, anyone know of any hobby shops worth visiting there?

[Nato]

  MRS Hobby Shop in both Sandy (suburb) and Salt Lake is online, dispite comments in earlier posts does still have a fairly decent N selection and will match intrnet prices in their store on many items. The store that was at Trolley Square the renovated car barns was called World of Trains.may have had chain store connections did not last long as did many of the first gifty type shops in that developement, now being remodeled for I believe the fourth time and expanded in size. This store is not to beconfused with World of Trains and Ogden ,Utah shop thet still exists in reduced form. Missing the Railroad Museum however is too bad,or a visit to my layout. Nate Goodman (Nato).

[AlkemScaleModels]

The shop I was thinking of was not in the Trolley Bran Mall, but nearby. I seem to remember it was in what appeared to be a single family home. They had several rooms with different stuff. Pretty good N Scale selection, lots of books and mags. The guy there gave me a set of charts of a DRGW yard at Soldier Summit. It was on a N-S road on the west side.  I was there about 4 or 5 years ago.

FWIW there are no MRR hobby shops in Northern Va. There are a couple general purpose shops but nothing especially good for model RRs.