World's Largest Model Train Store closing its doors...

It's been coming for decades. Shift in demographics. Ironically, trains themselves aren't going anywhere!! They are alive and kicking and the cheapest way to move goods. :)
 
I think hobby stores in general are getting scarce. I'm in eastern Long Island, and we just lost another one, so if I'm correct, only Willis Hobbies, Bay Shore Hobbies, Men-At-Arms and a train store in Freeport (can't remember the name...)are left.... As a kid, they were all over the place, now they are a rarity. Seems the internet has become the main source for kits, but there's something special about digging through piles of stuff and finding that rare kit!
 
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Not only that, but all of the various Supplies and trinkets the Hobby stores usually had; the big bins of K/S sheet Brass & Aluminum, the sheet Styrene bins, Books, mini 'egg' Airliners... and, it was all touchy feely, too!

Alan :sticktongue:
 
I think that this hobby will continue on a smaller basis with people doing pieces as you need them. 3D printers, simple, small CNC lathes and CNC millers, and new molding techniques will change the hobby. The Trains hobby may get smaller, but people want to make things. As the smaller self contained computers like the "Raspberry Pi", and the "Arduinio" come down in price, they hobby will become more sophisticated. I truly believe it is from this that great things will be discovered. The combination of everything coming to market, these powerful quad core computer chips sitting around doing nothing are begging for an application. :)
 
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