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A visit to Discount Model Trains in Addison, Texas MRH forum help
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Prolific poster 1,515 posts dkaustin Prolific poster 1,515 posts
dkaustin

My wife and I are visiting in North Dallas again.  We are staying in Addison, Texas on Addison Road.  She is taking a certification course in home staging. I'm free to explore Dallas all day. A quick search on the Internet turned up Discount Model Trains which just happens to be 5 minutes from the hotel.  This hobby shop is all trains. No RC planes and cars. It is large, clean and modern as well as organized. I have not stepped in such a hobby shop in years.  It was a little overwhelming. I felt like a kid in a candy store. They have a large scale layout and an HO layout too.

Every scale is represented. It was mentioned that they have nearly 50,000 items in stock. I dropped some money on Peco On30 switches.  I know I will be returning. I am just a happy customer who stood in awe!

Den

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     Dennis Austin located in NW Louisiana


 
Reply 4
slsfrr Regular poster 106 posts
slsfrr

Discount Model Trains

DMT is about the only hobby shop left in the DFW area. There is Model Train Crossing in Bedford/Fort Worth, Angelo's in Fort Worth and Silver Spike (I believe that is the name of it) in Denton. There are some others but these are the main ones. Discount Model Trains reminds me of a miniature Caboose Hobbies. Alas, moving to Oklahoma City I had to leave all those behind.

Jerome, Oklahoma City

 
Reply 3
Geared Steam Frequent poster 633 posts
Geared Steam

Yep Dennis

I have to agree, I stop every time I'm in town. A great train shop. 

-Deano the Nerd

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein

http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/

[two_truckin_sig_zps05ee1ff6%2B%25281%2529]
Reply 3
Ken Biles Greyhart Frequent poster 551 posts
Ken Biles Greyhart

Big Train Stores

Quote:

Discount Model Trains reminds me of a miniature Caboose Hobbies. Alas, moving to Oklahoma City I had to leave all those behind.

I was just in Caboose today. It's been nearly a year since I stopped by, and I live in town. I was eyeing a Walthers water tower, when one of the guys came up and offered to get me a basket (I had several pieces of rolling stock under my arm). I told him I was good, and that I was just looking at the water tower, but I wished they made a kit. I have ideas for painting and detailing it like the water tower in the Old Towne part of a suburb. He beckoned me to follow him, and handed me a Tichy water tower kit.

You can get anything you like on the Internet, except a fellow modeler who knows what's available, and what shelf it's on. This is just one of the reasons the good model railroad hobby shops will stay in business.

 

 Ken Biles

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Reply 5
santafewillie Regular poster 101 posts
santafewillie

Super Store

Like Den said, like a kid in a candy store, Discount is a great place to shop. I generally use Silver Spike in Denton which is about 20 miles north since it is closer to where I live. He's a one man shop with much smaller inventory, but he can/will order anything you need and everything is 20% off, just like Discount. I still use Discount 4-5 times a year and Wayne there is the greatest. By the way, Discount would probably have 80,000 items in stock if Horizon and Atlas ever get their act back in gear.

willie
Reply 3
PTW New member 11 posts
PTW

Another great store

While I live in Houston, Tx, I travel on business extensively and when I can squeeze in a side trip, I sneak off to find local model train shops. I narrowly missed being able to see Caboose Hobbies in Denver two weeks back! One of my clients is in the Bay Area and I have discovered another true gem in Santa Clara - The Train Shop. Easily 4 times larger in square footage than anything we have locally with maybe 8 to 10 times as much inventory. I asked Mr. Cole why he didn't advertise on the web and he replied that he was busy enough as it was without worrying about the Internet! However, his prices are competitive with many on line sites and two phone orders came in while I was browsing. Though, I should plug Papa Ben's Trains, my LHS, as the gentlemen there are generous with their time and sage wisdom. If you are in the San Jose/ Santa Clara area, you really should stop by. I just started a new project in Milwaukee and look forward to dropping in on Walthers ... Patrick
Reply 4
CSXShenandoahSub Active Member 44 posts
CSXShenandoahSub

Discount Model Trains

I live about 3 hours west of DFW and have to go up there for work every month or two and make a pit stop there.  Since we do not have any hobby shops in Abilene it is as close as I can get (there is a few small mom and pops in San Angelo, TX that I frequent when I am there in business and pick up a few miss items).  I have had only great experience with them.  Most of our club members shop there too, and we will be back up there to visit a club friend where we are going to operate his layout, so a side trip is in store!  

Joe Stuart

http://www.facebook.com/CSXShenandoahSub
Reply 3
Loren Clarke lclarke1959 Regular poster 225 posts
Loren Clarke lclarke1959
More than 10 years since the OP first posted here and the store is still standing and open for business. I am a newbie to the DFW area and a friend invited me yesterday to the Dallas Area Train Show and afterwards a visit to this store. I love supporting small businesses but cringe at the thought of having to pay 15-30% more than online prices.  Anyways, I needed track for a new 11' x 16' HO Scale layout. My friend told me that on top of  a super knowledgeable staff, they also had great prices. I decided to trust him and proceeded with an over $500 purchase. Later that night, I checked what I bought against the prices at a half  dozen online companies. Everyone of the prices that I checked were lower at the physical store. I was very impressed and am now a believer. 
 
As an aside, the store is also of decent size and very well stocked. I will most certainly be making return visits.

Loren Clarke - Fort Worth, Texas

Modeling the Pittsburg & Shawmut railroad.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pittsburgh_shawmut_railroad/

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above". James 1:17
Reply 3
Dearborn Station Regular poster 209 posts
Dearborn Station
Before making a visit to a local hobby shop like Discount Model Trains, I would need to open a HELOC or, at least, increase the credit limit on my charge card.
 
At one time, I had three LHS within 20 minutes of my house, but they are all long gone. And I don't live anywhere near Dallas.
 
Rich
Reply 3
Popcorn Thad Regular poster 225 posts
Popcorn Thad
Thanks! I'll travel to Brownwood, Texas in April. I'll definitely stop at Discount Model Trains on the way.
Thad
Reply 3
SeeYou190 Prolific poster 1,482 posts
SeeYou190
What? I went to Dallas on business in December 2012, and again in 2015.
 
I never knew about this store. What a bummer to find out now.
 
-Kevin
Living the dream and happily modeling my STRATTON AND GILLETTE Railroad in HO scale. The SGRR is a freelanced Class A railroad as it would have appeared on Tuesday, August 3rd, 1954, in my personal fantasy world of plausible nonsense.
Reply 3
Loren Clarke lclarke1959 Regular poster 225 posts
Loren Clarke lclarke1959
What? I went to Dallas on business in December 2012, and again in 2015.
 
I never knew about this store. What a bummer to find out now.
 
-Kevin
If it makes you feel any better I was guided there by my copilot in the car. Pre-GPS, I would have had a hard time finding it. It is on a dead end side street right next to a small airport. Also, it doesn't look anything like a store and there are multiple businesses located in the same building. I think that their location is a big contributor into keeping the prices down. 

Loren Clarke - Fort Worth, Texas

Modeling the Pittsburg & Shawmut railroad.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pittsburgh_shawmut_railroad/

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above". James 1:17
Reply 3
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