Good afternoon, mom wondering if there are any model train shops in or near Cape Girardeau. My son just took a new job there and my wife and will be spending time there so I was curious about any nearby hobby shops. trains1504
No, there are not. There is a florist shop in Scott City (Mason Grace) that has a small section of HO scale model railroad equipment (very basic stuff), and there is a full-line hobby shop in Marion, Illinois (Chuck's Depot), which is about an hour's drive from Cape. He has a couple of fairly impressive display layouts that are worth a look, but Chuck is quite elderly and his store hours are a bit limited. If you're planning a visit, best to call first. Other than that, nada. GS
Thanks all. I have been to Chuck’s. Nice guy but I agree stranger hours and not sure how much longer he can keep the shop. I will try to buy stuff before I head down. Thanks again. Trains1504
I used to make sporadic trips up there with Greg (along with a barbecue sandwich stop) and honestly I’m surprised he’s still keeping shop. Definitely a hold out from the “good old days”. I remember the Hobby Hole in downtown Cape Girardeau. You had to take a tight spiral stairway to go downstairs to get there. Now everything seems to be online. I guess I’m getting old.
Arn't we all. We used to have 2 full time train shops in Wichita and a couple of mixed shops. Now all we have is Hobbytown in anarea of about 1/2 million people.
Hobby Hole was on the southeast corner of Broadway and Ellis Street and that was inside a pharmacy, in the basement!
Ah! The good old days. Western Auto and………what was that other store close to Western Auto on Main St.?
A model railroad hobby shop is non-existent in my immediate circle (100 radius). The nearest hobby shop that also carries trains would probably be Tulsa, OK, some 127 miles from me. I do know there's a good hobby shop in North Little Rock, but North Little Rock is 190 miles away. I do miss being able to visit a nice hobby shop. I really miss my late friend David McDonald's "Golden Spike" train shop. Such wonderful memories of Dave, his shop, and especially the impromptu gab sessions with my model railroad friends that would happen to be there! Train forums such as these are great, but it's just not the same. Andre
