Hey 'yall! I'm a new member named Pete. I grew up in Carthage, MO and went to high school in south KC off the old KCS. I'm now 42 and I've been a cook/ chef on Amtrak for 21 years, and I now live in Seattle. About 22 tears ago I worked at Spotlight Model Trains in KC doing repairs, sales, and my own custom nscale modeling of '60's thru '80's. I don't do much modeling anymore because of work and living on a train half the time! -Pete
Pete: I can echo Karl's response about wasting a lot of time at Spotlight. This was "the" model train venue in Kansas City. They had everything. I would go there on a regular basis during my latter years of highschool and first years of college. This was in the mid 70's and very early 80's. So, I was probably right after Karl and before you, when I went there. The had lots of really cool brass HO steam locomotives at the time! I would just stand there and drool - dreaming of the day that I'd have a large basement (and bank account) to house and run them. I can't recll too many names of folks that worked there, but I do recall Art Pennington. He was a one-of-a-kind man who told you like it was. Unfortunately, Art's no longer with us, but lots of us have fond memories of him and the many hours we spent in that great train shop on Troost. Bob
Our son, daughter-in-law and our little granddaughter live in Olathe, KS. We are over there often. Are there any good model railroad shops left in the Kansas City area, either MO or KS? I've not tried to look up any model rr shops on prior visits, but would like to remedy that if there are any good ones that are remotely close to Olathe. I have found a good wine shop there, so all is not lost! I assume from your comments that Spotlight is no longer in business? Since we lost Tinkertown, Henze's, Dasho's and, long ago, Tom's Trains here in StL, we don't have much to offer. Alas! Ken ps - Olathe is kind of fun. Sure is lots of BNSF rolling through there!
Try Doc's Caboose on Union Street in the West Bottoms. It is close to Santa Fe Junction and has a good selection and great railfanning. There is one in Grandview (Show Me) and one in Buckner Mo. (J&L Hobbies). It is superb. However it is going out of business before this coming June. This will indeed be a sad day for the KC area modelers. I also remember fondly going to Spotlight, for me it was the late 70's early 80's. Besides all of the Brass items what sticks in my mind about it was the lack of parking and how nasty those postal workers across the street could get when someone transgressed on "their" parking areas. I too had a lot of good times there. Bob Wintle Parsons, Ks.
I just saw this thread and first of all agree with Bob's comments about the KC Hobby Shop scene. Concerning Spotlight Railroad, my memories actually go back a little further than the other posters. I was fortunate to be able to go in there as a boy in the late 50's and early 60's because it was on the route of my parents when they stopped at another store each time we went to KC. We actually stayed downtown and that was during the height of the Lionel displays at the big department stores there. There was actually a large toy store downtown named Joe Falk Toys that had a large layout in the basement that could be viewed and run 24 hours a day through a slot in the front window by putting your hand on a black spot. My original memories of Spotlight was that it had a showroom with three distinct areas. On the north side was HO, on the back wall was Lionel, and on the south wall was the O Scale Craftsman car kits, etc. that were a big part of the hobby at that time. In later years the shop was expanded and was mainly HO oriented. There was a man that worked there that had a beard that had been at Joe Falk's before that whom I remember well. An Old Timer once told me there was more stock (Lionel mainly) in the back room that anyone could ever imagine during those glory days of the 50's & 60's. Bob Hoover FriscoFriend
