Strictly speaking; best model train store in Bay Area Santa Clara County Silicon Valley: Pretty rare to find model train stores in this area. Various amount selections of model train souvenirs, but pretty pricey; although worth it if you're fascinated. Been shopping here for decades since I was a minor: owners Dennis and Karen were nice, helpful, and knowledgable. Service was great to decent. Parking was so easy at the plaza. Shop looks obviously rustic and unique; be aware that there is no AC inside the shop; a hot day will seem hotter inside: fortunately, you may browse through the shop. Certainly worth visiting if you're in Santa Clara county. Absolutely returning here again soon! read more

Please consider my ideas if you are monitoring Yelp. Create a great window display to draw customers in. Lower shelf height and do not put stock near floor. Align shelves with lighting. Use bright LED tube lights to illuminate merchandise on shelves. Cfeate a small store layout as an example of a doable for newbies. - Woodland Scenics would be good since they come in N and HO. Fun to hear train sounds and see train signs. Let more natural light in. Engage with customers and use signage to direct them. Tell them why it's better to buy from you than online. Just my 2 cents! read more

My son and I have been in there twice. Since we don't have another shop in the area and we're trying to support brick and mortar shops. They don't have much in the way of O Gauge, which is the scale we run, but that's it my issue. They have plenty of items in other scales. My issue was the unkindness from both the man and women working there. If you know what you need and where to find it, you'll be fine. They don't seem to have the time or patience to answer questions. Even with no other customers in the store. read more

Great selection and service. Very personalized in that they will demonstrate the trains you are looking at on their track.

I visited the train shop. It's very nice shop and beautiful model trains. I brought the southern pacific sleep car and the freight train. Staffs are really nice and patient. My first time visited the train shop. I will visit again sometimes. I love trains a lot. read more

The store has alpt of variety but it is difficult to find help. I know they are nice folks at the store but it would've been nice if they offer me suggestions or ideas. The train store looks nice though but couldn't find the right parts I needed. read more

See all

Not the selection that they had before the pandemic and the prevalence of on-line ordering, but a very knowledgeable and helpful staff. My hobby store of choice. I have been going there for decades. read more

Was here not long ago, mostly just to visit to see what selection they had of locos as I'd recently gotten back into the hobby with the club I was invited to. Very diverse selection, and to say it lightly it's honestly a better one than many other stores I've been too. But I've also read the reviews before heading to this place. Personal experience? It was fine, I was mostly browsing, I was greeted and told goodbye, however I did get the feeling that I was being watched the entire time around, I wanted to snap some photos of what they had for future reference and a potential future purchase but felt genuinely uncomfortable with that persistent feeling (never had this happen to me at hobby stores). Was asked a few light-hearted questions, but unless you know what you're getting and ready to spend some money, I would not come here, the stores in Roseville and Concord, although not as diverse with their selection of locos, I still had a better experience with. I hope this store changes for the better if I ever do decide to swing by again and perhaps my review will change. read more

The Train Shop - Hobby Shops Near Me - Santa Clara, California

This store is dying. No more new stuffs. Most shelves were empty when I was there at Xmas time. Look like they will be out of business soon.

I've been coming to this train store for nearly two decades, being passed down hobby from my father who unfortunately passed away. This type of store is a dying breed and unfortunately I think this store is near its end of time. I recommend anyone if they have a chance to, to check it out. read more

I don't know of any other train store in the Bay Area as good today. Their selection is great and their expertise is very good. Service is not entirely personable. I feel like they are both tired of the business and treat me like I need them more than they need me. I'd hate to lose the resource but it feels like they are ready to hang it up. read more

Visited on a Wednesday at 4:00pm - no other customers in the store yet neither person behind the counter greeted me or offered to assist. Walking through the very very HOT store (no AC), it was a weird experience - virtually no trains in any scale on display, few accessories disorganized, and many shelves entirely empty. There were lots of books that appear to have been there since the 1970s. Clearly, a sad dying business with indifferent customer service. Nothing like the Original Whistle Stop, which I visited less than a year ago on a trip to Pasadena. 100% opposite, in fact. read more

Have a wide assortment of supplies for the hobby. They don't sell the cheaply made stuff that disappoints after a few usages.

The Train Shop has always been a great shop, and to be honest a local gem. Its surprising to see a thriving hobby shop these days, and to see a specialty hobby shop doing well is great! My advice to those that have struggled with customer service here. Yes indeed, you should do your home work. It's a Mom & Pop shop, and they can't know everything. Sadly there are so many manufacturers, variances and tolerances between brands, that they really just can't be told "well I have this gauge" and be able to go from there. Not to mention, many train builds, the person building generally has an idea and doesn't want to be told "oh you should do this and that". Take a breath, have as much info as you can, or even bring one of the items in with you. It'll help more than you know. read more

I want to say that I never post negative reviews on Yelp. I went there today and had a very negative experience. To mirror JC R s experience, Karen took one look at me and dismissed me as an idiot with no provocation whatsoever other than I am relatively young (57) and attractive for a man (not their core demographic, whatever that is). I was ready to drop $5K on a DCC system until she dissed me for no reason. I am the customer. She is the seller. Maybe act like it? Instead I spent 40 bucks on two books. After I read them I guess I will be qualified to grace them with my presence? There were empty shelves in this place and they rung me up an dittos. The end is nearer than you might think. Sad to say. How you treat a stranger should be the measure of your business, not how you treat a long awaited friend. read more

I inherited a large amount of my grandfathers HO train collection and want to build a setup for my son. We came here to ask some questions and get some rail, controllers and other items on order. I was basically told to do my research on the internet and figure out what we needed and they could order it for me once I have part numbers. The reason I am at my local retailer, dealing with their restrictive hours and paying a premium price, is to use THEIR experience. Thats the point of having a local retailer, isn't it? If I have to do all the work myself figuring out what parts work together, I'll just order them online too and save a bunch of money that I can ill afford to waste. Id like to have a local shop to go to, but if they go out of business it won't bother me any. I'll never bring my son here again. We will just shop on the internet. read more

This some has a good inventory of HO but if you're looking for N scale it's limited. The reason for the 1 star is that they couldn't be any less interested or ruder if they tried. The woman working there has zero customer service and is just plain rude. You'll be ignored and treated like an inconvenience for wanting to make a purchase! I've expedited this 3 times at the store and won't ever go back. read more

Trains! Old school shop with scale trains and all the accessories you want for the train set builder in you! I don't buy anything but they will help you and know what you mean should you explain your old school or modern train set! Been there a long while so I'm sure lots of enthusiasm abounds in the area to support this shop! I'm glad that this kind of place still exists and hope they continue to do well! read more

Stopped by to check out their selection of H0 scale rolling stock, was happy with both the variety and quality of rolling stock available. Would return for future purchases. read more

very great store had a very wide selection of trains. Most of them DCC sound for good deals. Definitely will go here again!

I've been here twice and both times it was the exact same experience. I may as well have been a ghost. Nobody even acknowledged that I had walked in the door. I guess if you're not somebody they are good friends with they pretend you aren't there. Even if you're standing at the register to purchase an item they take their sweet time getting over there. I bought a couple of small N scale rolling stock. I should have just put the pieces back and walked out, they clearly don't want or need my business. Aren't hobbies about spreading the joy of the hobby and not some elitist attitude? read more

I like this place. A lot. I am primarily an HO scaler and I am really into Southern Pacific and Union Pacific models - anything really that goes through and has Bay area history in railroads and this shop has a wonderful selection of all the road names. I also have friends and family who have worked for BNSF so I am happy they have lots of models for those road names as well. I've acquired primarily Southern Pacific and Union Pacific steam and diesel locomotives in both HO and N scale and lots of rolling stock and accessories from the Train shop and they have always had the best models and selection in stock and ready to go. I like how they will always run the locomotives for you and sort out any DCC issues before you walk out the door with your haul. I recently got into N scale and they have a massive selection in stock so its very easy to dive in and get all of your gear from here. You can get a simple $99 dollar DC locomotive here all the way to a high-dollar $1000+ rivet accurate model that blows smoke and has more prototypical features than you have time to learn about. All of the models in pics were obtained at the train shop! read more

See all

Very cool place to get just about anything you need to build a train set. The Train shop has stuff for all levels of train enthusiast. From motor cars to different color sands to build your little town. They also have a lot of special tools for you builds. If you are into trains I'd definitely check this place out read more

The Train Shop - Hobby Shops Near Me - Santa Clara, California

This place totally rocks! I've been going here for 20 years now .. sheesh.. that's older than most of you that are probably reading this!! As an avowed model railroader, and unabashed train nut, there is no better train-oriented hobby shop west of Denver than this place! 1) Discounts: Everything is discounted about 10-15% off list, if not more, 2) the book selection is UNparalleled, even when compared against the Calif. State RR Museum Bookstore up in Sacramento. 3) Heavy and deep stocks of HO, N, O, S and G scale MODEL trains, and an excellent selection of Thomas the Tank Engine toy trains for the little kiddies too. No toys, except for Thomas.. Just model trains that adults are into filling their basement empires with! For HO scalers, the selection of Athearn, Atlas, Walthers freight cars and locos is unparalleled. N scale and G scale excellent stocks as well. I can't think of another shop in NorCal that has as much N or LGB as this place. Service is great, but then, the owners finally took me in and smile at me now.. probably because I might as well direct-deposit my paycheck there. Caveat: Just don't go looking for Lionel toy trains here, that tinplate stuff is for other places like Tinplate Junction (Oakland,CA) or Loco-Boose in Redwood City. Summary: This place is like Costco for model train nuts.. NOT to be missed. read more

My toddler son may be way too young to go here but because he's been fascinated with trains since he started playing I thought it'll be cool to bring him here. Tons of trains definitely. A collectors candy store. I understand that we wont afford to get any of the trains or maybe we dont know anything about the collectors trains but I honestly think we couldve been attended to nicely. We didnt get any greeting, asked if we needed help or what not. The place is kinda stuffy, I think the things they sell should be a bit organized. I felt bad for my son for coming down here. read more

First time coming to this shop. They have a good selection HO and N. I saw they have O and G scales too. Will definitely coming back!

A wonderful collection for young and old, with a clearly very loyal base of customers.

Great place and a great huge selection train stuff love it!!! They always have what I need and the prices are reasonable read more

This model train store is probably one of the best in NorCal! I've been to most of the train stores in NorCal and this one has got to be the best! They offer really cool models that are hard to find and have them for good prices. Not to mention the owner is very nice. read more

The Train Shop - Here's one of the models I got from them. The usual price for these are $200-$220 and they were selling them for $175! - Hobby Shops Near Me - Santa Clara, California

This is quite honestly, one of the last really fun shops around! I'm not a train geek; I'm a miniaturist, working in quarter scale. The first time I went into the shop, the answers at the outset were brief, but I was pointed in the right direction (quarter scale, or 1/48 scale, I have since learned is O gauge). And once the owner figured out what I was after, he was very helpful. Was he falling all over himself and chatty? Nope. But then, why would I want that? I like to browse; take my time. And now that I'm doing some cottages for a friend's OO gauge layout, I expect that The Train Shop will see a lot more of me. read more

I experienced the worst customer service in this store. I asked if they had HO tracks couplers. He pointed to a wall of accessories in sealed paper bags behind the counter and said, "saw them, there are hundreds of them". He said that I asked "clueless questions". I asked why the hooks are sold in 2 pairs of 4 singles. I was told "a pair would mean 2. Like your socks, they come in pairs. And a left and a right". But a train cart only need 2 hooks each. Why insult someone for every question one asks? Their locomotives are marked with only a price with nothing about their key features, but I dared not to ask. Their railcars are in what appear to be fairly aged boxes, which tells me they haven't been sold for a long time. I wish they alerted me of THEIR expectation of customers before I entered. Obviously all the complaints about their customer service was true to form. I teach marketing. I will do a class project by sending my university students there to experience what a textbook case of rude and insulting customer service feels like. read more

Pretty good train shop if you are looking for KATO's or American trains. If you are looking for British Railway/German/French/Italian, you may need to look somewhere else for it. But the Service is 10/10. But the reason i putted 4 stars because their customer service is not the best when calling them. Just go there and get what you need. read more

I stop by during my lunch today. I periodically pick up items here and today I was going to purchase an engine,Broadway limited Steamer. I asked if I can be helped, even though I have been standing there for the last 10 minutes waiting. The lady behind the counter was very short with me and acted as though I was a bother to her even though this is the business she's in I asked To see the engine I wanted and she proceeded to put it on the test track which I actually didn't ask her to do. I just wanted to see it out of the case. she ran it, but it was derailed, and after she stopped the train, I went to put it back and she told me don't touch it. Then she proceeds to ask. Are you going to take this home with you today? At that point I was done with her being rude, the other gentleman behind the counter asked me what was wrong and I just told him I was done with giving you guys second and third chances. This place will go out of business eventually unfortunately, because it has some cool stuff in there. read more

I've been coming to this store for years. Traveling 2.5-3 hours. Their prices are competitive and at times you can get a good deal. Dennis (I believe that's his name) is very knowledgeable and will go out of his way to get you what you want. You have to have an idea of what you want. There are a lot of makes and models out there and they do not want to sell you something you won't like. I really like this shop and it's no wonder why they've been in business for so long. (40+ yrs.) read more

What a terribly disappointing experience. We have visited the store for years, spending hundreds of dollars on sets, but tonight the owner rudely and sarcastically confronted my 13-year-old son for taking a couple of photos. There is no sign about this apparent policy, as we certainly would have respected it. When I asked about such a sign, the owner quickly became hostile and condescending. He ended by refusing to let us purchase the $50 in paint we had picked out. Honestly he did me a favor: although I will regret no longer visiting the store, I don't want to support a person or business like that. read more

Nice to have an old time chat with (knowledgeable) people about model train accessories if you're a "N" scale railroader. they have the often needed "Bits and Pieces" of track straight and curve track. and great customer service. Triple O G (AMTRK). James mason 06/23/2023 read more

Don't come here expecting to get information or help in picking out anything. We came in looking to buy a train set, but didn't know much about he various brands and sizes. You would think they would jump on the chance to make a $200+ sale and get someone interested in a hobby that would keep them coming back to buy more accessories in the future. The 2 people working would hardly answer any of our questions let alone explain anything, or give suggestions. We walked out very frustrated. So much for supporting a small business, they obviously don't care. read more

This place has stuff I need, so I come, I buy it, I leave. I will echo what others have said: they are not friendly here at all, it's palatable. I come here often for terrain for mini war gaming, which these guys don't know anything about, so I just grab what I want and buy it, never asking questions. I can imagine if you are just getting into model trains and want to ask questions that this would not be the place to go, but they have a lot of great hobby supplies in stock. read more

Took my very excited five year old into The Train Shop today and we had a great experience. I don't yelp much but I felt I needed to give this place a good review. The owners and staff were friendly and very kind to my son, who can be really loud when he is extremely excited. We will be supporting this shop. read more

The Train Shop - My son was in heaven. - Hobby Shops Near Me - Santa Clara, California

I brought a couple trains in to see if they could be identified and the owner of the place was extremely rude and basically ran me out of the shop. I have a large collection and I'm new to this type of hobby. This is the closest train shop to my house only a few miles away and will never step foot in this place again. The people who run this place are extremely rude and even called one of my trains I brought in shitty. Looks like they have a lot of nice things in there but I won't be coming back. Horrible customer service! read more

The Train Shop - The Train Shop - Hobby Shops Near Me - Santa Clara, California