Engine House Hobbies

1A East Diamond Ave
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
301-590-0816  

Copyright 2010 by K. Ferlic,   All Rights Reserved

Engine House Hobbies is located at the corner of East Diamond Avenue and Chestnut Street at the entrance of historic  Old Towne Gaithersburg, Maryland on the corner of Chestnut and East Diamond. The building is an old restored cannery serviced by the B&O railroad (now CSX) along the mainline out of Washington DC going west. As such, it is an ideal location to come and watch many of the CSX freight, AMTRAK passenger and MARC commuter trains from inside or outside the store. Or, simply watch the trains run on the in store 7' x 10' layout.  Train watchers of all ages welcome. Buyers appreciated

Goal and Philosophy: The goal and philosophy of Engine House Hobbies is to service the creative needs of the model railroader, train enthusiast, train collector and creative spirit of any hobbyist and to provide you with the answers to the questions you have.  Trains, and the interest in trains, is seen only as the vehicle for fulfilling a deeper creative need.  It is fully expected individuals will surf the web and visit train shows looking for the cheapest price. However, those who are serious about the hobby, about trains and nourishing their creativity look for a place to share their ideas, interests and have their unique needs fulfilled at a place to which they can always return and feel at home. Throughout the years Engine House Hobbies has become such a place. Engine House Hobbies looks to continue to service those needs and the passion which gives rise to the interest in trains.

Product lines: Engine House Hobbies carries a wide range of train and train related products for a variety of scales and useful in other creative endeavors. Included are: Woodland Scenics, Scenic Express, Floquil, MTH, Lionel, Williams, Gargraves, Ross, Athearn, Bachmann, Walthers, Atlas, Life Like, AristoCraft, Kalmback Kadee, Arttista, Plastruck, Evergreen, Weaver, Model Power, DPM, Dremel, Xacto, Priser, Faller, Pine Cars, AAA wire, and many others.

Sales:  All store merchandise/inventory is available for sale in store, email, phone orders and snail mail. All internet orders will be processed over the telephone. The Engine House Hobbies web site is not currently equipped to take credit cards.

Pricing and discounts: In general, discounts are used to move products, for volume/quantity discounts and reward loyalty.  Engine House Hobbies will use discounts to move products and reward loyalty. Engine House Hobbies does not normally move the volume of products warranting discounts. As noted above the buyer is free to surf the web for the cheapest price available. 

Merchandise items in production or routinely produced requiring restock are posted on the web with a dollar value with the year posted on the web followed a "CC." The "CC" reflect the price charged will be the current manufacture catalog. For example, a track item may be listed as "$2.00 as of 2010/CC."  Pricing for all other items and in store purchases are as posted on the item.

Merchandise and Inventory: Engine House Hobbies carries carries a variety of roadnames in O and HO. However, we look for current and former railroads local to the Maryland - Washington DC - Virginia area such a the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O), Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O), Chessie System, CSX, Western Maryland (WM), Norfolk Southern (NS), Pennsylvania (PRR), CONRAIL, Amtrack, MARC, Virginia Rail Express (VRE), Richmond Fredericksburg and Potomac (RF&P), Southern, Maryland Midland, Winchester and Western, and the Maryland and Pennsylvania (Ma and Pa). Of course, this includes many of the railroads absorbed in the many railroad mergers which occurred  over time such the New Your Central (NYC), Delaware and Hudson (D&H), Pittsburgh and Lake Erie, Seaboard Coast Line, Louisville and Nashville (L&N) and such.

Viewed from a perspective other than roadnames, there are three types of store merchandise/inventory: the basics, the new stuff and the staples.

The basics: The basics are the essentials one needs to set up and run a train set or construct a layout and keep it running including scenery, tools glues and the like. These items we try to always have in stock. They are listed on the inventory list entitled "The Basics" available by clicking here.  If you are looking for these types of materials, check our list and see if we have what you want. Posted prices may vary according to manufacture price increases.

The new stuff: This category of merchandise is reflective of two types of materials which continually spark people's interest. One type is material better known as new arrivals and available in MTH, Lionel and other manufacture "preorder" catalogs and are released at various times throughout the year. The second type are new items not previously produced or better known as "new products." These items are found on the "New Arrivals and New Products List"  available by clicking here

The staples: The staples are the items the store carries of interest to the cliental but varies from time to time. These items may or may not be restocked in the future. Items of this category are posted on "The Staples Inventory" but only if there are sufficient items or of a sufficient dollar value warranting the time to post the items.  If you are looking for something and we seem to carry something similar or related, call or send an email. We may have what you are looking for but have not taken the time to post the item on the web.

Repair Service and upgrades: MTH authorized  and Lionel Authorized repair services along with HO repairs are available through Engine House Hobbies.  Engine House Hobbies also performs upgrades on MTH engines from Proto-Sound 1 to Proto-Sound 2.

Locator Service: To help individuals find products no longer readily available, a locator service is offered through Engine House Hobbies. Click here for a discussion of this service and items currently being sought.

Consignment Service: Good to mint condition are posted on consignment from time to time. Click here for a discussion of this service and items currently available.

Consultation:  Two types of consultations are available. One is free in store consultation and advice on trains, layout design and construction and creativity related topics addressing basic issues and problems. The other is paid consultation tailored to the individual creative needs whatever they may be. Available services do include layout construction and operational problem  troubleshooting with the individual or for the individual.

How do I .....

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