Mail-Order Dealers

These dealers are known to specifically sell Z-scale products. Contact the specific dealer for details, or see Manufacturers for more information on specific products. Please keep in mind that I've put all I know on this page; I don't have any additional information. Feel free to write me if you have any additions or corrections to this page.

Look below (scroll down) for Local Hobby Shops, eBay links, and advice on finding stuff on the web.

Dealer	Country	Comments (based on personal experience)
Annie Jewel & Charlie's Kids	USA	Good prices
Aspen Model	USA	Sells Westmodel
Bob's Model Railroad Supplies	USA
Caboose Hobbies	USA
Cleemann	Germany
Curthel Enterprises	USA
Discount Train and Hobby	USA	Great prices and great service
DutchHobbyWorld	Netherlands	Sells Artitec
Eisenbahn Treffpunkt	Germany
Ektro Trains	Canada
Engine House Hobbies	USA
Euro Model Trains	USA
Euro Rail Hobbies	Canada	Sells Heico, Viessmann
Father Nature Model Railroad Specialties	USA	Sells PennZee hoppers and N-scale shells
Feather River Trains	USA	Sells Robert Ray kits & Micro-Trains
H & R Trains	USA
Helmuts Hobby Specialties	USA	Sells Marklin Z and PennZee hoppers, good Viessmann installation guide
Hobby Crafts N More	USA
Jim's Hobby	USA	Great prices and great service
Josti-Data Hobby	Denmark
KHM Modellbahnen	Germany
Kramer Road Hobbies	USA	Sells AZL, FR, MTR, & Full Throttle
Kuhn Eurobahn Trains	USA
LokShop	Germany	Great prices and great service, sells Heico Marklin Z photo library
Micro Macro Mundo Inc.	USA
The Model Train Place	USA
Modellbahn Kramm	Germany
Modellbahn Ott	USA
Modellbahnecke M.Weiss	Germany
Nathan's Trains & Toys	Australia
New England Hobby	USA
Norm's Train World	USA	Sells Micro-Trains
Reynauld's Euro-imports	USA
RJF Trains	USA
Scholz	Germany	Sells Railex, Westmodel, Freudenreich Feinwerktechnik, Heico, MZZ
Spielwaren Hess	Germany	Sells second-hand
Ted's Toys and Trains	USA
Watts' Train Shop	USA
Westend Toronto Trains	Canada	Great prices and great service
Z.Scale.Hobo	USA
Z und Meer	Germany
Zscale Monster Trains	USA	Sells Micro-Trains, Full Throttle, Robert Ray, Micron Art, Miller Engineering, American Z Lines, Swiss Z Lines, and other hard-to-find items; great prices and quick service

Local Hobby Shops

Mail order may be convenient, but it will never replace the satisfaction of real hobby shops. This is a list of hobby shops worth visiting that carry Z-scale products, sorted by ZIP code. It's my hope that visitors will submit their local shops so that this can become a useful directory - especially for those who may be travelling. Feel free to write me if you have any additions or corrections to this page.

Hobby Shop	Location	Comments
Willis Hobbies	300 Willis Ave. Mineola NY 11501-1521 (516) 746-3944	Medium selection of Marklin Z track and rolling stock
Caboose, Inc.	208 Wall Street Huntington, NY 11743 (516) 427-8288	Meduim selection of Marklin Z track and rolling stock; some used; will order parts at a discount
J & D Railway	522A Walt Whitman Rd Melville, NY 11747 (516) 427-8117	Large selection of Marklin Z track, Medium selection of rolling stock
Spring Crossing	1420 Spring Cypress (@ I-45N) Spring, TX 77373 (281) 353-9484	Good selection
Loco Boose Electric Trains	260 D Main St. Redwood City CA 94063-1733 (650) 368-1254	Open only 3 days a week, but good Z selection
Franciscan Hobbies	1920-A Ocean Avenue San Francisco, CA 94127 (415) 584-3919	Very little Z, some scenery
Trucks and Trains	4237 Montgomery Drive Santa Rosa, CA, 95405 (707) 537-6586
Railroad Hobbies	119 Vernon St. Roseville CA 95678-2630 (916) 782-6067	A few shelves of Z; Marklin & Micro-Trains
Bruce's Trains	2828 Marconi Ave Sacramento, CA 95821 (916) 485-5288	One shelf of Micro-Trains Z; some desktop sets
Scheffel's Toys	P.O. Box 626, 180 West California Street Jacksonville, Oregon, 97530 (541) 899-7421
Eastside Trains	217 Central Way Kirkland, Wa 98033 (425) 828-4098	Good selection of sets, rolling stock, track, structures; no MTL
Magic Mouse Toys	603 First Ave Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 682-5007	Good Marklin selection
The Train Center	1463 Elliott Ave W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 283-7886	Some Micro-Trains
Pacific Railway Hobbies	9525 Gravelly Lake Dr. Lakewood WA 98499-1513 (253) 581-4453	Some Micro-Trains, Marklin
John's Trains and Hobbies	2188 Danforth Avenue Toronto, Ontario Canada M4C 1K3 (416) 421-1850	Some Marklin, consignment

eBay

eBay is a great place to buy -- and sell -- new and used Z-scale products. It's especially good for obtaining hard-to-find, discontinued, or even second-hand trains and accessories. If you've never used eBay before, you're in for a treat.

• Z-scale Category (eBay USA)
• Z-scale Category (eBay Deutschland)
• Model Trains Theme Page (eBay USA)

Finding stuff on the web

Here are some tips on finding specific products on the web, for the purposes of both information gathering and making a purchase:

• The first thing I do when I'm trying to locate a particular item to check eBay; not only am I likely to get a deal, but if I find the item for sale, it's essentially a guarantee that the seller has it in stock, and that (if I win the auction), I'll have the item in my hands within a week.

• My next step is to check with my favorite online retailers and local hobby shops to see if they're having any specials. For more difficult-to-obtain items, just having it in stock is enough to make me happy.

• Use Google to search the web for the part or manufacturer. If the manufacturer name is made up of two or more words, such as "Detail Associates," enclose the name in quotes to turn up only those pages that contain that exact phrase. Let's say you want to purchase the particular stainless steel wire I used in Converting Turnouts to Under-table Drive; you would enter the following into the Google search box, like this:
  

  "Detail Associates" 3504

• Check the website of the manufacturer to see if you can order directly, or if they have a "where to buy" page.

• If the part is specific to Z-scale, try asking members of the Z_SCALE discussion group. You may encounter someone with a great source, or even some extras they're trying to unload! Also, check the Yahoo! Groups home page for other groups that may be more attune to your needs.

• Check with Walthers, one of the largest distributors of model railroad products in the USA. Unlike some distributors with online stores, Walthers is still loyal to the hobby shops that do business with it. Nearly any hobby shop will be able to order any product in the Walthers catalog.

• If you're looking for something I mention on this website, feel free to ask me. Heck, ask me regardless!

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