Best place to order model trains

Whats the best site to get model trains and cars from?

I order form Pacifc Western Rail Systems in Surry, British Columbia, Canada who tends to have everything and eveerything in N and HO Scales. http://www.pacific-western-rail.com/ They import from every where and are a direct order ware house that puts Walthers to shame!

I am a long time big fan of two establishments both of which provide excellent service (turanaround) and a great variety of stuff

Standard Hobby Supply in New Jersey - large ad in every issue of Model Railroader. You can go to their web site and download and print their whole catalog free. Very good price performer too.

Walthers Terminal Hobby Shop in Milwaukee. Terminal Hobby is the retail arm of Walthers. Naturally they have anything in the Walthers catalog. Once you have a customer no. and are on their mailing list they automatically send you their sale brochure, six issues per year. You can go to Walthers web site and determine exactly what is in stock and immediately available as of any given day.

I would go with Walthers. Good Service plus great Custmore Service.

This place always works for me at a discounted Price

www.Trainland.com

What scale? I am in N scale, and get just about everything from www.featherrivertrains.com and http://www.rockinghamjunctionmodels.com Both specialize in N scale, and although FRTS is in California, both are very good at new england roads.

My personal favorites are:
Trainworld/ Trainland
FirstHobby www.firsthobby.com
Family Hobby and Crafts( in Vestal, NY)
Walthers www.walthers.com
Standard Hobby Supply

I am a big fan of using a search engine off of google called froogle. I just find the walthers catalog part number and place it in the search engine and it searches everyone including e-bay for best match or cost.

Chris

Another good internet site is internet trains, a very large selection at relatively good prices. I have placed many orders with them and I have no complaints. Here is the web site:

Internet Trains

I do almost all of my ordering through:
1st Place hobbies
http://www.1stplacehobbies.com/

Up to 40% discounts, and he is normally quick with the orders getting them to you.

I'm not sure about Walthers, don't you think thier prices are a way high? For example, the Atlas Fairbanks-Morse H15/16-44, are $149. They sell everything at MSRP except for sales, and even then you can get a better price elsewhere. Great service and selection though, and you can't beat the catalog. Using the H15/16 as an example, I've got an interesting story that kind of shows the deal for buying trains. I was up on Long Island in Feb 05, my first stop, of course, was Willis, I spent quite a bit ($300-400), including a LIRR FM H 16-44 for $119. I then proceeded to Trainworld in Lynbrook an saw they were selling the FM for $89.. I noticed that all the other things I had purchased at Willis 15 to 30% lower at Trainworld. I didn't really mind, because I am a firm believer in supporting hobby shops and I realize you are paying for the atmophere, overhead, and most important, the ability to hold the items. However $30 is $30, so back to Willis I went, the guy asked me why I was returning it, at which point I pulled out Trainworlds flyer (wrong move!),I showed him their price and asked him if he would be willing to negotiate, I got the look of death, he mumbled something to the effect, that he doesn't compete with internet guys....I didn't bother to tell him that I didn't really get it on the internet because I knew the deal was done. That in a nutshell is how it works. Instant gratification or shopping around, take your pick. The price ranges are crazy and you need to be patient and do your home work, oh and don't forget EBAY!

Walthers is ok to order from when you want to sit and weaght months at a time for something to come in from there coustomer service SUCKS! I used to order things from them and would sit for weeks and months at a time for there slow unexcusable backorders the site would say that it was in stock but there would be no sign of the idems that I would order. I ordered several cars from them in N Scale and sat for 2 years weaghting for them to come in I canceled the orders due to finding them at a Canadian Hobby Shop while on Vacation. So much for Walthers they lost out on a $100.00 order!!

Anouther things that I felt was Faulse Advertisment and Walthers would not help to solve the problum with was there 2002 release of there N Scale Slag and Ladle Cars and there 18 Axle Torpedo Car I ordered several sets of these cars 2 months befor there release never saw anything!! I even called Walthers demading to know where they were 6 months after there release NO HELP from them morons. Anouther $1000.00 dollar order that Walthers Lost haha!!

I ended up going thew Peach Creek Shops in Maryland to get them which dose not have anything to do with Walthers!! I heard about this small unknowen company from a Hobby shop in British Columbia, Canada.