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The Top 10 Model Train Shops in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan

There are fantastic model railroading hobby shops all across the United States.  These stores all look like a lot of fun to visit, but what are the most popular?   Here is a list for the great states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

The most popular model railroading shops (based on online chatter) in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan are:

10. Steve’s Train City in Hopkins, Minnesota

9. Scale Model Supplies in Saint Paul, Minnesota

8. Only Trains in Buffalo, Minnesota

7. Just For Fun Hobbies and Comics in Lansing, Michigan

6. Brasseur Electric Trains in Saginaw, Michigan

5. Sommerfeld’s Trains and Hobbies in Butler, Wisconsin

4. Hobby World USA in Brighton, Michigan

3. Rider’s Hobby Shop in Flint, Michigan and Grand Rapids, Michigan

2. Whistle Stop Hobby and Toy in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan

…and the most popular shop for model trains in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Michigan is…

1. Hub Hobby in Richfield, Minnesota and Little Canada, Minnesota

Hobby shops not quite making my top 10 were Wild Bill’s Trains in Clinton Township, Michigan; A and E Railroad in Thief River Falls, Minnesota; Becker’s Model Railroad Supply in New Brighton, Minnesota; Carrs Hobby in Duluth, Minnesota; Flotsam and Jetsam Books and Model Trains in Cook, Minnesota; Hobby Hut in Moorhead, Minnesota; Three Rail Trains in Coon Rapids, Minnesota; Hiawatha Hobbies in Waukesha, Wisconsin; and RCSLOT in Franklin, Wisconsin.

So, there are clearly many great model railroading shops all over Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, with all three states having stores in the top five.  Michigan had the most with five in the top ten, but Minnesota had four – and also had the number one spot.

When in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan be sure to visit some of the excellent railroading museums including Durand Union Station in Durand, Michigan; Michigan Transit Museum in Mount Clemens, Michigan; End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum in Currie, Minnesota; Gopher State Railway Museum in Shakopee, Minnesota; Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth, Minnesota; Minnesota Transportation Museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota; Old Depot Railroad Museum in Dassel, Minnesota; Twin City Model Railroad Museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota; East Troy Electric Railroad Museum in East Troy, Wisconsin; Fennimore Railroad Historical Society Museum in Fennimore, Wisconsin; Mid-Continent Railway Historical Society in North Freedom, Wisconsin; National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

I compiled this list by searching for the hobby shops listed on a number of search engines and ranking them by the number of web pages, discussion forums, photos, videos, etc that are available online.  I further screened this list to include only pages that mentioned model railroading. See a complete list of Model Train Shops in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, at www.ModelTrainsWithLarry.com which has complete contact information for each shop including an address, phone number, and map to the store.

About the Author

Larry Truett is a freelance PHP and MySQL programmer living in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego with his wife and their 3 cats. He enjoys hiking, reading, gardening, watching too much television, and other nerdy activites.

What scale size are warhammer 40k models?

O-scale, N-scale, HO-scale….? There are some really nice trees available at model train stores and online sites that are cheaper than GW terrain pieces that I’ve seen, and being that I’m historically horrible at making trees by hand, this seems like a viable option. Just wondering what scale I should consider?

Hmm, I didn’t find any Epic scale on the site so I gues it’s 28mm size only nowadays.

There is no real fractional scale for Warhammer and most other figures in this size. “28mm” is just a reference measurement which is normally used to indicate the height of an average male in that “scale”. Thing is though that Warhammer is not using natural proportions which means that if you would calculate it based on the height you’d get something like 1:60 and if you consider shoulderwidth it would be 1:43 or so. This is the reason why you often see that it’s 1:35 tank models which have been converted for Warhammer. Anyway, for more info on scales: go to http://theminiaturespage.com and check the sculpting threads.

As to your question at hand, I’d take a figure to the train model store and simply compare it with the trees they have to see what looks good. Scalewise it would be O (1:43 UK, 1:45 Europe, 1:48 US) or S (1:64) which come closest. Thing is though that if it comes to bigger trees a true scale tree would be dominating a terrain piece very much. And you may not want that effect. So if you go for “represetative” trees check the HO scale as well. Also if you need a x-mas tree.

Lionel Model Train Display @ The MTA Transit Museum Store In Grand Central Part Two