OK, my LHS is Ken's Trains, one of the dozen or so N-Scale only model train stores in the US. Ken is a great guy and the shop has been in the same shopping plaza for over 20 years. Ken started out with a mail order business for several years before getting a physical store. His first store popped up in 89 or 90 I think.
When I was 13, my mother and I stubled on the shop. At the time, it was located in the attic of an old mill (the name of the plaza is Mill Village). That shop and the building eventually burned to the ground but Ken rebuilt the shop in the same place.
The old shop was a lot of fun. It was always very clean but got hot in the summer. Ken has always been very organized, so there was never the "dumpster diving" you get at some shops looking for old, out of production items lurking at the bottom of some neglected box. Everything had its place, from consignment items to the awesome loco cabinate.
One of the rear walls was dedicated to vehicles. There was a dedicated area for Wiking and other Euro imports (including some MZZ stuff), and a large section dedicated to Burt Industries.
Does anyone else remember Burt? Man what a trip. These were some of the first resin vehicle kits in N scale, long before Cast-N-Works or Road Apples/Lineside/JNJ. The kits usually came pre-painted, but the painting was as good as the casting. These models were just awful. I totally forgot how bad these were until I saw this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/130465490453These were some of the few vehicles I boycotted and I think the inventory lasted until the first store burned to the ground. Bad vehicles to be sure, but the memory of the fist shop was great.
Looking at my draw full of Athearn Mack trucks, who knew how far we would go in 20 years?
