? for Portland OR area asshats

[sirenwerks]

Which is better - Whistle Stop or Hobby Smith? Are there others Im missing? I'm in Hillsboro/Beaverton area.  Thanks...

[wazzou]

It's been some time since I've been to The Whistle Stop but The Hooby Smith is definitely a good shop for an N Scale modeler.

[nickelplate759]

It's been some time since I've been to The Whistle Stop but The Hooby Smith is definitely a good shop for an N Scale modeler.

What he said!

[Hamaker]

When I was last in the area about five years ago, I frequented Tammie's Hobbies....12024 S.W. Canyon....Beaverton.  As a bonus, there was always a race prepared vintage Mini Cooper in the parking lot.

[Tom Todd]

Definitely Hobby Smith for N Scale.

[mmagliaro]

Have to also give the nod to Hobby Smith for N Scale.  Not only good quality engines and rolling stock and a good selection of same, but all the "extras" like the Gold Medal, Fox Valley, and BLMA detail parts.  They have a pretty good consignment case where you can sometimes pickup rarities or just good finds at fair prices.  Big selection of paints and decals.

But Whistle Stop is a good shop.  They have a good stash of all the brass, styrene and wood scratchbuilding materials, and a big assortment of paints.  They also have massive selections of all the detail parts by Grandt Line, Carey, Tichy, and others (some of whom I'm not even sure are still in business anymore).

Finally, Tammie's Hobbies in Beaverton really is quite a nice shop as well.  I was very surprised at how much N Scale they have in that place.   Definitely worth stopping in.   Back when Atlas Code 55 was as scarce as hen's teeth, I walked in there and they had a stash of it right on the shelf.

We in the Portland area are lucky indeed to have 3 really good, heavily train-centric shops.

[pdx1955]

Hobby Smith has been my primary shop for a long time as they probably have the best N-scale selection plus you can get discounts on pre-orders which makes it competitive with lots of mail-order sources once you factor in shipping costs. Since you're on the west side - Tammies is also good (it can take 45 min between the two shops if US26 is slow) and frankly carries just about everything you would need too. Whistle Stop is a bit more HO-oriented but they still have a good N selection. Sometimes you just got to go and dig thru the shelves - never know what you'll find sometimes.

[sirenwerks]

Well, it looks like Hobbie Smith is the one then.  Had to do Chuck E. Cheese today with my daughter, so I didn't get over to that side of the city.  Having photosensitive epilepsy, that place is a nightmare.

[C855B]

If you get there by going north on Cesar E. Chavez, be careful at the intersection with Sandy Blvd, which crosses at an angle. There are multiple left-turn-only lanes, not all that well marked and little or no advance notice. We almost found out the hard way on our last visit.

[pdx1955]

If you get there by going north on Cesar E. Chavez, be careful at the intersection with Sandy Blvd, which crosses at an angle. There are multiple left-turn-only lanes, not all that well marked and little or no advance notice. We almost found out the hard way on our last visit.

Stay to the right and go through the intersection and the very closely spaced Broadway St intersection on a slight left dogleg (use the shared right-though lane) . There is also a red-light running camera at this intersection so it pays to just go slow. All of the blocks in this area are short and turns are choppy (especially when leaving and you want to go back east on I-84).

[delamaize]

Occasionally, I make the drive from my place near centralia, wa to Portland, just for Hobby Smith.

So, yeah, Hobby Smith has my vote also.

[AlbertSpor]

Hi

Tammies is closer to me , and has a decent selection, but is also RC Planes Pinewood Derby, ie  a full service hobby shop.

Whistle Stop is good , but more HO centric, but they are worth checking out for detail parts, of which they have a lot.
They also hold "tent" sales several times a year, selling off used collections,etc. Generally everything else in the store is discounted as well.

Hobbysmith is definately the goto shop.

I try to visit hobby shops whenever I travel, and so far the Hobbysmith beats them all, as far as Seattle, the SF Bay area and SoCal.

Albert Spor

[Gozer the Gozerian]

You can also pull into the emergency lane on the 84 and jump off the overpass into their parking lot.  Getting back up may take some figuring out but you would avoid all the traffic along the way   LOL 

Joe

[wm3798]

Well, it looks like Hobbie Smith is the one then.  Had to do Chuck E. Cheese today with my daughter, so I didn't get over to that side of the city.  Having photosensitive epilepsy, that place is a nightmare.

Having an aversion to places that are sticky and smell like feet is enough to keep me away from those places!!

Lee

[mmagliaro]

Having an aversion to places that are sticky and smell like feet is enough to keep me away from those places!!

Lee

We have a family policy against Chuck E Cheese and also any of those jumpy bouncy house inflato gymnasium places, for the same reasons - horrible food and the stench of 9 million unwashed children with narry a single rug shampooing ever being done.  Honestly,
how they get away without scrubbing those places down with Clorox on a regular basis, I'll never know.  They are really repulsive just to breathe in.