Just curious, does anyone know what this is? It's for a hobby shop called Norm's O scale, apparently in Maine:

Sure has more drivers than your typical 0-4-0!

Whoops, didn't type the correct #. That said, does anyone know what this is or where it is? I had no idea there were any hobby shops which displayed steam locomotives anymore. I know of three which had been displayed at or near hobby shops but no longer are...

41 Roosevelt Trail, S. Casco, Maine 04077. (It's strange how hard it is to find the address of the 4800' retail store on his Web site.

From the Web site (which reatures the picture!): "If you'd like to reach Norman directly please email him at norm@normsoscaletrains.com or call the retail store at 207-655-2550."

That'll probably be the quickest and most direct way to find out what the locomotive is.

Here's a reply from the WWFry forum.

http://forum.wwfry.org/index.php?topic=2220.0

I have been by this many times and close inspection shows it to be a genuine fake locomotive.

"Genuine Fake Locomotive"
Hmm, is that anything like "Imitation Ice Milk?"
That's one I've never figured out--a "fake" of a "fake"!
Gotta admit, it's a better looking fake than many!

no more genuine fake than the full sized steamer running down the harbor planks in a parade seen here on this forum!

Do you mean, like authentic simulated plastic reproduction? Franklin Mint sells that stuff all the time!

Well, the forward boiler shell sure looked plausible in the tiny little photo. I thought maybe it was a partial locomotive and a lot of imagination, or maybe a far steam tractor changed with a lot of welding. Stranger things have happened.

I don't think Norms is doing retail on site anymore. Use to buy a lot from him. He is building a huge 2 rail O scale layout in what was most of the retail space. I think he still does internet sales.
Bob D.

You would be amazed. Just spent a couple of weeks updating this directory: http://www.modelrailroaddata.com/suppliers/Hobby_Shops/

The number of stores that hide that info is staggering. Even when they do include the info, far more than you think say something like "Jim's Train Shop, route 297, 3 miles west of Bugville"
No mention of what state or country that's in...

Others bury so deep in the website you'll never find it. Take MB Klein. 15,000 foot store. Nice description here:
https://support.modeltrainstuff.com/ent ... Klein-Inc-

Address? Hours of operation? Nope... That info is buried deep on the "Contact Us" page.

His website http://www.normsoscale.com/ still lists store hours. He also lists a "2014 Sales Flyer" on the same page, so one would assume (yep, assume) that it's up to date.

As for online sales...



Not exactly Amazon.com I guess.

Not that "deep" at all.
And let's be honest: one of the standard "rules of thumb" in e-commerce is apparently to drive a real "firewall" between the Internet presence/online store and the "bricks and mortar" store. I didn't make this rule, but a LOT of places obey it. Klein's is one example: that store has a "conventional" storefront looking like your "typical" model RR shop (one room for scale models, another for Lionel/MTH/etc, another for books/magazines/Thomas stuff/etc.), but behind the storefront and upstairs is a LARGE warehouse and shipping facility. They have a computer terminal in the store hooked up to the website; if you don't see it in the storefront, you can peruse the website, "order" it there on the spot, and ten or so minutes later someone walks through a door with the picked order, pay at the register, please.

And they're not alone. There's a used book/video/music retailer in Frederick, Md. that maintains both three large retail locations (in Frederick, Hagerstown, and Gaithersburg) and a separate internet-service warehouse (I'm guessing it's 75,000 square feet) that houses four million books/etc. at any given moment.

A lot of model railroad shops have given up the retail store entirely. I had to remove a lot of listings that had either gone to internet only, or in many cases, simply closed the doors entirely.

You're correct that many stores do create a clear distinction between their online store and their brick and mortar facility. They often carry a much smaller selection in store, and retail prices may be higher. I don't have any issues with that, it's their option.

However, most of the ones who do that will also maintain two websites, especially if the storefront is a large operation they're actively promoting. Sometimes they'll combine the two on one page, other times you'll never be able to make a connection from what you see on the web, and the pages stand alone.

However, if they are truly interested in promoting the brick and mortar side, they all share on trait. The address and hours are either prominently displayed on the main page, or there is a prominent link directing folks to that info.

Another primary rule of online business is that the harder your make it for your customer to find information, the more likely it is that they'll give up and move on. If your store name and hours are buried someplace in the site, rather than being prominent, you're losing customers.