Frequently Asked Questions

Are you open today?

We are open six days a week, except Sunday, year round, with the exception of major federal holidays (see below). In the event of extreme weather conditions, please check our Facebook and website, or call us if during business hours. We do our utmost to maintain our usual hours, but sometimes it's best to make sure. 

List of closed Holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day. We are open on Christmas and New Year's Eve unless they fall on a Sunday.

My train is broken- Can you fix it?

Absolutely! We handle repairs for trains from N scale, through HO, Lionel, and all the way up to G. Our standard labor rate is $40 per hour. We can give you a rough time estimate beforehand, but as with any piece of machinery that assessment is subject to change and is in no way binding (for example, if you give us a Lionel 260E for, "wheel cleaning," when you know full well it needs the entire motor assembly replaced, we find out, you approve said replacement, then get angry when we exceed the initial time estimate. You know who you are.). You can of course give us a flat sum that you're willing to spend, as well as a list of what you want done, and we will do all we can within the allotted budget. 

Some repairs are subject to parts availability, though we usually maintain a stock of the commonly used parts in the most popular scales. Many of these parts are also available for purchase should you wish to perform the repair yourself - just ask! And as always, advice is free!

Where is the train I gave you to be repaired?

Around the holidays (usually from October to the end of February) we are quite nearly swamped with repair jobs, and backlogs for complex jobs can reach up to 2-3 months (and are always subject to parts availability). Our standard operating procedure is to call the customer upon completion of a job, something which we strive to do within the shortest amount of time possible. However, as a result of the scale of our operation, and the inherent chaos of our repairs department, jobs can occasionally get misfiled or put on the back of a shelf. If you feel it's taking an inordinately long amount of time (months, not weeks), call us or come in on Friday or Saturday, when our repair guys are usually in. 

Do you have replacement bulbs for American Flyer and Lionel Accessories?

Despite being so niche, this is one of our most commonly asked questions! Yes, we stock replacements for almost every conceivable Lionel and Flyer bulb for between $1.50 and $3.00. And if you have one we don't stock, we'd love to know so we can!

Do you have gift certificates?

Yes we do! You're welcome to either come into the store to buy one in person, or if you so desire you can also purchase one from us over the phone (limited to normal business hours), and we'll mail it to any corner of the globe.

I bought a train from you, but I don't want it anymore - can I return it?

Our store return policy is for in-store credit only. So long as the item is returned in the same condition as it was purchased, with the original receipt or proof of purchase, we will gladly offer trade or store credit equivalent to the sticker price of the item being returned.

I bought a train from you, and it's broken - what do I do?

If you purchased something from us, and it isn't, or doesn't perform the way we said it does, we will take full responsibility. If you buy a locomotive or transformer from us that we said works, and it doesn't, we'll diagnose it, and if needed repair it, with the utmost priority, 100% free of charge. If you buy a train car from us, and it falls apart from you looking at it, we will again repair it free of charge, and so on and so forth. More than just taking seriously our reputation as the premier supplier of miniature trains in the Rochester area, we also take great pride in our shop and our work. Many of the items in our shop are used or refurbished, so if you find an issue with our work, we will do whatever it takes to rectify that. That being said, if little Timmy decides to play train crash with your brand new $500 locomotive, while we'll certainly commiserate with you, unless it's a new item under warranty, that's on you.

Do you purchase train collections?

AS OF 12/8/2023 DUE TO OVERSTOCK, WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY PURCHASING LIONEL AND AMERICAN FLYER COLLECTIONS

By the nature of our business model, the majority of our stock is used - so yes, we most certainly purchase collections! If it's small enough to transport easily, please bring it in, and we'd be happy to take a look and make you an offer on it. If it is too large to be able to reasonably transport (we had one collection a few months ago that took us three days to move!) we would ask that you produce a manifest of items and their condition, and bring a few sample pieces. If you are unable to produce a full manifest, and can't bring the collection to the store, please contact us and we'll discuss sending someone out to assess the collection in person.

Do you buy and/or sell collectible coins/sports cards/etc.?

We maintain a small stock of collectible coins, as well as vintage sports cards for sale in our shop. As a general rule however, we do not stock modern sports cards, though we do have a plethora of unopened vintage packs! If you're looking for something in particular, give us a call or stop in. We do also occasionally buy such collectibles, though they are not the main focus of our shop.