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OlympianHiawatha

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Does Amtrak maintain a true "Brick & Mortar" Gift Store at Washington Union? I have a couple hours layover coming up and would like to pick up some T-shirts and Posters and maybe even an HO Heritage Diner without having to deal with mail order.
 
20 years ago when I was in grad school there was a hobby store in Washington Union Station - a great place to browse for model trains while changing trains. I can't remember the name of the store but it was a national chain that folded in the mid 1990's.
 
It's getting harder and harder to find good traditional Hobby Shops that are not part of a chain. But I do enjoy "window shopping" at Walthers.com. In the good old days you waited anxiously for their new catalog to come out and when Hobby Lobby in Arlington Heights IL called and said it just arrived, Dad and I were off like a flash.

And I just broke down and ordered a 40th Anniversary T-Shirt from Amtrak to have an extra on-board shirt. $15 wasn't too bad but the $9 vig for shipping was a nip high.
 
They usually have Amtrak stores set up at the National Train Day events. It looks like the exhibit train is still around so you may be able to buy something there.

You would think that they would have somethink at most stations. They ticket sellers could sell the merchandise from a standard display that you go up and say I want item X. I would think they could sell some T-shirts, hats, postcards, and some other nick knacks. Maybe only at the big stations especially if the station has people lay over.

As far as the traditional hobby shop, that is becoming a thing of the past. You see more go out of business every year than new ones open. Unfortunately, my dad had to call it quits a few years ago. The business has changed from an extension of being toys where kids and teens built models to adults where they have more money and want stuff perfect. My dad talked that in the 60s about 60-70% were under 18. The last year he was open, it was about 40% retired and 40% approaching retirement age, and about 20% working aged married adults. There was hardly any young people.
 
I believe Nick is right - The Great American Train Store.

One of their other stores was in the mall at the old St. Louis Union Station.

Interestingly, when I started grad school (at the University of Maryland) I applied for and was offered two part-time jobs. One was driving a bus for the University Shuttle System and the other was as a clerk at the train store in Union Station.

I accepted the shuttle system job as it was closer to my apartment and offered more-flexible, student-friendly shift scheduling..... plus with UM Shuttle at that time it meant never having to work on Saturday.
 
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Rail Freak said:
The closest thing to it that I've seen is the shop in Portland,Or.
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The Portland shop does have some nice merchandise, but it's not "official" Amtrak swag.

To anyone who hasn't yet used Amtrak's online shop, be warned: it is, by far, the worst e-commerce site I've seen in a dozen years. It's slow -- my last purchase took half an hour -- and if you make a mistake, expect to have to fill in everything again. And the last time I bought something, the order was so poorly packed that it arrived mangled. I have some posters on order now, so we'll see what they look like.
 
CHamilton said:
Rail Freak said:
The closest thing to it that I've seen is the shop in Portland,Or.
Click to expand...
The Portland shop does have some nice merchandise, but it's not "official" Amtrak swag.

To anyone who hasn't yet used Amtrak's online shop, be warned: it is, by far, the worst e-commerce site I've seen in a dozen years. It's slow -- my last purchase took half an hour -- and if you make a mistake, expect to have to fill in everything again. And the last time I bought something, the order was so poorly packed that it arrived mangled. I have some posters on order now, so we'll see what they look like.
Click to expand...
Does it tell you where it was mailed from? I know they have a couple of warehouses, and I'm wondering if it's from the warehouse that I know of (and have passed by many times.)
 
CHamilton said:
To anyone who hasn't yet used Amtrak's online shop, be warned: it is, by far, the worst e-commerce site I've seen in a dozen years. It's slow -- my last purchase took half an hour -- and if you make a mistake, expect to have to fill in everything again. And the last time I bought something, the order was so poorly packed that it arrived mangled. I have some posters on order now, so we'll see what they look like.
Click to expand...
When I placed my order last night for a T-shirt from the Amtrak Store (first time using them) the ordering and payment went quickly but I was not asked for e-mail or, of course, did not receive a confirmation. I guess I'll wait and see....
 
I love the online store but that's just my experence. Everything was packed great. I will agree the shipping is steep.

I was excited to see all sorts of pins to buy at our San Jose station. I stocked up and have them ready to give to my husband on our big trip. As we get on the train, he'll get the pin.
 
I can tell you that there was one in Chicago across from the Metro Lounge. That was June 2007. When I passed through about 3 weeks later, the stand was closed! IIRC that was when Amtrak had the portable Movie Players available at certain stations. I recall using one when on the CS. Biggest piece of junk I ever used. Although my Dad and myself bought about $300 worth of stuff at the shop they had set up. I think now it's a APD stand.
 
Ryan said:
CHamilton said:
I have some posters on order now, so we'll see what they look like.
Click to expand...

I just got 12 posters from the UPS man yesterday. :D

They were all in tubes and arrived intact from Orange City, IA.
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Nice! I wonder if I could get them to do an in-warehouse pickup next time I visit my alma mater. Last time I looked at placing an order shipping was pretty expensive. (I'll also have to keep my eyes out if I'm ever in town while their outlet store is open...maybe I can get some Amtrak branded stuff for cheap!)
 
jebr said:
Ryan said:
CHamilton said:
I have some posters on order now, so we'll see what they look like.
Click to expand...

I just got 12 posters from the UPS man yesterday. :D

They were all in tubes and arrived intact from Orange City, IA.
Click to expand...
Nice! I wonder if I could get them to do an in-warehouse pickup next time I visit my alma mater. Last time I looked at placing an order shipping was pretty expensive. (I'll also have to keep my eyes out if I'm ever in town while their outlet store is open...maybe I can get some Amtrak branded stuff for cheap!)
Click to expand...
If you go before the AU gathering, let me know..
 
OlympianHiawatha said:
And I just broke down and ordered a 40th Anniversary T-Shirt from Amtrak to have an extra on-board shirt. $15 wasn't too bad but the $9 vig for shipping was a nip high.
Click to expand...
Just a quick follow-up-the T-shirt I ordered 5 days ago arrived safely today. So I am more than pleased with the Amtrak store and may just go ahead and order the HO Phase IVb Heritage Diner :)
 
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