Nick's Trains is a family owned and operated business (whether they like it or not!) Nick, his son Frank, and his good friend George run the shop from 10 am until 6 pm, Mondays through Saturdays. You might (extremely occasionally) find his wife or other children there.
Our Business Philosophy
Anybody can sell trains - but we sell customer service, too! Our goals are to give our customers sound advice about toy and model trains, stock or find the trains and train accessories they want, and repair trains properly. We want our customers to be pleased with their experience with us so that they come back time and time again. We also like to learn from our customers - what they need, what they are interested in, what they are building, and what they are collecting. This really helps us keep the shop properly stocked, and its fun! We also like to talk about trains - real ones and models - trade stories about what we saw and when, discuss the peculiarities of some products, speculate about what's on the horizon, etc. And, of course, there's politics! We have opinions like everyone else and we don't mind sharing them with you and listening to yours!
Our History
Nick started Nick's Trains in 1995 in a weekend indoor flea market in a HUGE 8 foot by 12 foot space that was so AMAZINGLY LARGE that only one customer at a time could come in to look at the trains! A quick check of the Merchandizing 101 book convinced him to expand into a larger space, which worked for a while, but eventually it too became ten pounds of sugar in a five pound bag! Finally Nick's wife sagely suggested that, as he was partly a real train shop and partly only a weekend business, he really ought to do one or the other! Smart man that he is, he listened, decided the time was right, and moved the operation into a six-day per week store front in Oak Park Shopping Center. The business prospered there for another five years until he moved the shop into its own larger, free standing building on Oak Park Road, which is where we intend to be for years to come.