-All About Us-

     In 1981 Pat and Cheri Neil opened Collectible Trains and Toys in the Medallion Shopping Center at Northwest Highway and Abrams Road in North Dallas. The business was small, only 20 feet wide, but was an extension of their interest in toy trains and related collectibles of the past. Pat had been learning about, seeking out and accumulating a substantial and impressive collection of Pre- and Post-War toy trains from America and Europe and so together they decided to turn their passion into (hopefully) a livelihood.
     It was a struggle but about every 5 years or so, another 20 feet of storefront was added as the space became available, more products were introduced, more employees were hired, and eventually by 2001 the store had grown to almost 8,000 sq.ft. About 1987 a simple Brio Wooden Trains play table was added to keep the youngsters occupied while the grown-ups shopped and by 2002 the Kid's Department and play area had grown as large as many specialty toy stores.
     Not every idea was a success in the long run (Radio Control cars for instance), some were great while they lasted (Department 56) but the continued growth in the area of new train production and interest in "collectibles" led to a decision to grow yet again in 2002. This decision was helped along as the Medallion Center announced plans to demolish our entire end of the shopping center to build a new department store anchor.

-2002 To June 2007-

     We were lucky in that one of our good customers helped us find and develop a unique space at Skillman and LBJ-635 a little further north. It was a former movie theater with 25 ft. ceilings - a huge empty space. A second floor open front mezzanine was built to provide more storage and we found ourselves with 12,000 sq.ft. of space to play with. A much larger "old trains" section was added, there was lots of room for big, tall train layouts, a huge new Kid's Department with a Birthday Party room, a slot car display and layout, a greatly expanded library with a huge selection of "real train" books and research material and more.
     Most significantly HO and N-Gauge trains were added to our product mix. In the next 5 years that department and it's companion products grew to become a large part of the business. In addition the incorporation of the internet and EBay auctions and Store business expanded our market. This physical growth and all these new directions created a need for an even larger staff and required more and more time and effort.
     In early 2007 as our lease expired it was finally decided to head the other direction. Downsize.

-The Present-

     For the second (and hopefully the last) time in 26 years we've moved. Our new home is a cozy 5,800 sq.ft. in an area of North Dallas/Farmers Branch known as the Design District. It is conveniently located near several major streets and highways and is centered in an area with a huge concentration of shopping and restaurants close by.
     We have managed to put on display much more in old and new trains than were visible in the old store with our "Wall of Trains" and glass displays and counters, the Warehouse "Backshop" for bargains is much more accessible, we still have a Kid's area, we still have a good sized book and magazine section, and most everything from the old store is here in one fashion or another. We may be smaller in size now but we feel we have re-captured much of the "old fashioned" train store mood Pat and Cheri created 26 years ago.

Please come visit us soon!

The WALL OF TRAINS - over 500 feet of new Lionel, MTH, Atlas-O and K-Line Trains.

A small section of our extensive collections of Post-War, Pre-War and European Trains & Accessories.

Unique Marklin wind-up Tinplate Automobiles.

Our Kid's Area with Thomas the Tank Engine, Papo and Schleich figures and animals.