Start Here

to ORDER
or
to SEARCH

 NOW 154,000+ items!!)

"Sharing the joy of model railroading"
Hobby Shop & Warehouse hours (Eastern Time)
NOTE: Beginning June 1, 2013 there will be no normal hours
Monday Closed
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 10:30 - 6:00
Thursday 10:30 - 6:00
Friday 10:30 - 6:00
Saturday 10:30 - 5:00
Sunday Closed

Beginning June 1st, to insure we are here, please call (919)369-2373
before you make a trip to the shop.  Thanks.
 

Remember - we are ALWAYS open here at the web site to:
Order an item or Check if we have an item in stock.
ALL ITEMS ARE UPDATED NIGHTLY! LAST UPDATED

We may be closed two or three times a year on a Friday and Saturday when we display at local area train shows. See the calendar for our schedule.  Our shop phone message will let you know of any temporary change in shop hours for these events.

Click for a detailed map.  Click for precise directions.

Our exact address is 1200 Jenkins Road, 27587 but If you want to visit and have a GPS, Mapquest, Google, or LiveNet then  use 1163 Jenkins Rd (1162 in Ask) in your computer to find the location of our shop entrance on the north side of Jenkins Road

News:

TRAIN BUDDY IS MOVING...EVENTUALLY...MAYBE NOT ANYTIME SOON. - SEE BELOW!

WHERE IS THE TRAIN BUDDY MOVING TO?  Our number one choice is Lincoln Park North Business Center on Gresham Lake Rd. The center is west of Capital Blvd, north of US 540 and just west of the railroad tracks from Triangle Town Center.  We have looked at a lot of options in and around Wake Forest.  This location is NOT our only, but is currently our best option.

WHEN IS THE TRAIN BUDDY MOVING?  Actual moving dates will be dictated by the sale of our current property.  It is currently not under contract but is for sale.

WHY IS THE TRAIN BUDDY MOVING? The Train Buddy shop will soon be 10 years old.  We need more usable and traditional retail and warehouse space to grow.  Did I mention that the property is for sale?

WHY ARE YOU TELLING US THIS IF YOU DON'T HAVE A DATE?  We have to open up the space (take down the HO railroad at least) for prospective buyers.  We also need the freedom for them to look at the shop without the potential intimidation (or distraction) of employees or customers. (No, not you, I know YOU are a perfect angel!)  The effect is that we need to be able to close the shop whenever the need arises.  This must have no time or date constraints.  SO...
Beginning June 1st please call (919)369-2373 before you schedule a trip to the shop to make sure we are going to be here.
We have been showing the property an average of twice a week, an hour or two each time.  This means we will be OPEN when we need to be and CLOSED the rest of the time to prepare for the move.

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT YOU, THE CUSTOMER?  The good news is that we will be available MORE days and hours.  This change in hours policy will also give us the freedom and opportunity to visit your railroads.  Something that many of you have asked us to do.    You may still order by email (order @ trainbuddy.com) or this web site.  If you want to "hang out" then that is still ok, but wear old clothes so I can put you to work, or at least, you can give me advice while you watch me work☺

WILL THERE BE A "MOVING" SALE?  No.  Our prices continue to be the lowest in the area, and many times beat prices on the Internet.  We don't anticipate there being any "moving sales" because we will need to "beef up" for a larger sales area.

WHAT ELSE WILL BE EFFECTED?  We will start dismantling our large HO railroad after June 1.  (No, we are not planning to sell stock off of the railroad.)  The N scale railroad and shelf stock, typically taken to shows anyway, will be the last items moved so that the shop can remain open as close to the move as possible.  We will continue to offer (and probably expand) repair and install services and will move items that are in the queue with us.  Outside signage will be removed - again, for appearances.
 

TENAX 7R™ is now available again.
 

Atlas flex track is now back in stock.

See the NEW Train Buddy Youtube Channel!!

Train Control Systems (TCS) decoders are now in production for Kato N engines.  Also, new miniature lighting options with their pre-wired sunny and golden white surface LED's

Also, Llagas Creek products - Track, Ties, Joiners and Special Order Turnouts for G/#1 Scale.

New Relationships:

(While the Train Buddy deals with the major distributors like Walthers [and four others by the way], we also are direct with manufacturers like Digitrax, Soundtraxx, Bowser, Aristocraft and others.  This list is about new and exciting partnerships with our manufacturing friends.  For a full list of our direct dealerships see the "Products" tab and then "Direct Dealerships".)

MicroMark

Nick and Nora Designs

Railstars Limited

Aux-Box DCC

DP Model Rail Products

Turner Model Works

Llags Creek

Microscale

Train Control Systems

King's Mill

Broadway Limited

Raleigh Rails

Precision Scale Products

InterMountain Railway Co.

Crew Change Products

Iron Penguin

Warren Calloway

C.C. Crow

In Stock Products worth mentioning:

• Tippi hot foam shaper

• Train Boxes Plus HO and N scale storage boxes

• Kadee whisker (380-148 and 380-158) couplers

• Warren Calloway DVD's

• Raleigh Rails N scale VGN coal hopper sets

• Walther's HO sectional buildings

Products that we always keep in stock:

• HO Code 100 and Code 83 flex track

• HO cork roadbed

• Track nails

• Walthers turnouts (Shinohara code 83) turnouts, all sizes

• Peco insulfrog turnouts in large, medium and small

• Atlas turnouts in #4, #6 and #8

• Atlas rail joiners and insulated rail joiners

• G Split-Jaw rail joiners

• gloss and dull over-sprays

• Adhesives (Super glues and Styrene) and lubricants to exceed every modeling task

• Full line of Digitrax products

• Full line of Kadee products

• Soundtraxx decoders, speakers and accessories

• 9v industrial grade batteries for throttles

• DPDT, SPDT and momentary miniature switches

• 12 position compression style 3 Amp terminal blocks

• 10 pin connectors and ribbon cable for Digitrax signaling and block detection boards

• White and Yellow LED's and resistors to match

• Tools and gauges that we use and recommend

Ordering from the Train Buddy is simple. Go to "Products" and either "Search" for the product or enter the number directly in the "by Item ID".  Most items are Walthers numbers from the catalog.  Exceptions are Digitrax which are just their model numbers (like DH163D) and for Soundtraxx it is their 7 digit model number.  This will make it much faster for ordering and receiving your order!

Watch out...I have put an "image" link on the search to make it convenient to view the items.  It takes you to the Walthers site.  Don't order there or you will pay full price and not be ordering from Train Buddy.  After you have viewed the image, use your back button to come back to the Train Buddy site to order.

Train Buddy Initiative>>  Find products that the "budds" use but are not considered "train" related.  For example, we carry...

• bench style power supply
• temperature controlled soldering station
• SPDT snap action (micro) switches for turnouts
• DPDT, SPDT, SPDT (momentary)) miniature switches
• 12 position compression style 3 amp terminal blocks
• 10 pin connectors and ribbon cable for Digitrax signaling and block detection boards
• 9v industrial grade batteries for your throttles
• spray adhesives for scenery
• single sided copper laminate for modifying switches or module ends
• commercial super glues with more controlled containers
• wire staples and guns for securing wiring
• sealant for sealing speakers and sound systems
• Kapton tape for DCC decoder installs
• matte medium / Gesso for scenery and ballast adhesive
• electronics cleaner/degreasers for easier and better track and wheel cleaning.

All of these are carried, not discounted as much, but slightly above our quantity cost to provide a full range of products and a single source for your modeling needs.

Registered Speakers and Hosts for World's Greatest Hobby Campaign.

Join the NMRA and get local club membership.  Click for details.

Reflections From a Train Buddy Customer