Trains and Tiaras

Have you been to the new toy store in East Memphis? Trains and Tiaras is in a new location (across from Swanky’s – near Gigi’s cupcakes) but the store isn’t totally “new.” The family who owns the store has been operating a model train store for over 30 years in two other locations. You can read more about them in this article.

My husband and I stopped by recently, with the plan of spending our Groupon. We wandered around and looked at the toys, and then a light bulb went off when we saw the trains. We own a train already! I had not seen it operated since I was a teenager, but my dad’s train was in a big box in our attic. What if we put it together for the kids for Christmas? Now that would be cool. So we talked with the owner, Richard Wolff, and he suggested we bring in the engine and he’d check it out.

About a week later I carefully packed up my dad’s old engine, two other engines I pulled out of the box, a scary looking (“I’m going to catch on fire”) transformer and a few other odds and ends. Richard was very helpful in identifying the make of the engine, discussing the other parts and coming up with a plan. We went to the basement of his shop where I discovered his train workshop. He put the engine up and some sparks flew, but no movement. After a bit of tinkering he got it to work – yeah! So I purchased a new, much safer looking transformer and he gave me some new wires to hook up the various pieces. He was very helpful, and even suggested I check out eBay for the value of one thing I brought in the store.

They also sell lots of other toys including Playmobil and Melissa & Doug. Plus they have trains for little kids and a train table for their entertainment during your visit.