THE BRIEFING Model Train Store Has Long Ride on Tradition With kids today spending the majority of their time scheming to advance to the next level on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, it might seem like it’s getting harder and harder to attract them to traditional hobbies like model train collecting. Yet Gary Keck, owner of Burbank’s The Train Shack, has succeeded in the model train game since 1985. Raised on the Westside of Los Angeles, Keck attended Hamilton High School and USC, majoring in history. He originally planned to attend law school, but life got in the way. Keck married, had children, and got a job at Thrifty Drug in the labor relations department, settling worker’s grievances. A lifelong passion eventually got the best of him, and eighteen years ago, Keck jettisoned his labor relations career to open The Train Shack, a retailer of collectible and new model trains. From an inauspicious beginning in a building that was practically a shack, Keck watched his business flourish, moving into new digs four years later. A family-run business, The Train Shack is one the largest stores devoted exclusively to model trains in Southern California, Keck said. The store has trains for all ages on stock, with brands including Lionel, LGB MTH, K-Line, Marklin, Kato, Atlas. However, for all the variety it offers, the Shack relies on an old fashioned emphasis on speedy high-quality service to cater to its loyal clientele. “I had been working in labor relations but doing train shows on the weekends. I decided that was a lot more fun and I decided to open a store. I’ve been into trains since I was nine, but I kind of lost interest as I got older. But when my son was four, I decided that he might want to get involved in trains. I got my old stuff out and he didn’t exactly take to it right away. But I got involved again and I really had a great time. I began doing train shows. “Today with Ebay, train shows, and model train stores, the business is getting a bit more complicated. Business is doing okay, it’s a niche type business. There’s a lot of competition, and you’ve got to make ends meet with a small staff. The key to our business is the service aspect. We’re the longest running train store in the area and owning a business has been a lot of fun. “There’s many positives and negatives in the train business. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I’ve gone from building a business from scratch to being on the verge of retiring. My two children mainly run the business now. I’ve been lucky to have had a great clientele. We do quite a bit of business from word of mouth. “It’s going to be more difficult in the train industry for a while. It’s hard to get younger people into it with all the distractions coming from video games, television, and model airplanes.” Jeff Weiss