Hawkins Rail Services

Write a Review765-742-5577

CLOSED NOW - Opens atTomorrow 12:00pm

I will have to say that my visit to Hawkins was quite different from the other reviewer. Mr. Hawkins was very friendly & helpful. His knowledge of model trains is vast. I found the business to be unique as to having an old business look & stocked with items museums would love to get their hands on..! Had no problem seeing the track set-up they had & they were more than willing to run the 100 car HO train powered by 4 locomotives. Time was taken to give me all the information I was seeking about a 1920's Lionel Train car I had with me. I would recommend any model train buff to stop here to find what they are looking for. It was a very pleasant experience I had with Mr. Hawkins & his assistant Mark. I look forward to have a reason to travel to this shop again....! :)

The Website listed in these Yellow Pages is not correct. Do a general internet search to find it instead.

We were in Lafayette and were looking for Hobby shops. We used the local phone book to find Hawkins Rail Services. It is in a rather unusual location but had signage to point you in the right direction. When we walked in, it seemed more like a Railroad club then a Hobby store. Everyone stopped their conversation and turned to look at us when we entered. I thought they were going to ask what we wanted and why we came in. I preceeded to look around. There were boxes everywhere, very disorganized. It looked like a hurried up garage sale of train stuff. (the website said it was a new location, and if they moved there within the week, then the disorganized look could be explained.) I continued to look around and they had a good amount of used and obsolete items which I find more interesting than all new stuff. On their website, they mention a train layout but you needed to stand on a chair to see it since it was in a raised area of the store. The line of sight was blocked by stacked boxes of merchandise/inventory. To get a better view, you were not permitted to walk into the raised floor area as we were quickly told. I don't think there was much to see since the layout was bare plywood with buildings scattered about. The whole place felt like you were in someone's basement to look at their train stuff than in a "store". As a train club gathering spot where the locals talk model trains, it probably serves it's purpose. But don't go expecting a hobby shop store. If you are from out of town, I would pass it by.