World in Miniature

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Between 5th and 6th avenues on 45th street, the world is recreated in miniature. A world perhaps not exactly in the same time plane as ours. Clapboard houses from the late Fifties sit along railroad tracks in crowded glass cases. Along narrow corridors with colorful boxes stacked to the ceiling, the dust from the collapsed buildings of old Europe coat the panzers and Jeeps rumbling through devastated landscapes. For a few dollars part of this world is available to you to take home at The Red Caboose.

Allan Spitz has been guiding customers to the pleasures of train set building and model making since 1973, when he first came to 45th Street to work at one of the four model train stores on the very same block. At the time, it was all about the trains, but as time went on and Allan took over running The Red Caboose in 1994, the business went on to include the military model kits that my younger son is fascinated by.

In the age of Amazon, and near-instant gratification of all one's shopping needs, it's refreshing to go through the store's shelves to find what you are looking for; and sometimes just as gratifying not to find it, as happened to my son and I when looking for that certain shade of Desert Yellow for his latest project. No matter, the trip is always worth taking. One of the few hobbyist stores left in our town, The Red Caboose is still here for your train and model making needs in scales both miniature and human.

The Red Caboose / 23 West 45th Street / New York, NY 10036

www.theredcaboose.com

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