A small shop in Clearfield has what train collectors need to keep their hobby on track.
From train cars of all shapes and sizes to landscape building supplies for handmade tracks, Almosta Junction at 1161 S. State, is packed with model train paraphernalia.
"It's about 98 percent trains," said owner Ben Graham who started the business in 1989.
The store is made up of two rooms. The smaller room houses building supplies for creating train cars and tracks from scratch.
For new collectors, Graham recommends purchasing a starter kit that has an oval-shaped track. But, he also sells track and scenery so people can design and build their own track.
"There's no end to it," he said. "They can fill their house or keep it small."
Graham also sells miniature people, materials to build landscapes including mountains and more.
In the smaller room he also sells plastic kits and diecast vehicles as well as railroad memorabilia in the form of hats, signs, coffee cups, whistles, books and DVDs.
In the shop's larger room Graham sells most of his train cars and buildings. He sells trains in all sizes; from G scale, which is about 1/24 the size of a regular train, to the more popular HO scale, which is about 1/87 the size of a real train.
Graham said he likes the larger scale trains.
"You can almost feel them run and hear them," he said.
Graham said trains are more detailed than they used to be.
"The fine parts they are doing in plastic are a lot better than they used to be," he said.
A lot of trains are now equipped with digital control and sound. That allows someone to run several trains on the same track going in different directions, Graham said.
"It's a fun time to be in the hobby now," he said.
From Disney and Peanuts to Harley-Davidson and NASCAR-themed trains, Graham stocks a variety of styles. He also sells a variety of buildings to sit next to the train tracks. One of his favorites is an IRS building that is on fire. Graham also sells several Christmas trains that he said are popular during the holidays.
The larger room features two operating tracks; one is a G-scale and the other an O-scale size.
Graham displays some of his merchandise on an old full-size Union Pacific baggage cart that sits in the larger showroom.
Graham started his business in a home next to Almosta Junction. About nine years later he moved his inventory into his dad's old nursery, where it sits today.
The Clearfield resident has always had an interest in trains. When he was a child, all he wanted for Christmas were trains. He also remembers visiting a hardware store in Ogden that had a Lionel O gauge model train layout.
"That's when the bug bit me, it can be like a disease," he said.
After leaving home and joining the Army, Graham said he thought he had outgrown his interest in trains. That's when he visited a railroad museum in Colorado. After that, he decided to start selling trains.
"I've always been a train nut, I guess, ever since I was a kid," he said.
Not only does the small hobby shop feature trains and tracks, it is also home to a "round house cat" named Harley. Graham said that all old round houses, places used to repair and maintain locomotives, had cats to help keep the mice away.
Graham's black-and-white cat has been prowling around Almosta Junction for about 11 years.
"Sometimes people come in just to see Harley," Graham said.
Almosta Junction is located less than a quarter of a mile from a set of railroad tracks, and eventually the Clearfield Commuter Rail station will be directly across the street from the building.
"That will be convenient for people wanting to come to the shop," Graham said.
Graham said he has a lot of railroad engineers and conductors come into the shop. Most of his customers are adults, he added.
Robert Gray of Layton is a frequent customer. He collects O and G scale trains that remind him of the steam engine days.
"That's the time I was a child," Gray said.
Gray's father was an engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad.
"I got my first spanking because I was caught in the railroad yard when he told me to stay out of them," Gray said with a smile.
Gray said he likes Almosta Junction, because of the diversity of the trains there. Not only has he purchased completed trains from Graham, but he has purchased supplies to make several cars from scratch.
Almosta Junction is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until at least 5 p.m. The store also has employees that can do repairs on trains. People can contact Almosta Junction at 776-1656.
Graham said he enjoys his work and interacting with customers.
"I wouldn't trade it for anything else," he said, adding that each time a new package comes in it's just like Christmas.
E-mail: nclemens@desnews.com