Warehouse Hobbies has closed

Warehouse Hobbies, one of Winnipeg’s oldest model railroad hobby shops, has shuttered its doors. It was founded by Ken Martin in 1983, after he closed his Ye Old Hobby Shop stores, which had locations in Polo Park, Garden City Shopping Centre, and at 365 Portage Avenue.  

Warehouse Hobbies first location was actually in a warehouse on Kensington St. in the block immediately east of the Winnipeg Transit garage on Route 90, near Polo Park. He later moved to a smaller location on Portage Avenue at Woodlands Crescent just west of Sturgeon Road. 

 

In 1995 Ken retired to Nanaimo and sold Warehouse Hobbies to Jim and Beverly Iredale. Jim was an accountant by profession and an avid model railroader who had always dreamed about owning his own hobby shop. Tragically, his dream was cut short when he suffered a fatal heart attack in at the age of 39 on July 31, 1997.

 

Bev continued to run the shop for 30 years. The store had two other locations. It first moved to the intersection of Ferry Road and Portage Avenue. When the rent was increased at that location, she moved the shop to its present location 265 Rouge Road. 

 

Bev has had three model railroaders assist her in running the shop through the years, the most significant being MMR Fred Headon. Fred joined Warehouse Hobbies in August 1997 shortly after retiring from a long career as a high school teacher. Fred worked there for 27 ½ years, and was there on the last weekend that the store was open. 

 

Warehouse Hobbies was a cherished institution in Winnipeg’s vibrant and thriving model railroad community. If offered personal service in these days of faceless on-line U.S. based mail order hobby shops, and it will be sorely missed. 

Ken Martin, founder of Warehouse Hobbies, passes away at age 81

If there ever was a true pioneer in the retail field of model railroading, it would be Ken Martin. He served the needs of Model Railroaders in Winnipeg and later in Nanaimo for over five decades.

Ken was born and raised in Winnipeg. His grandfather worked on the railway, and his dad worked on the electric railway. He had his own Lionel layout by age 5.

In 1956, and he started the first of Ken Martin Enterprises in his basement with his wife Bernice as shipper/receiver for Midwest Hobbies. As the wholesale business moved into its own warehouse, Ken branched out into retail and the first Ye Olde Hobby Mart opened at 365 Portage Ave, with four other locations following in the 70’s and 80’s, including Polo Park and Grant Park shopping centres. 

Ken also owned the Cricklewood gift shop in Polo Park, which he opened in 1979, and was run by Bernice. Cricklewood was a tribute to his marketing savvy, as while hobbyists were going to Ye Olde Hobby Mart in Polo Park, their wives were going to Cricklewood and buying out the store!

Warehouse Hobbies was Ken’s last retail enterprise. Its first location was in a warehouse near Polo Park, in between St. James Street and Route 90. He later moved to a smaller location on Portage Avenue. 

In 1993 he sold Warehouse Hobbies to Jim and Bev Iredale and retired to Nanaimo. But he didn’t stop working for very long, and found a job at Leisure Time Hobbies. After that, he worked on his layout full-time. His reputation often preceded him, as he was often asked to evaluate model railroader’s collections, and was frequently sought out as a vendor at train shows on Vancouver Island. 

Ken died peacefully on June 9, 2016.