Nottingham Station offers full line of Thomas the Train merchandise

Elizabeth and Jeff Nottingham’s store in the Village Shops, located on the grounds of Old Mill Marketplace, may be one of the only stores at First Monday Trades Days where children are encouraged to touch and play with the merchandise.

Nottingham Station or "The Thomas Store" carries a full line of Thomas the Train merchandise including trains, tracks and play tables.

Nottingham said that Thomas and Friends was created 60 years ago by the Reverend W. Awdry in England who told stories about trains to his son.

"The stories are wholesome, with no villains and always offers an important lesson about courtesy, bravery, hard work and other positive virtues," said Nottingham.

"We have tables set up with trains and tracks for the kids to try out and we have a Thomas video playing all the time," said Elizabeth Nottingham.

Nottingham said that children could also have a picture taken with their 4 by 8 foot Thomas.

The store also has a full line of Thomas and Friends clothing including socks, underwear, sleep sets, t-shirts, overalls and windsuits.

And if home décor is what you are looking for, the store also carries curtains and wallpaper, as well as, lights and bathroom accessories.

"You could completely outfit a child’s bedroom, bathroom or playroom in one visit to our shop," said Nottingham.

Along with Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway, the store also has Lionel wooden rail trains and American made Whistle Short Line Railway.

"We are also the only authorized dealer of Learning Curve products in Canton," said Nottingham.

The Nottingham’s 3 ½ year-old son, Dylon, is the inspiration for the store and is official toy tester and clothing model.

"Our son loves Thomas the Tank Engine but we found that the trains and toys were very expensive. We came to Canton hoping to find some bargains on Thomas and Friends merchandise. We hit every vendor and didn’t find any so we decided to see about opening our own Thomas Store," said Nottingham.

Nottingham said they buy their merchandise direct from more than 20 companies licensed to manufacture Thomas and Friends items.

"Buying direct allows us to pass our savings through and sell most of our items at 10 to 20 percent below the ‘big box’ retailers. Our selection of Thomas items is huge," said Nottingham.

"We do everything we can to keep our prices low and our selection unique. We carry new, used and retired toys and videos. We carry bulk track pieces so that families can add to their collection one piece at a time," said Nottingham.

Nottingham said the store is somewhere between a hobby and a full-time job.

"We love and believe in the products we sell as wholesome and educational," said Nottingham.

Nottingham has a BA in Psychology with a background in counseling and marketing and has a wholesale fashion accessories business.

Her husband has an MBA and is director of electricity sales to large industrial and commercial users.

The store has a website that can be visited at nottinghamstation.com.

See their ad on Page 2A and 2B.