HomeShops (HO)

Home Shops LLC is a boutique model railroad company that occupies a specialized niche in the hobby: producing limited-run, collector-grade rolling stock decorated for freelance and proto-freelance railroads. Founded by model railroader Christopher Palmieri, the company bridges high-end manufacturing with custom, imaginative layout history. Rather than focusing solely on historical real-world class-I or shortline railroads, Home Shops brings popular fictional and “what-if” rail networks to life using prototype-accurate tooling from top-tier manufacturers like Tangent Scale Models.

The company functions both as a direct retailer and an incubator for community-designed road names. Modelers can pitch their own well-developed freelance railroad concepts to Home Shops, which evaluates schemes based on era-appropriate aesthetic, community lore, and prototype plausibility. By assuming the manufacturing and distribution risks, Home Shops delivers factory-painted, fully detailed models—such as PS-4750 covered hoppers—complete with custom paint schemes, realistic reporting marks, and original artist collaborations. Through initiatives like its Ambassador Fleet, Home Shops champions freelancing as a creative art form, giving custom model railroads nationwide reach and factory-quality polish.