Thor’s Trains, Furniture, and More

Opened in May of 1986, Thor’s Furniture Store in Murfreesboro, TN is a local gem that is perfect for antique lovers and train enthusiasts. Selling locally made rocking chairs, bookcases, and more as well as their extensive collection of model train sets this is a one stop shop for the holidays. Inside of this little shop you will find yourself surrounded by the sounds of little engines running as the different trains run around and around on their tracks. You can purchase everything you could need for your own miniature train station including trees and foliage, different cars, people, and buildings to make your set unique.

The array of furniture made right here in Middle Tennessee includes bookcases, nightstands, rocking chairs of all sizes, and doll beds. You won’t find anything else like this shop around, which is why you should make a point to visit this rarity and talk with owner Thor Rankin who can tell you anything you’d ever want to know about trains, furniture, and Elvis Presley.

Murfreesboro Pulse: Where does the furniture come from? All of our furniture is Middle Tennessee made; most of our furniture comes from Murfreesboro, Tullahoma, and Nashville.

How did you decide you wanted to start your own business? I am a third generation Tennessee merchant. My father and grandfather owned a clothing store and a sporting goods store in downtown Clarksville. All the old-time train stores are gone. Lionel has been in business since 1906. What we sell are the pre-war trains from the 1920’s and 1930’s and then we sell a lot of postwar trains from the 1950’s. So, we are like a real train store, not a chain store. This is like a piece of Americana. It’s a part of history that’s leaving us.

When you opened, did you see a need for something like this in the community or were you just hoping to find people with a genuine interest in them like you? When I was 12, I worked in an auction barn. I worked with them all through high school and got my auctioneer license under them. That taught me the furniture and antique market. Then to do a retail business to buy and sell you had to do the new product ant that’s how I started. I became a Lionel dealer in 1994.

How do you become a Lionel dealer? You have to have a train layout, a business license, with a storefront where you are open every day, a picture of your display, a picture of your layout.

Is there a specific layout that has to be done with the trains? No, you just have to demonstrate the product.

How do you go about picking out the trains you want to bring in? We want to have a starter set for under $200. A good price point is about $125-$160. Then the number one seller is the Pennsylvania Keystone Steam. So, you want your starter sets that are affordable.

Why do you think it’s the best seller? Price. We get a lot of people that don’t want to spend three or four hundred dollars to start off a child and see how they do.

When you buy a set what all comes with it? It comes with a transformer that plugs into the wall and into the side of the track. It has an engine, gondola boxcar, and caboose. You get a four pack of track and make the oval shape. You can get over a year’s use out of those little engines.

Do you have any plans to expand or anything in the future? If you do anything you want to go smaller. Going bigger would cost more money which would be less money in your pocket. Any place that pays the rent, lights, and phone does pretty good business – that’s something my father taught me.

What’s the furthest someone has traveled to come here and see you? We get a lot of people from all over. We’ve had people from Japan, Germany, Chile, and Korea. A lot of these people will come through here visiting Nashville or MTSU. I advertise in Classic Toy Trains – that’s a magazine that goes around the world – and, of course, in The Pulse. You got to advertise.

How do you do in sales this time of year? Good, real good. Our products – the trains and this furniture – we don’t have any competition. The rockers we sell year around; they are one of the best-selling products we have.

People see this particular hobby as something that is “dying out”, what do you have to say about that? Everyone thinks it takes a lot of money and it actually doesn’t. We get a lot of mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, electricians, truck drivers. They love this hobby. This teaches their children what they know.

Thor’s Furniture is located at 416 Medical Center Pkwy, Suite F in Murfreesboro, TN.

They are open Monday – Saturday 9:30am – 5:00pm and Sundays 1:00pm – 4:00pm.

For questions you can call 615-895-6918 or visit their Facebook page here.

“So, come on down to Thor’s and ride the rails!”

*Photos by Bracken Mayo