Livingston, Texas: Run Shoppers Run! (Closed)
The New Economy: Shoppers at this small country store dashed outside whenever a train rumbled past. If they got the engineer to toot twice, everyone received a 20 percent discount.
Thomas Mercantile
- Directions:
- Thomas Mercantile. Drive north of town four miles on US Hwy 59. Turn left (west) onto little Marston Rd (no stoplight). Drive a half-mile to the train tracks and turn right onto Old Hwy 35. You'll quickly see the store on the right.
- Hours:
- Feb. 2021: Reported permanently closed.
- Status:
- Closed
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It was a fun offroad adventure to find, But when we arrived, it was closed even though we arrived during the listed hours of operation. My 10 year old daughter was disappointed!
[Alissa, 07/14/2018]
Nice little store to visit. Need to know the train schedule to be present for the excitement.
[R Mogel, 01/11/2018]
North of Livingston there's a little gift shop, Thomas Mercantile, that opened in 1913 and is run by the fourth generation of the same family. The funny part is that it's on a dirt road out in the middle of the woods across from a railroad track. If a train comes by while you're in the shop, all the customers run outside and try to get the train engineer to honk twice. If they do, everyone gets a 20 percent discount. Nothing funnier than older men and women running full speed and flagging down a train.
[Terry Smith, 08/18/2012]Latest Tips Across Roadside America
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When you become older you'll wish you had a tooting train to flag for a 20 percent discount. That said, we enjoy the idea of linking sale prices to a goofy group activity. Jan. 2018: Photo added.