Exhibit 23.1



               CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS



The Board of Directors and Stockholders
The Great Train Store Company:

We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration  statements on Form
S-8 (Nos. 333-37705,  333-10427,  and 33-82626) of The Great Train Store Company
of our report  dated  February  19, 1999  relating to the  consolidated  balance
sheets of The Great Train Store Company and  subsidiaries  as of January 3, 1998
and January 2, 1999,  and the related  consolidated  statements  of  operations,
stockholders' equity, and cash flows for the each of the years in the three-year
period ended January 2, 1999, and the related schedule,  which report appears in
the January 2, 1999 annual report on Form 10-K of The Great Train Store Company.


                                         /s/ KPMG LLP
Dallas, Texas
March 31, 1999