EXHIBIT 99.1



                                December 21, 1999


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                    Contact: Cheryl Taylor
                                                                   972-392-1599


                          THE GREAT TRAIN STORE COMPANY
                  ANNOUNCES TRANSFER TO THE OTC BULLETIN BOARD


         (December  21,  1999  -  DALLAS)  The  Great  Train  Store  Company,  a
Dallas-based  national  chain  of  train-themed  toy,  hobby  and  gift  stores,
announced  Tuesday that trading of its common stock will be transferred from the
Nasdaq  Small-Cap  Market to the OTC Bulletin Board  effective at the opening of
trading on December 22, 1999.

         The  Great  Train  Stores  are a  national  chain  of  unique,  upscale
specialty  retail  stores with "more trains than you ever  imagined,"  selling a
wide range of  merchandise  all  relating to trains and  railroading.  There are
currently  56  stores  operating  in 27 states  and the  District  of  Columbia,
primarily located in highly trafficked regional malls and festival marketplaces.

         The Great Train  Stores are owned and operated by The Great Train Store
Partners, L.P., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Great Train Store Company.

         Actual results may differ materially from "forward-looking"  statements
due  to a  number  of  important  factors.  Those  factors,  including  possible
difficulties  in obtaining  appropriate  merchandise  for its stores on a timely
basis and  successfully  operating such stores,  are more fully discussed in the
Company's  most recent Form 10-K and Exhibit 99.1 attached to the Company's Form
10-Q for the second quarter of 1999, a copy of which is available without charge
from the Company.