Youngstown, Ohio Hobby Shop

Amers Hobby is really empty- but in warren/howland go to Andrews Hardware. Great train stuff, plus its an old time hardware including a Stanley Steemer (or locomobile) car inside the hardware store. Andrews gets 5 stars.

I get all of my stuff from andrews hardware, but is probably 25 solid minutes from youngstown/poland. I found a couple of discounted products at hobby town on route 224. It's a nice store, but it's a hobby store, not train, never know what you may find though. Amers in youngstown has really old stuff in the back, but not a large selection. Good luck!

Unfortunately, the ONLY even halfway decent train store for O gauge in the immediate Youngstown-Boardman-Poland area would be Crouse Mills-True Value in North Lima.  Believe me, I know that for certain.  Crouse has mostly Lionel low- and mid-range items, but it really is a neat store to visit (train dept. is in two real-life boxcars).

The only true train stores in the general area are Mercer Junction, in Mercer, PA;  Andrews, in Warren; and Aaron's, in Akron (all within about a 45-minute or so drive).  There are also several others, but they are more distant.

Heck, Crouse-Mills is a good stop just to look at all the hardware and garden tools they have to offer.  The trains are an added bonus.  I noticed, the last time I stopped by, that the overhead G gauge trains sounded like they were in need of some lubrication.

Allan is wrigt true value has a box car with lionel trains a lot of them I love to go thir. And another is andrews hardware shop and Amers hobbie shop and boardman hobbie shop and the last is austintown shop. Hope this helps. 

No directions or street addresses?

Head over to see Dave at Mercer Junction!

151 N Diamond St, Mercer, PA 16137
(724) 662-1110

I agree. I was always fascinated there as a kid and be sure to stop whenever I'm in town. 

Alan, I noticed this year at Christmas they seem to be getting some higher end freight cars. I picked up the North Pole Central caboose there this past Christmas. I recall seeing some of the scale hoppers as well. 

I was thire yesterday and seen a nice o scale dobble door box car in Pennsylvania paints came very nice car.

Directions to the Crouse location are right there on their home page (linked above).

Personally, I would not even spend time going to Amer's (where my first boyhood train came from) or Boardman Hobby.  If you're into O, you'll be disappointed.  Definitely pay Andrew's a visit if you're in the Warren area, and most certainly visit Dave's splendid Mercer store if you're in that area, or Aaron's if you're in Akron.  Just visit their respective websites for directions.

I'll be moving to Windham before the end of the year. I tried to google Andrews hardware with no luck unless its a hardware store in the Andrews shopping center. HELP

Yep, that's the place!

THANKS

If you are looking for overpriced trains........

http://www.kraynaks.com/

Ha, ha, yes.  I've been to Kraynaks numerous times, but not in recent years.  My father-in-law loved taking the kids there during the Christmas season when they were little.  Thank you.

Oh wow.  Hadn't thought about Kraynaks in years.  My wife is from Hermitage.  While her parents were alive we'd bring the kids and visit Kraynaks over Christmas, but their prices were really over the top.  A number of years ago I walked in there and spotted a PS-1 Pennsy G5s right next to a PS-2 Pennsy G5s.  Yep, they were both MSRP - $700.00  Buy the PS-1 and we'll throw in the 3 clanks of death no charge! 

Thire are overly priced because they don't take of 10% of the SMTP price. 

I was just curious how overpriced Kraynaks is so clicked the link and found no trains listed. "Trains" and the various mfg names are there, but no listings or prices. 

I moved away from that area about 20 years ago. their train area was maybe 6x15 or so holding all scales plus accessories and I doubt its changed much. everything in that store was pretty much msrp and then some. ive seen some walk-in closets bigger than their train area

I will say this for Kraynak's - they come the closest to reminding me of the Sears in Steubenville, OH.  The one that had the wonderful train room of my childhood.

George

Ahhhh Kraynaks...just the name brings back memories of the smell of hot light bulbs inside animated plastic figures. Never understood how the entire place didn't catch fire with all the light bulb heat!

True Story about Andrews- I used to work across the street part time as a Fire Inspector. Since it was a part time gig, I would pick up my check at the FD, cash it .25 miles down the road, and return to Andrews and spend just about the last dollar each time. Old Mr, Andrews caught on & would joke with me about "Why don't you just save a step & cash it here!" I knew at that point I needed to slow down a bit.....

Roger,

Good one about all the heat!    Also about spending your money at Andrews.

To all, I do recall looking at the trains, but I didn't have a handle on what were good prices, since I was running HO then.

I wasn't expecting this thread to diverge to Kraynaks. but on the other hand, one never knows where conversations will go on this or any forum.  This has been an added bonus to my initial question.

Thank you everyone who has participated!!  It looks like Crouse Mills will be the place, since it is closer.  Of course, who knows what will develop in the next few days.

I went to Crouse Mills today since it was closer than Andrews.  The boxcars filled with trains was a nice site.  They had 2 or 3 G Gauge layouts there, but no trains were running.  It is an impressive store otherwise as well.  I went upstairs and looked through the John Deere and die cast cars.  They certainly had a large area for Ohio State fans, as well.  

I bought an old Lionel boxcar commemorating the 1 millionth car made by Pullman Standard, since PS had a large factory in Butler.  I do not believe they ever made boxcars there.  For years they turned out thousands or covered hoppers until they closed in 1982.  Also, I bought a K-Line wooden reefer lettered for Heinz.  Both were $19.00.

Here is a photo from the outside of the caboose and boxcars.  Also I took a picture of the short line engines parked across the road.  I should have written down the name, as now I forgot it.  Sorry for the photos not being better, I took them with my phone, and it was raining at the time, so I didn't even look to see if I could get better ones.

Thank you for all the suggestions.  I will keep the other shops in mind for another day.

Mark,

Thanks for the photos and thread, my dad took me to Crouse Mills when I was about five, same with Boardman Hobby, my earliest train memories as it was at that time he brought out his PW Lionel and we set up a huge (two sheet of plywood) layout. We moved to south Florida shortly thereafter and I have not thought much about either place until recently, seeing this photo brought back a flood of happy memories with my dad.

Thanks,

Jason

 A very unique place visually. I remember Gramps taking me by there, but it was closed. While visiting us in Twinsburg, he would hit every shop from Cleveland then south that he could.

Jason,

You're welcome!  I am certainly glad I took the photos and was able to bring back some good memories.

If I had known you were going to be at Crouse Mills today, Mark, I would have dropped by to say "hello."  I spend most Saturdays nowadays volunteering at Angels for Animals, a dog and cat rescue facility, which is just a few miles away.

Glad to hear you scored a couple of items during your visit to Crouse.  I always enjoy going there during the pre-holiday season just to gauge how trains are selling, and they so seem to go through quite a bit of inventory in the November-January period--especially Lionel starter sets.

Might it have been Youngstown and Southeastern? The grey and white I believe are their colors, and I've seen that CSX short line while I've been in town. 

Here's the latest information I have about that rail line (former Youngstown & Southern).

Steve and Allan,

Yes Youngstown and Southeastern was it!  Allan, I thought there would be a lot more action in the store in the winter.  I am glad I made the trip.

Adriatic,

Glad your Gramps liked trains.

Mark

Very cool day trip & find.

Like the design of the building, next time I am in Ohio to 

visit my sister-in-law, I will have to make a small detour. 

Gary,

Yes, if it isn't too far out of your way make the trip.  I forgot to mention they have a good bit of G Scale too.  They have two loops of overhead trackage, but nothing was running.  I already guessed they probably gear up all that in the fall.

This thread makes me a little sad. Growing up in the Warren/Youngstown area we used to have so many options...

Trumbull Camera & Hobby

Amers

Boardman Hobby

Trigg Marine which became Train America

Crouse Hardware

The Great Train store at the S. Park Mall

Kraynaks - where I saw the original Lionel PRR S-2 with matching brass caboose.

Underground Railroad

There was also another Lionel store in Hermitage that I can't think of the name. As well as a hobby shop in the basement of a house in Warren that had O.

Probably why I'm so addicted to big trains. You couldn't swing a dead frog without hitting a hobby shop that carried O. Great memories. Sad that most of it is gone.

Jon,

I was in on a thread about 6 months ago naming all the closed shops in Western Pennsylvania.  Similar story.  On the other hand, there are some new ones like Mercer Junction Train Shoppe in Mercer and Hobby Express in Cranberry.  I agree I am sad the shops I visited in the late '60s and early '70s are gone.

I haven't visited Hobby Express yet Mark, but I totally agree about Mercer Junction. Dave has a fantastic store and he's a great guy to boot. We make the trip from Cleveland a few times a year. We hit Mercer jct., sometimes Underground RR, Kraynaks, and then dinner at Combine Bros. Fun for the whole family

Hobby Express is an all hobbies shop, RC cars, etc.  however they have lots of trains, O, HO, N.

where is Combine Bros?

Far more than just hobby shops, I visited an aunt just south of Youngstown about five years ago, places that had been open for 40, 50, 60+ years were gone, restaurants, hardware stores, all sorts of places that had been open for generations. I believe the huge downward population shift in the area and long term poor to terrible economic outlook going back to closure of the steel mills in the 1980's is most likely the cause. Very sad overall.

Yes, we went through the same thing in the '80s here too.  Actually we are in the same region.  Now new places are coming in north of Pittsburgh, but a lot of areas as still down.