We had a store here in Westminster, Md, where I grew up. Also recall visiting the store in Hanover, Pa.
Dennis LaGrua posted:Another Brooklyn NY store that I remember that carried Lionel was Carnival Sports on Ave P and E.J Corvettes on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn. Back in the 1950's and 1960's when I lived in Bensonhurst you couldn't go a mile without finding a store that carried model Trains. Later when I moved to NJ, I remember Two Guys department stores that always had an excellent after Christmas sales but then after getting married in 1975 the train shows started and I began purchasing there
I think you meant E.J. Korvettes, which was also off the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn. That’s where I got some of my HO trains in the early 1970s. And where I saw N scale trains for the first time.
There was a EJ Korvettes department store on the east side of union square NYC that had trains, wow, I remember that!
JOE the motorist's friend ad is awesome! Really great sales.
First time I saw European HO as in Marklin, & Fleishman, I was mesmerized by scale trains at F A O Schwartz, 5th ave. NYC.
Mominere & Kemp later called Field's Hobby Shop in Catonsville, MD was my favorite train store when I was growing up in the 1950's. I stop in there everyday on the way home from school just to drool and dream of owning their Lionel trains. 65 years later I'm still thinking about that store and the many fond memories.
We didn't have any "dedicated" train stores nearby when I was a kid.
Trains were bought at Sears and at the May Co during the Christmas season.
KAUFMAN'S DEPT. STORE IN PITTSBURGH. THEY HAD A HUGE LAYOUT @ CHRISTMAS AND SOLD LIONEL GOODIES YEAR ROUND, IT'S FUNNY HOW I GREW UP AND ALL THE TRAINS DISSAPPEARED FROM THE STORES @THE SAME TIME,
RICH B posted:growing up in Pennsauken NJ ,there was a Lionel showroom and store ,on route 130 .Parents took me there often.
Hi Rich
Where was this at? I live in Philly, 5 minutes from the Tacony bridge
I'm 62,just curious where it used to be
Hi Joe,
Located 2 minutes north of the Airport Circle (the Pub was there and still is).I believe there was a Kiddie City ,in the same vicinity.Later Harrys toy store.And a small amusement park. Circa late 50 s early 60 s.Joe you sent me right down memory lane !!
rich b
jim pastorius posted:Hobby Corner !! I faintly remember that but not the trains. I think they carried a lot of model kits, too. There was a hobby shop in Springdale, Pa. run by Neil Boggiano who I saw recently at the Greenberg show. Neil was big in to brass, an excellent photographer, knew where all the tracks were in the Pgh area. Neil retired, closed the store and living the good life.
I clearly remember an amazing selection of model kits, as well as model rockets. The train selection was pretty great for the small store that it was. Also the shop had a cool window layout, small but with O HO and N scale trains on it.
Speaking of old train stores, I have a catalog cover I found in a stack of model railroading magazines I bought at the Western PA Model Railroad museum. Does anyone know about the shop stamped on the catalog cover? Albert’s is the name of the store. It was before my time but I’m curious because I lived close to route 8 for years.
Attachments
While not train stores per se, I sure enjoyed visiting department and variety stores with hobby departments growing up. Places like Two Guys, Korvette, Woolworth and Newberry had a great selection of trains. I remember picking tin Marx freight cars out of trays on the counter at our local 5 and 10 for about 50 cents each.
Bob
pd posted:Joe the Motorist's Friend...always a big selection of Lionel at Christmas. Ran ads similar to this:
That ad brings back fond memories as a kid. Thanks for posting.
Craig
Lou N posted:Roving Sign posted:pennytrains posted:Trading Post Trains on Pearl Road in Cleveland Ohio. Old store front, metal embossed ceiling panels and trains from the floor to the ceiling. On the north side of the building is a large "Hudson on a flag" 1942 Lionel catalog cover billboard.
There you go Penny! - That's my uncle Ted Nyerges (passed in 2015) on the far right - not sure who the other fellows (or the dog!) are - or what the signature is about. Just found this pic in a big stack on Lionel catalogs last night...
I believe the guy on the left is Ed Rowe.
Lou N
My dad would take us there .
I grew up in Allentown, PA. The two train places I frequented the most were Pollard Tire on North 7th Street and Hobby Corner at West & Tilghman Streets. My father occasionally got me train stuff from Two Guys and Hess's, as well.
harley rider posted:Lou N posted:Roving Sign posted:pennytrains posted:Trading Post Trains on Pearl Road in Cleveland Ohio. Old store front, metal embossed ceiling panels and trains from the floor to the ceiling. On the north side of the building is a large "Hudson on a flag" 1942 Lionel catalog cover billboard.
There you go Penny! - That's my uncle Ted Nyerges (passed in 2015) on the far right - not sure who the other fellows (or the dog!) are - or what the signature is about. Just found this pic in a big stack on Lionel catalogs last night...
I believe the guy on the left is Ed Rowe.
Lou N
My dad would take us there .
That most certainly looks like Jim Berilla in the middle. If I was driving on Pearl Rd in Cleveland, that pic of the scale Hudson would most definitely get my attention!
Moved out of state in 2004, I sure miss that place.
Toy Craft, Norfolk Virginia
there was a store in woodhaven queens new york called Lewis of Woodhaven.There were actually two branches on Jamica avenue.The one near 85th street sold alot of lionel at christmas.They stopped selling trains but the store continued in business for years after but eventually closed about ten years ago.This was one of those stores that had everything.
jim mcclain posted:there was a store in woodhaven queens new york called Lewis of Woodhaven.There were actually two branches on Jamica avenue.The one near 85th street sold alot of lionel at christmas.They stopped selling trains but the store continued in business for years after but eventually closed about ten years ago.This was one of those stores that had everything.
As a kid (1950's early 60's) living in Richmond Hill, 107 St. and a Grandmother in Woodhaven, Park Lane South, I remember LOW well, was certainly a store with everything.
RICH B posted:Hi Joe,
Located 2 minutes north of the Airport Circle (the Pub was there and still is).I believe there was a Kiddie City ,in the same vicinity.Later Harrys toy store.And a small amusement park. Circa late 50 s early 60 s.Joe you sent me right down memory lane !!
rich b
Hey Rich
We still go to the Pub 2 or 3 times a year,still great steaks
I had two. The Trading Post and Hobby House.....both in Cleveland, Ohio. One is gone, the other remains.
My major one was J&D Whistle Stop in Quakertown. Small store with a small O gauge selection, but always friendly and helpful, and I made regular visits just because of the proximity. I did buy my first starter set there in 2009 as well as other supplies. Before settling on O gauge we also made some visits to Penn Valley Hobby Center in Lansdale, which was mostly HO and N scale but had a few O gauge consignment pieces. Both are now gone and I'm quite happy with my new LHS of Henning's Trains, as well as occasional trips to Nicholas Smith and Grzyboski's.
Aside from PA I also spent a year growing up in Manassas, VA and always enjoyed Train Depot and KMA Junction. Not sure how many places can say they had two great O gauge stores just 15 minutes apart, in the same ZIP code! I return there occasionally to visit family; KMA is gone now, Train Depot has relocated and shrunken but still has a decent selection. Toy Trains and Collectibles takes up half of Train Depot's old location now and I've had some neat finds there.
Grew up in West Texas town of Midland. Had a great train store, Wilcox Hardware, located just West of downtown. Do not remember seeing any "hardware" stuff, but all the Lionel you could want. Of course, this was late 50s to early 60s as the store burned down in 1965. As a young boy of 12 yrs, it was a big blow. Went there many times with parents and looked at all the trains, going home with some track, a switch, etc. As with all, Christmas was really special, but they always had year round layouts in the two large store windows, push buttons outside so anyone could run the trains as long as they held down the push button. Great memories, a great loss when it burned.
Jesse TCA
Joe the Motorist Friend and Schaefer Bros. In Carlisle, Pa
Wally
Fresno, CA: Arthurs Toys for Lionel and AF, Tom's Trains for HO.
Tony's Hobby Shop- Coplay, Pa- My go to spot. Has been around since1946. I remember going there with my dad or Pop, with Pop it'd be on a Sunday morning while Gram was making lunch, in the mid-90s. My father got a lot of his trains and accessories from here- mainly postwar such as the Gang car, Coal Loader, Dispatch Station, Freight Station, Liberty Special, and more. It's only a hop-skip-and a jump from work for me and I've gotten a bunch of rolling stock, track, paints, lubricants, grease, etc... from here. Can always count on Gerry and his repair-man(fixed trains for this fantastic singer named Frank, is contacted by Mike Wolf and representatives from Guggenheim) whose knowledge to fixing goes from prewar to current era, or product finder( often sets up at trainshows in Eastern PA and also collaborates with Nick Smith's Shop in Bromall).Haven't found a better outfit outside of Philly, and even in Philly I'm not suren you'll get this kind of attention/assistance- to handle repairs or finding parts.
Trains & Lanes- Easton, PA. -Been going here since the mid-90s. Prices are kind of high for rolling stock but they have an extremely vast selection of it and accessories from Lionel, MTH, Atlas, American Flyer, Atlas, Model Power and more. Prices for track{tubular or RealTrax, FasTrack, and Atlas (they don't carry Gargraves)} are more than fair. Other accessories such BCRs, lock-ons, ITADs, etc... are priced to be more than fair and they have a lot of people on staff who know what they're doing.
Pollards- Allentown(closed when I was a kid in about 95-96)- my mom and I went there when they were closing. At the time finances were tight and my parents hoped that as they were having a closeout sale we'd be able to get an engine, but it wasn't to be. Still remember the day and I have stil images in my head.
Unknown Name trainshop in Mahanoy City on the Main street in the Coal Regions, was open as of 1999-2000. Got my 2nd engine there, I picked it out, a Williams GP9 right before Christmas 99. Now closed. There is a shop up in Mahanoy City but I don't believe it's a continuation of this shop.
TylerCH posted:My major one was J&D Whistle Stop in Quakertown. Small store with a small O gauge selection, but always friendly and helpful, and I made regular visits just because of the proximity. I did buy my first starter set there in 2009 as well as other supplies. Before settling on O gauge we also made some visits to Penn Valley Hobby Center in Lansdale, which was mostly HO and N scale but had a few O gauge consignment pieces. Both are now gone and I'm quite happy with my new LHS of Henning's Trains, as well as occasional trips to Nicholas Smith and Grzyboski's.
Aside from PA I also spent a year growing up in Manassas, VA and always enjoyed Train Depot and KMA Junction. Not sure how many places can say they had two great O gauge stores just 15 minutes apart, in the same ZIP code! I return there occasionally to visit family; KMA is gone now, Train Depot has relocated and shrunken but still has a decent selection. Toy Trains and Collectibles takes up half of Train Depot's old location now and I've had some neat finds there.
@TylerCH been wanting to get to Henning's since it's only about 35 minutes from me and Nicholas Smith since it's right by Villanova where my little sister goes to college. Figure "seeing my sister" would be a great excuse to go to Nick Smith lol. Also have been wanting to get to Grzyboski's for awhile!
As I had mentioned in an earlier post, Max K Trell was a hobby store in Stamford CT which carried a reasonable selection of Lionel. My Dad's business was located in NYC so repairs were done at Madison Hardware. I have a few items/boxes with the Madison sticker on them.
When I was an older child and was able to travel by myself farther afield (1.5 miles) because I had wheels (bicycle) I could buy Lionel at our local discount store Caldors. Back in the late 1950's Caldors was not like the discount stores of today. You could buy Waterford Crystal, expensive cameras and loads of high end products there at discount prices including Lionel. Caldors started as a small discount store in Port Chester, New York. The name was a combination of the owner's names Calvin and Dorothy. Caldor's didn't have a huge selection of Lionel by any means but it wasn't like today where discount stores only carry low end sets. Caldor's sold freight cars, track, accessories, sets and maintenance stuff like track cleaner. The store also carried Life Like train products. I still have Lionel boxes with the Caldor price sticker on them. My Lionel giraffe car among others came from Caldors. Caldors grew into a regional chain and was eventually sold to the May Corporation (think Kmart) as the owners aged. The new owners didn't appreciate the high end market Caldors serviced and remade the chain in the image of Kmart. As a result, Caldors went out of business.
I agree with all the readers/responders who love the nostalgia of this post. Here is another. I grew up in Union City NJ -born in 1946. My father was a policeman and my family was filled with hunters. There was an Union City gun store-Toblers-on 32nd St ( also called the Bergen Turnpike) between JFK Blvd ( the old Hudson Ave, I think) and Bergenline Ave. It was a big supplier of guns to the local police departments. They also sold Lionel Trains during the holidays-and all my train Christmas presents in the 1950-60s came from there. No layout-but I distinctly remember seeing my first maroon top Trainmaster on display at Toblers. Enjoy!! Turtle 7
C W Burfle posted:Back in my youth (50's & 60's) in the Capitol District area of NYS, our best Lionel dealer was Charles Klarsfeld & Sons located in downtown Albany, N. Y..
Now Klarsfeld is a bicycle store on Central Ave, right near Colonie Center. Do you know whether it is the same family? I've wondered what else they sold when they had Lionel. Was it a hobby shop, or was it a bike store that carried trains, or something else?
@C W Burfle, That is the same business. You can read about their history here: https://ckcycles.com/about-us.html
Also, I have started a thread on this shop: https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...ng-a-bell-for-anyone where I have posted a period picture of the interior train display.
the walnut street Lionel hobby shop in Bridgeton new jersey!
Alan
bmoran4 posted:C W Burfle posted:Back in my youth (50's & 60's) in the Capitol District area of NYS, our best Lionel dealer was Charles Klarsfeld & Sons located in downtown Albany, N. Y..
Now Klarsfeld is a bicycle store on Central Ave, right near Colonie Center. Do you know whether it is the same family? I've wondered what else they sold when they had Lionel. Was it a hobby shop, or was it a bike store that carried trains, or something else?
@C W Burfle, That is the same business. You can read about their history here: https://ckcycles.com/about-us.html
Also, I have started a thread on this shop: https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...ng-a-bell-for-anyone where I have posted a period picture of the interior train display.
CW is no longer with us unfortunately. He passed about a year ago.
I grew up in Northeast New Jersey and we had Totowa Hobby Shop which is in my town of Wayne. My parents used to take us to Flemington a few times a year and Little Hobbies was pretty neat in Turntable Junction. My all time favorite was Trainworld in Brooklyn, but of course that took about an hour to get to so I didn't get to go there often. Oddly enough even though I live out near Chicago I still order from Trainworld all of the time, still my favorite hobby shop.
Cheers, Pete
Growing up in Savannah, GA there was one that I remember most. It was not very big but was wall to wall trains, RC equipment, and slot cars. It was called "The Hobby Shop" in the medical arts plaza on Waters Ave. They moved to a new location and it was never the same and eventually closed. There was a 5 and Dime next door as well...a kids dream come true with both stores.
After I became an adult I found one called Bull St Station...it was good but not the same as the original one I liked. They have since closed as well.
Sadly now there are no Train/Hobby shops in Savannah. I envy people that have several good ones in their town or nearby.
Downtown Toledo Oh. had 2 hobby shops. There was a local Furniture for lack of a better word store that was a Lionel dealer. I bought the few items I could afford from him but the hobby shops were more fun to visit.
Adriatic posted:bmoran4 posted:C W Burfle posted:Back in my youth (50's & 60's) in the Capitol District area of NYS, our best Lionel dealer was Charles Klarsfeld & Sons located in downtown Albany, N. Y..
Now Klarsfeld is a bicycle store on Central Ave, right near Colonie Center. Do you know whether it is the same family? I've wondered what else they sold when they had Lionel. Was it a hobby shop, or was it a bike store that carried trains, or something else?
@C W Burfle, That is the same business. You can read about their history here: https://ckcycles.com/about-us.html
Also, I have started a thread on this shop: https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...ng-a-bell-for-anyone where I have posted a period picture of the interior train display.
CW is no longer with us unfortunately. He passed about a year ago.
I'm at the stage in life where I am struggling to keep the all the graduations, marriages, first homes, babies, and first real grown-up jobs/promotions for my peers. Keeping tabs on on thousands of forum members and which ones are still with us seems daunting! However, I am saddened to (re?)-learn of his passing.
Martin's on Court Street in Reading Pa
I grew up in Northeast Philly. Trips downtown would be a treat around the holidays. We had Wanamaker, Gimbals, Strawbridge & Clothier, Lit Brothers and Snellenbergs department stores. By far, Wanamaker's toy department was the most well stocked and displayed.
But closer to home we had hardware stores that sold trains. There was also the five and dimes, Kresggee and Grants on Frankfort Ave as well as on Cottman near Castor. They had mostly Marx trains, with some lower end Lionel sprinkled in.
So to answer the question, What was your favorite train store as a child, the prize would go to Wanamaker.
My train store is Ridgefield Hobby Shop in NJ. It’s a small “mom & pop” shop. They are literally 10 minutes from my house and whenever I want trains that’s where I go.