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I got my original Lionel set from Jaye and Jaye (“Pappy Jaye’s) in East Cleveland for Christmas, 1955. It was my go-to shop from then on, including HO trains later on. I moved away and don’t know when they closed ((they actually moved to Euclid, Ohio at some point and became principally a bicycle shop with trains as a secondary interest). 

Anyhow, I was wondering if any forum members have a recollection of the place, maybe even a photo or two? For old time’s sake

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Yes, J&J moved to Euclid at some point but I have no idea when.  It was located off Lakeshore Blvd. in or next to the old Shoregate Shopping Center, I believe. There was a Bob’s Big Boy nearby, too (probably ex-Manners?). 

As I mentioned before, it was a shadow of its former self train-wise and most of the floor space was devoted to bicycles. I bought a Lionel C&NW FM Trainmaster from them when I visited sometime in the late 80’s. 

I fondly remember the original store on Euclid Avenue at Lee Road (?) with its backroom Lionel layout. Magical before the holidays back in the 50’s!

Dave Warburton posted:

I got my original Lionel set from Jaye and Jaye (“Pappy Jaye’s) in East Cleveland for Christmas, 1955. It was my go-to shop from then on, including HO trains later on. I moved away and don’t know when they closed ((they actually moved to Euclid, Ohio at some point and became principally a bicycle shop with trains as a secondary interest). 

Anyhow, I was wondering if any forum members have a recollection of the place, maybe even a photo or two? For old time’s sake

Hi Dave,

Jaye and Jaye was on Ivanhoe Road in East Cleveland (for those not familiar with the area, East Cleveland is a separate and distinct city, not part of Cleveland proper).  They started out as Cleveland Cycle.  Look at the dealer listings in the manual that comes with early 50's era Lionel sets and you will see them.  I remember the second store but not where it was at.  They had operating layouts in back.  The one I remember most had a twin motored Santa Fe single A unit pulling up a substantial grade.  The unique feature was that someone built a roadway with a slot and chain that pulled O gauge size cars around the layout.

I got some immediate postwar tin 027 passenger cars at the old store. Two bucks each!

I was not a regular customer there, but spent my time and Dad's money at Riedel's Railroadana on Babbitt Road in Euclid, right next to the NYC 4 track main thru town and across from the Addressograph Multigraph Corporation.  I have a friend that has some 8mm films of the place and I have offered to have them put on DVD at my expense.

Lou N

VistaDomeScott posted:

In the 1990s I stopped in a train store around 200th street north of I90 in Euclid.  It was a stand alone brick building in a more residential area.  Could have been them?  It was mostly HO and N.  

Hey Scott,

I believe you are thinking of Baron's Trains at 898 East 222 Street in Euclid.  Lots of HO.

Lou N

Dave Warburton posted:

Yes, J&J moved to Euclid at some point but I have no idea when.  It was located off Lakeshore Blvd. in or next to the old Shoregate Shopping Center, I believe. There was a Bob’s Big Boy nearby, too (probably ex-Manners?). 

As I mentioned before, it was a shadow of its former self train-wise and most of the floor space was devoted to bicycles. I bought a Lionel C&NW FM Trainmaster from them when I visited sometime in the late 80’s. 

I fondly remember the original store on Euclid Avenue at Lee Road (?) with its backroom Lionel layout. Magical before the holidays back in the 50’s!

Dave,

You reminded me of two other shops in the vicinity.  One was on Mayfield at I-271; Golden Gate Plaza as I recall.  Forgot the name; mostly HO.  It was run by Bob Kuppe and Paul McCoy.  Sadly diabetes took them both.  

The other shop was DiVinnies Hardware on Lee at Scottsdale.  They had great Lionel prices.  The thing I remember most was it was the only place I ever saw a Kusan display layout.  

Some comments of interest for the Cleveland people.  There was a local train themed TV show hosted by Captain Penney (Ron Penfound).  The usual 50's era cartoons.  He had guest performers including a magician named Tricky Harry.  I was told by the show's director (Earl Keyes who was also local celebrity Mr Jingaling), Tricky Harry was truly "Tricky" as the Shaker Heights Police found him at DiVinnies one night at 2am. 

More than you wanted to know.

Lou N

Lou N posted:
Dave Warburton posted:

Yes, J&J moved to Euclid at some point but I have no idea when.  It was located off Lakeshore Blvd. in or next to the old Shoregate Shopping Center, I believe. There was a Bob’s Big Boy nearby, too (probably ex-Manners?). 

As I mentioned before, it was a shadow of its former self train-wise and most of the floor space was devoted to bicycles. I bought a Lionel C&NW FM Trainmaster from them when I visited sometime in the late 80’s. 

I fondly remember the original store on Euclid Avenue at Lee Road (?) with its backroom Lionel layout. Magical before the holidays back in the 50’s!

Dave,

You reminded me of two other shops in the vicinity.  One was on Mayfield at I-271; Golden Gate Plaza as I recall.  Forgot the name; mostly HO.  It was run by Bob Kuppe and Paul McCoy.  Sadly diabetes took them both.  

The other shop was DiVinnies Hardware on Lee at Scottsdale.  They had great Lionel prices.  The thing I remember most was it was the only place I ever saw a Kusan display layout.  

Some comments of interest for the Cleveland people.  There was a local train themed TV show hosted by Captain Penney (Ron Penfound).  The usual 50's era cartoons.  He had guest performers including a magician named Tricky Harry.  I was told by the show's director (Earl Keyes who was also local celebrity Mr Jingaling), Tricky Harry was truly "Tricky" as the Shaker Heights Police found him at DiVinnies one night at 2am. 

More than you wanted to know.

Lou N

Interesting info, Lou!  I grew up in Shaker Heights not that far from Lee and Scottsdale and never knew about Divinnies. I frequented the hobby shop on Kinsman (later Chagrin Blvd.) near Lee Road for models and such but I don’t think they carried any Lionel. 

As an adult, I moved to the West Side (Strongsville) and shopped for trains at Hinch’s Hobby in Strongsville, later in Parma on Broadview Road, but mostly at The Trading Post with Jim Berilla and occasionally at The Hobby House in downtown Cleveland. 

I gather that with Jim’s passing there isn’t much left in the way of train shops in Cleveland anymore. Sad. 

Watched Capt. Penney growing up, too. He dressed as a train engineer for his noontime show. Jim Berilla had the Lionel set he had used as a prop. Capt. Penney had a “Brakeman” who was one of the cameramen, I believe.

Such happy memories of it all . We left Cleveland for SoCal ten years ago and are very happy out here. Especially in the winter.  

 

Lou N posted:
Dave Warburton posted:

I got my original Lionel set from Jaye and Jaye (“Pappy Jaye’s) in East Cleveland for Christmas, 1955. It was my go-to shop from then on, including HO trains later on. I moved away and don’t know when they closed ((they actually moved to Euclid, Ohio at some point and became principally a bicycle shop with trains as a secondary interest). 

Anyhow, I was wondering if any forum members have a recollection of the place, maybe even a photo or two? For old time’s sake

Hi Dave,

Jaye and Jaye was on Ivanhoe Road in East Cleveland (for those not familiar with the area, East Cleveland is a separate and distinct city, not part of Cleveland proper).  They started out as Cleveland Cycle.  Look at the dealer listings in the manual that comes with early 50's era Lionel sets and you will see them.  I remember the second store but not where it was at.  They had operating layouts in back.  The one I remember most had a twin motored Santa Fe single A unit pulling up a substantial grade.  The unique feature was that someone built a roadway with a slot and chain that pulled O gauge size cars around the layout.

I got some immediate postwar tin 027 passenger cars at the old store. Two bucks each!

I was not a regular customer there, but spent my time and Dad's money at Riedel's Railroadana on Babbitt Road in Euclid, right next to the NYC 4 track main thru town and across from the Addressograph Multigraph Corporation.  I have a friend that has some 8mm films of the place and I have offered to have them put on DVD at my expense.

Lou N

My dad worked for the Anchor Rubber Company way out on Euclid Ave. near AM. Picker X-Ray was next to his plant. Thirty years at Anchor. 

J and J moved to Shoregate Shopping Center in Euclid at some point. Cycles and Lionel, still. I visited there in the late 80’s. 

Dave Warburton posted:
As an adult, I moved to the West Side (Strongsville) and shopped for trains at Hinch’s Hobby in Strongsville, later in Parma on Broadview Road, but mostly at The Trading Post with Jim Berilla and occasionally at The Hobby House in downtown Cleveland. 

I gather that with Jim’s passing there isn’t much left in the way of train shops in Cleveland anymore. Sad. 

Watched Capt. Penney growing up, too. He dressed as a train engineer for his noontime show. Jim Berilla had the Lionel set he had used as a prop. Capt. Penney had a “Brakeman” who was one of the cameramen, I believe.

I used to go to Hinch's for my copy of OGR.  Another one that died too young.

Captain Penney's "brakeman", the voice in the background, was called Mr Nickelsworth.  That was also the previously mentioned Earl Keyes/Mr Jingaling.  He was the director of the show.

Lou N

I have attempted to visit some Cleveland area shops...not lately, and some were then gone.  In early 1960's l drove around northern Kentucky raiding small town drug stores, Western Autos, hardware stores, etc. for 1/25th auto kits, then popular.  Wish l had hunted trains.  Much later, l discovered the Bay and sold the car model collection to a Pa. college prof. The train thought was verified when l found a few plastic NOS Marx sets in a Western Auto that was closing, that too, too many years ago, but long after the auto kit safari.  Missed opportunities..

Lou N posted:
Dave Warburton posted:
As an adult, I moved to the West Side (Strongsville) and shopped for trains at Hinch’s Hobby in Strongsville, later in Parma on Broadview Road, but mostly at The Trading Post with Jim Berilla and occasionally at The Hobby House in downtown Cleveland. 

I gather that with Jim’s passing there isn’t much left in the way of train shops in Cleveland anymore. Sad. 

Watched Capt. Penney growing up, too. He dressed as a train engineer for his noontime show. Jim Berilla had the Lionel set he had used as a prop. Capt. Penney had a “Brakeman” who was one of the cameramen, I believe.

I used to go to Hinch's for my copy of OGR.  Another one that died too young.

Captain Penney's "brakeman", the voice in the background, was called Mr Nickelsworth.  That was also the previously mentioned Earl Keyes/Mr Jingaling.  He was the director of the show.

Lou N

Yes, Merrill Hinchcliffe was a friend. A great big fellow with a zest for life. I was shocked when he died of a heart attack. His wife, Marilyn, was nice, as well. 

As a former Akronite, I too remember Captain Penny. As a kid I admired any man dressed in an engineer suit. I have an old article from the Plain Dealer that Ron Penfound's wife committed suicide by jumping off a bridge on the Ohio Turnpike. So sad.

I've been living in southern Arizona for nearly 15 years. It's disappointing to hear of of all of those train shops that I frequented over the years knowing now that they are no longer in business.

Last edited by Lenny the Lion

FWIW, I got to the point where I only wanted to go downtown and patronize The Hobby House.

It's not exactly downtown and it sure isn't next door to the East Side, but Stockyard Express in Oberlin has become my current favorite.

Also, some of these old East Side hobby shops didn't technically fail.  Their owner simply retired or passed away.  Meaning they served their purpose for the original owner/creator.

Some, unfortunately, fell into the "not changing with the times" hobby store model and did indeed go under.

Also, it's often the people that we were with that make the memories so favorable/strong.  If I was at Jaye & Jaye, The Hobby House, or Willoughby Trains....it was because my maternal grandparents took me.  Some great memories indeed!!

Rockstar, you need to check out Stockyard Express sometime - it's a pleasant drive for Clevelanders.  Take I-90 west to Baumhart Road in Lorain and use your phone for navigation south from there.  The store is at the end of Baumhart road out in the country, but you'll be impressed once you find the store and get inside.

Pennsylover

Pennsylover posted:

Rockstar, you need to check out Stockyard Express sometime - it's a pleasant drive for Clevelanders.  Take I-90 west to Baumhart Road in Lorain and use your phone for navigation south from there.  The store is at the end of Baumhart road out in the country, but you'll be impressed once you find the store and get inside.

Pennsylover

Very true. Since the Old Brooklyn Trading Post closed, and also due to my opening up to DCS and MTH, I've visited Stockyeard Express twice and picked up a bounty.

Pennsylover posted:

Rockstar, you need to check out Stockyard Express sometime - it's a pleasant drive for Clevelanders.  Take I-90 west to Baumhart Road in Lorain and use your phone for navigation south from there.  The store is at the end of Baumhart road out in the country, but you'll be impressed once you find the store and get inside.

Pennsylover

Penney-Yes I have been out there a few times. Thanks Nick

Many fond memories from the late 50s/early 60s visiting and shopping with my dad.  My dad started our set when I was about two and I kept it going into my middle teens.  I, too,  recall the layout they had in the back.  Worst decision I ever made — trading a die cast steam engine for a plastic diesel model because I thought it looked more modern.  I caught holy **** for that one but I did replace the steam engine later.  Still have my set in boxes, ready to pass on.  

Loved reading this one. I have lived in Cleveland all my life. WOW we have lost a lot of train shops over the years.I remember most of the ones mentioned and there are a few more not mentioned. The only decent shop left close to Cleveland is Ormandys in Medina. However the drive is worth it to Corner field (New trading post) Nick

There's a second store east of Cleveland in Mentor that I visit on occasion: CW Trains. For those who don't know the area, Mentor is about 20 miles east/northeast of Cleveland. They carry mostly postwar and MPC items, but they have some modern starter sets.

https://cwtrains.com/

  Another long gone great hobby shop was The Corner Store over in Lorain, Ohio.  Jim had an operating layout and an excellent supply of trains, parts, and magazines which covered all scales.  He also had a sub-group of regular clientele who sometimes could be found gathered all at the same time in the store.

   One of the more memorable happenstance gatherings of this group occurred in the early 1990's. Ray, a standard gauge buff, had received one of those toy-train-for-sale phone calls and, as a result became the new owner of a Lionel Standard Gauge 408E complete with 4, 6 wheel passenger cars.  What made the set interesting was the paint scheme - very dark green - and the markings on the cars.  Instead of the usual rubber stamping below the windows the four cars were rubber stamped Erie, Nickel Plate, B&O and W&LE, and New York Central.  The engine, instead of the usual Lionel identifiers on the brass plates had "Van Sweringen" on one plate and "Union Terminal Dedicated June 28, 1930" on the other. 

  Ray and I did a lot of research and came up with a lot of dead ends. I ultimately wrote an article about the set which appeared in the November 1993 issue of CTT.  The magazine had even more resources than I had and they managed to find an article in the Cleveland Press (a by then defunct newspaper) with a date line of June 28, 1930 which described the Terminal Tower dedication ceremonies and which also mentioned a running display of toy trains.  The editor included this information in my article. While the Press article didn't provide specific details I was pretty sure the train Ray had purchased and the one mentioned in the newspaper article were one and the same.

  Another long gone great hobby shop was The Corner Store over in Lorain, Ohio.  Jim had an operating layout and an excellent supply of trains, parts, and magazines which covered all scales.  He also had a sub-group of regular clientele who sometimes could be found gathered all at the same time in the store.

   One of the more memorable happenstance gatherings of this group occurred in the early 1990's. Ray, a standard gauge buff, had received one of those toy-train-for-sale phone calls and, as a result became the new owner of a Lionel Standard Gauge 408E complete with 4, 6 wheel passenger cars.  What made the set interesting was the paint scheme - very dark green - and the markings on the cars.  Instead of the usual rubber stamping below the windows the four cars were rubber stamped Erie, Nickel Plate, B&O and W&LE, and New York Central.  The engine, instead of the usual Lionel identifiers on the brass plates had "Van Sweringen" on one plate and "Union Terminal Dedicated June 28, 1930" on the other.

  Ray and I did a lot of research and came up with a lot of dead ends. I ultimately wrote an article about the set which appeared in the November 1993 issue of CTT.  The magazine had even more resources than I had and they managed to find an article in the Cleveland Press (a by then defunct newspaper) with a date line of June 28, 1930 which described the Terminal Tower dedication ceremonies and which also mentioned a running display of toy trains.  The editor included this information in my article. While the Press article didn't provide specific details I was pretty sure the train Ray had purchased and the one mentioned in the newspaper article were one and the same.

Very cool!  I visited The Corner Store once and found it interesting. It was over a big bridge over the river as I recall. Very industrial area. Thanks for sharing.

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