Early to mid 1970's, it was Kiddie City and Allied Hobbies, both in Ardmore, PA as I recall. When I got a little older and could take public transportation by myself, it was to Todd's Model Shop in Upper Darby, PA--great memories taking the long-lived "bullet" cars of the Norristown High Speed Line to 69th St. Terminal from Bryn Mawr with my best friend. (The line was affectionately called the "P&W" for the original Philadelphia and Western RR, now operated by Septa.) I was into HO then; later it was N scale when I "discovered" Nicholas Smith sometime after Chris Gans purchased the business and moved it to Broomall, PA. I now enjoy O and they are still my primary LHS.
Park Lane Hobbies in Dolton, IL.
Located in the South Suburbs of Chicago, they stocked HO and N trains.
I was into HO at the time (late '70s early '80s); a small shop...but it had character.
Charles Ro. Herb at the desk!
My all time favorite was the Barberton Bike and Train Depot in Barberton, OH. As a kid I use to ride my bike to the shop and would always leave with a used $1 HO car and a equally used $.25 train magazine.
My other favorite was Glens in Akron, OH.
Well, way back in the 1980's...My Dad took me to Schafner's Trains in my hometown of Canton, Ohio. Always enjoyed the soda counter amidst the wall of trains. Neat place.
I loved the trio of neighboring train stores on 45th Street in Manhattan in the mid 1970s: Model Railroad Equipment Co. (later Train Shop Ltd.), Red Caboose and Roundhouse II.
Then, in Minnesota subsequently, it was Moon's Hobby Shop in Rochester.
Nostalgia runs deep in both cases.
But I will never forget the train department that E.J. Korvette in Brooklyn had every year into the mid 1970s each Christmas.
Well, for me it was Macy's at 34th and Broadway. The reason is that it was right across the street from my mother's office at 110 Broadway (you can actually see the front of the building and address during the Macy's Day Parade). So, all I had to do was cross the street. The 5th floor was a huge (to my young eyes) toy department, and at Christmas time what I thought was a pretty big display and layout of primarily Lionel trains. I bet that a lot of NYC was sold there.
I'd hang out on the 5th floor even when it wasn't Christmas; until they would throw me out. My most memorable ejection was when I was trying out the Pogo sticks, and I crashed into a display. Well, they had enough of me that day.
Another time a truant officer came up to us and asked why we weren't in school. We told him that it was Brooklyn Day, and our schools were closed. Being in Manhattan he didn't believe us or that there was such a thing as Brooklyn Day. After he made a couple of phone calls he came back and told us that we were right. He was pretty friendly at that point. Despite being a New Yorker and being doubtful at first he was always nice.
I didn't discover Madison Hardware until I was made aware of it while in the Lionel showroom. The best part was that it was just a short walk away. As a kid I never really thought that much of it since there wasn't a layout and the train displays were rather unimpressive. To add to that there were two grumpy old men in there. Yes, they get much acclaim, but to a kid from Brooklyn they were rather rude (kid= no money). The following dialogue is almost verbatim:
Me: Can I see that train?
Grumpy Guy (GG): Are you going to buy it?
Me: I don't know. I'd like to see it.
GG: If you're gonna buy it I'll show it to you.
Me: Well, I don't know. I'd like to see it.
GG: Are you gonna buy it?
Me: I'd like to see it first.
GG: Either you buy it or get outta here.
So, I left.
I have stories of going there to buy parts as a kid, but those are other stories.
I went back there years later, and I was able to act like the out of towner (which I was at that point) with my schiksa wife and two kids. I met two old guys who were actually quite pleasant and doting on the kids. I had money to buy stuff.
Alan
My first train was purchased with "OK" stamps (given out at our local grocery store), at their "store". We purchased some extra items at our local full line hobby shop. It was on Union Turnpike in Glen Oaks, NY.
I don't recall the real name of the store, we called it "Hi's", which was the name of the owner.
Reading all of these wonderful posts has jogged many long dormant memories. There was a hobby shop in the late 50's, early 60's, quite a bit south of our house in northeast Detroit, that took me about 20 - minutes to a half hour to ride to on my Schwann 3 speed "Traveller" bike. This hobby shop had a number of the pre-space era Lionel items on sale at significantly reduced prices than those charged at Hudson's or Lopo's Cameras and Trains.
I had a paper route delivering newspapers by bicycle. My parents encouraged this entrepreneurial endeavor, and allowed me to use some of the profit for my Lionel hobby. I would visit this train store, select an item, and make a purchase, but only when I had saved enough money in excess of the "mandatory" percentage of profits that my parents required that I put into my savings account at Manufacturer's Bank. Fortunately, I still have these trains, and, wish that I could have purchased more. Many of them are postwar favorites, with die cast trucks, and, the pre-"window box" Lionel items such as the later era Lionel submarine car.
It's hard to believe now that we were allowed to travel great distances by bike, and our parents didn't worry. RULE No. 1 though: I had to be back when the street lights come on at night. Imagine, a city with 2 million people that had streetlights on every corner!!
The "old" Trainland in Lynbrook, NY on Sunrise Highway. Thru the front door, Lionel on the left, Flyer on the right.
My parents originally shopped for trains at the Macy's in White Plains, NY.
I used to shop for Plasticville at the Woolworth's on Westchester Square in the Bronx.
As I got older, all my train shopping was done at Honigs Parkway, a store under the White Plains Rd El, just north of Allerton Avenue, Bronx NY.......the store is long gone....
Peter
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...
Attachments
Images (1)
For me there were two:
Model Railroad Equipment Corp. on 45th Street, North side, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, in the basement. Down a flight of stairs to model railroad heaven.
Polk's Hobby Department Store on Fifth Avenue, West side, just South of 32nd Street, trains third floor. Take the elevator or the stairs.
Didn't much care for Madison because on our only visit there Dad and I had the displeasure of watching one of the owners go off, I mean really go off, on a customer. We left, as did several other folks.
Texas (formerly New Yawk) Pete
I grew up in Upper Darby Pa and when I would go downtown Philly my favorites were Becker's and Nicholas Smith both at 11th & Arch. There were three others I remember downtown , Quaker City Hobbies on Chestnut St, Millers Union Station on Arch St & Tom Thumb Hobbies on 15th St. Tom Thumb had almost any HO part you would need, every time I would go they had what I wanted. Upper Darby had Todd's who the owner Larry Todd passed away a couple months ago and a couple others they I can't remember the names. All are gone except Nicholas Smith which is now up in Broomall.
Wow..l and many if not most above write about the past, what once was.... wish there was some kind of national (international?..Canada?) running perpetually updated list of train/train stocking hobby shops in business TODAY.
Texas Pete posted:For me there were two:
Model Railroad Equipment Corp. on 45th Street, North side, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, in the basement. Down a flight of stairs to model railroad heaven.
Polk's Hobby Department Store on Fifth Avenue, West side, just South of 32nd Street, trains third floor. Take the elevator or the stairs.
Didn't much care for Madison because on our only visit there Dad and I had the displeasure of watching one of the owners go off, I mean really go off, on a customer. We left, as did several other folks.
Texas (formerly New Yawk) Pete
Not everyone thinks that Madison Hardware is the Lionel Utopia that so many others do. Stories of cranky old men yelling at customers is not uncommon, sadly......even though these same old men were sometimes/often great with other customers.
Roving Sign posted: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...
That's Ed Rowe on the left (repair guy), and Jim Berilla (owner) in the center. Not sure about the dog.
TRW
My parents took me and my brother to Baltimore every Christmas season as a young kids. It was quite an exiting event that filled me with anticipation days before embarking on our journey!! We'd usually go to Baltimore the first Saturday after Thanksgiving, leaving early in the morning on a Greyhound bus. I always loved it when our bus approached the city! We'd pass over a B&O freight yard, then the Western Maryland grade crossing ( caring the WM main line to Port Covington ) and finally a B&O grade crossing that ran directly next to the Montgomery Ward store on US RT1. Our go to train store was Frenches Sporting Goods in the heart of downtown Baltimore. They had a huge selection of Lionel and American Flyer and an elaborate ( at least to my young eyes ) large layout that accommodated many trains running simultaneously. This is where I first saw the scale Hudson that Lionel produced. Frenches was our go to Lionel repair shop too. And of course we'd pick up our latest Lionel catalogues at Frenches. The staff was always welcoming and real nice folks.
Also on our seasonal visit my parents would take my brother and me to Taubman's Toy Store, also in the heart of downtown, which sold lots of trains ( all scales ) at discount prices. They really didn't have a layout that I recall.
As in other major cities, the department stores all had very nice layouts and good train departments. We would visit Hutzlers, Hoschild Khone, Stewards, Hecht Co., and Bragger and Gutman. In my earliest years we would also visit the May Co. Dept Store until they merged with Hecht Co. May Co. is where my first Lionel 027 set ( from Santa ) was purchased. All these stores had fine layouts, at least to my very young eyes and imagination.
Chicago - Late 40's early 50's Marshall Field & Company - -Downtown State street store - 5th floor toy department. "Lionel Trains". My mother could leave me there for hours while she shopped.
Marshall Field - "The Customer is always right" was there motto. I was there one day with my "Dad" when another father and his son made a purchase of a Lionel Santa Fe Warbonnet A - A set. It turned out the "boy" liked the dark grey of a New York Central F - 3 better than the Santa Fe silver. The salesman was accommodating and swapped the Santa Fe onto the NYC bottom.
They were happy.
My father seized the moment knowing that very few buyers would have an interest in a mis-matched F unit. He made the salesman an offer for the NYC with the Santa Fe undercarriage.
The "customer is always right". I still own that mis-matched NYC / Santa Fe A-A set today.
Chicago - mid 50's - north side, on Devon Ave. near Western Ave. Ken Mac Radio was the dealer in those days. I could walk there and oogle at the newest and greatest from Lionel. Some of those pieces are on the shelf today.
Great memories!
Growing up in the fifties, Bridgeport Ct had three train stores. Blinns ( moved many years later to Fairfield and just recently closed). The Train Exchange (my friend still has the store sign) and Irv Yurdin's. Mrs. Yurdin died just a few years ago at I believe 101.
Also during CHRISTMAS, Main street Bridgeport was decorated with beautiful lights and decorations. That is when people went "downtown" to shop. Howlands department store always had a running layout with tons of trains. I could hear them as soon as I stepped off the elevator and ran as fast as I could.
It was a special time with wonderful memories.
I would have to say Carmen Webster's Model Railroad Equipment Corp. on W45th Street in NYC. I was able to snag a coveted after-school job there when a friend from school quit to work in a theater in Brooklyn. This was during high school when I was into HO scale, and I bought nearly every Penn Line steam locomotive I could, as well as the subway and elevated model kits made by Traction Models while I worked there. The sales staff at that store were pretty much all model railroaders themselves, and knew the merchandise fluently. The section of the store dedicated to toy trains had counters that mimicked railroad Pullman cars. Carmen Webster was still alive then, and she used to come into the store occasionally to catch up on orders etc. Working for her was no picnic, and although she was incredibly knowledgeable about all things model railroad - she knew every manufacturer in every scale, domestic or foreign, no matter how esoteric, I couldn't say she was a nice person (at least in that stage of her life). Once I was TEN minutes late because of a subway derailment, and was fired on the spot! No second chances, even though I had the TA public relations department in Jay Street write her a letter explaining the situation. She didn't care, as there were literally hundreds of teens like me waiting for this job. Back when I was a child we would go to Madison Hardware, Trainland in Lynbrook (I think it was "House of Mulraney" then), Friendly Frost in Ozone Park and T.R. Herman in Jamaica. T.R. Herman was where my dad usually purchased trains and had them repaired. The owner would turn on the D-164 display layout, and while I was occupied, my dad would conclude business. We usually would go by subway, but sometimes he would want to drive, which always disappointed me. Later I found out that was when he took delivery of the trains that came from "Santa".
Anybody remember Corr's Trains in downtown D.C.? Have vague memories of going there as a kid. The final version of the place was on 9th Street, N.W. and was eventually torn down when they razed the whole block for the Metro (subway) construction.
As others have mentioned also remember seeing Lionel at Western Auto. We didn't have many of them near us but do recall the shelves of trains.
I love Scale Model Supplies in St Paul. I'd go there with my dad all the time and he still has most of the stuff I used to drool over
Frank CNW posted:In Park Ridge, Illinois--Hill's Hobbies. Wonderful memories!
I also enjoyed Hill's Hobbies but not as a child. My wife is from DesPlaines IL and we would visit the in-laws every couple of months while the boys were growing up. I would break up the boredom by going to Hill's in Park Ridge.
I remember going to the large department stores in downtown Indianapolis (Sears, Blocks and LS Ayres) after Christmas and my Dad and I buying items off their Lionel layouts for half price. I looked forward to Christmas after Christmas every year. It is a special memory of my dad.
RickB
I still have my father's Commodore Vanderbilt set he bought in 1936 at MB Kliens. I don't live in MD anymore, but stop at MB Kliens when I can.
I remember their store was almost literally under the Jones Falls Expressway.
This is just a great thread! In the early 70's went to Trainland in in Lynbrook and Trainworld in Brooklyn. I remember my Dad talking to Pete Bianco Sr. about old Brooklyn. There was Choo Choo Land on Merrick Road in Baldwin where I bought a lot of postwar when I was in high school. (I was a NY York Daily News Carrier and could clear twenty bucks a week.) Finally my last ones were Polk's and Larry's in East Meadow, Eastli Coin and Hobby in Massapequa and of course Nassau Hobby in Freeport. (Charlie, your Mom was always very nice to me.)
Miketg
As a native Detroiter growing up in the 40's and 50's Hudsons 12th floor toy dept was a magical place with all the Lionel on display and the operating layouts. I also went to Downtown Train and Camera on Elizabeth street. This was in the downtown area a few blocks from Hudson's. It was a basement store but they also had repair services, which I unfortunately needed when my 671 went off the track for some unknown reason (speed LOL) and hit the floor from the table. I also remember the Hanses Ace Hardware store on W Warren near Scheafer had a considerable amount of Lionel at good prices
Matt Makens posted:I love Scale Model Supplies in St Paul. I'd go there with my dad all the time and he still has most of the stuff I used to drool over
Not in the best part of town, but there's the added benefit of a fine restaurant across the street...
johnstrains posted:Anybody remember Corr's Trains in downtown D.C.?
Yes, I surely do....but not for trains. I went through a ship model building phase as a kid for which Ideal Models (solid balsa wood hull) was the go-to brand.....available at Corr's. I believe their name was Corr's Hobbies, belying the fact they were a full-line hobby shop....gas-powered planes/cars, static models, etc., etc., besides trains.
Dad bought for me from Corr's a Strombecker wood/cardboard kit of a streamliner model train. It was HO proportioned. The instructions discussed converting the static engine (machine-carved pine to be painted/decaled...a model of an EMD E7, I believe) to a powered engine. But the instruction sheet was vague on the details of the power conversion. So I called Corr's for some guidance. I remember the voice at the other end of the line was gruff and not very interested in talking to a kid. I set aside the idea altogether.
But, when I was a teenager....and really into HO trains....I haunted Keene's Model Railroads, not far from Corr's, on G Place, N.W.. Clark Keene was like a good friend to me......always greeted me with a big smile. (I was a bit of an anomaly among the Fedora-topped men in ho-hum business suits on what seemed to be an 8-hour lunch break.) Keene's was strictly an HO shop....no other scales, no other hobbies.
As a younger snotty-nosed kid, Dad and I would frequent Superior Lock & Electric for our Lionel needs.
I remember Keene's and Superior were both essentially 'holes-in-the-wall' shops...creaky wooden floors and all!
Lots of memories of those years!...........(sigh)
KD
The Toy Center in Norfolk Virginia on Granby street. From the late 50' until the middle 80's I was taken there first as a kid then went there as an adult. Owner started the store about 1947 and tried to run it until bad health and then his wife was held up(changing neighborhood) while trying to carry on. My parents bought me my last AF loco there in the 50's. Starting in the 60's I would buy MR and an Athearn car every month. Then later several PFM brass steam. The owner never talked down to his customer no matter how young or ignorant. He sold trains, RC planes and model kits. He would write letters to various suppliers on the behalf of various customer's needs(before the age of Internet). U S Navy personnel would buy kits and supplies before 6 months cruises at sea. His display windows was always filled with artfully built plastic models. Was a PFM dealer and always stocked a few locos. Stores like this and magazines and trains helped make it through the awkward teenage years.
In the 60's it was Grabby's Hobby Store on Valley Street in Lewistown, PA. It has been closed for many, many years. It was run by an "elderly" man and his wife. "Elderly" is all relative to a 14-year old.
The store consisted of 3 rooms and occupied the ground floor of the town house. The front room was plastic models BUT the other two rooms were all trains. One wall in the center room was HO but every other wall in the two rooms was Lionel O -- about as close to heaven a boy could get.
At that time my brothers and I were building our 16' by 10' railroad empire. One memory I have is one Saturday after finishing my paper route was pedaling up to Grabby's and purchasing a Lionel operating horse car less than $15. I was suppose to get the Barrel Loader. Oh well, that was another weekend's purchase.
Ah yes, fond memories!
Jan
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
dkdkrd posted:johnstrains posted:Anybody remember Corr's Trains in downtown D.C.?
I believe their name was Corr's Hobbies, belying the fact they were a full-line hobby shop....gas-powered planes/cars, static models, etc., etc., besides trains.
Lots of memories of those years!...........(sigh)
KD
That's right. It was an all-purpose hobby shop. Corr's Hobbies.
Memories indeed!
Growing up in Scranton, PA, I went to the original Scranton Hobby Center, Eynon Drug (Think of it as Walmart in the 50s), American Auto, Bills Sporting Goods, and the 3 department stores with trains, The Globe Store, Scranton Dry, and Penn Furniture. S.S. Kresge and Woolworth and even Sears also had trains. - I never realized how lucky I was at the time!
Lad Nagurney
Lad, don't forget the Home store in Scranton! A few years ago a train magazine had pictures of their window train displays from the 50's! Brought back memories!
Kiddie City, in Feasterville PA, mid to late 1970s and early 1980s.
O-gauge trains were too expensive, even back then, however. I was not a very smart child, but even as a kid I knew how far money went, and while I admired those trains every season I knew I could get a lot more play value out of other toys and games, and drafted my list to Santa accordingly.
Some of you guys say the name of the store, but don't say where it is. Dennis GS_4 Madison hts where? Grampstrains where? Paigetrain where? Mikey Allied where? Chefted Kirkood where? Jim mcgree where? and that is just on page 3.
Downtown Richmond Christmas Crowds in 1950
Miller & Rhoads Main Floor
.
Miller & Rhoads Main Floor Elevator Banks had Operators until the 1960's (Above)
I grew up in the suburbs of Richmond Virginia in the 1950's and was crazy for Lionel from 1953-1959 when I "graduated" to the increased realism and kit-building activity of HO scale.
We still had big downtown department stores, Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers, with windows filled with trains and toy departments with layouts like the one in the old movie "Holiday Affair" shown on TCM. One always had to "dress-up" to go downtown.
We also had Rowlett's, a downtown bicycle shop and Jones and Goodings (sic), an appliance shop, in the Cary Court Shopping Center in the near-west-end which just happened to be one of the first shopping centers in the country. Both of these had large train departments that popped-up every Christmas.
Then, of course, we had Marx trains at Woolworths and Murphys "5 and 10-cent" stores.
http://www.richmond.com/from-t...e4-0389540f7e34.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CL...8/pontius/MR/mr.html
http://richmondmagazine.com/ne...-and-rhoads-history/
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebo...rs-department-stores
https://findingthalhimers.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...Park_and_Shop_Center
Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers circa 1957
Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers 1960's
Cary Court Shopping Center circa 1949
Attachments
eddie g posted:Some of you guys say the name of the store, but don't say where it is. Dennis GS_4 Madison hts where? Grampstrains where? Paigetrain where? Mikey Allied where? Chefted Kirkood where? Jim mcgree where? and that is just on page 3.
Good point, Eddie! Thanks. In my posts, Birmingham, Royal Oak, Madison Heights, and, of course Detroit, are in Michigan - Home of the Greatest Lakes on Earth, Richard Kughn, and, formerly, Fundimensions, Lionel Trains Inc., etc.
