Hobby Shops in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Area

Try the Underground Railroad Shop in New Castle.  Stop in and talk to Lou.  Tell him you're visiting from out of town and he'll probably fire up the layout in the back room that usually only runs during the holidays.  I visited a few years ago and Lou was very accommodating.  You may want to call ahead.

Don

You can also try McCormicks Hardware and there is a shop just east of the Burgh in Greensburg you can check can't recall the name right now. Mark Boyce should be able to give all of them as he lives in the Pittsburgh area.

Brady's in Greensburg.

Norm

@RJT posted:

You can also try McCormicks Hardware and there is a shop just east of the Burgh in Greensburg you can check can't recall the name right now. Mark Boyce should be able to give all of them as he lives in the Pittsburgh area.

Larry, Rick is right McCormick’s Hardware in Zelienople is good as is Hobby Express in Cranberry Township.  Both are not far from each other, I-79 North.  I would be glad to meet up with you if you go that way.

Lens Train Shop in Irwin PA.

Dick's Train House 139 Strasser Road Greensburg, PA.

Hobby Express is A1, don't let their website fool you, like it did me.  Massive stock on a full line shop.

I was told the owner of Dick's passed away, but someone was running it.  Apparently hit or miss as all indication was it was open, but in reality it was locked up tight.   Might want to call first.

To the East of Pittsburgh, in addition to Brady's in Greensburg, and Len's in Irwin, there is also Bill and Walts Hobby Shop in White Oak.

In the city itself, you may want to check out the layout at the Carnegie Science Center.

Also, on the 17th and 18th, there is a small railroad festival in Derry, PA, Derry Railroad Days, a short drive East of Greensburg.  I will be there with the Pittsburgh Independent Hi-Railers -- we will be set up in a vacant storefront in town during the festival.  The Norfolk Southern runs through town, so there is an opportunity for train watching at this festival as well.

Andy

@Andy Hummell posted:

To the East of Pittsburgh, in addition to Brady's in Greensburg, and Len's in Irwin, there is also Bill and Walts Hobby Shop in White Oak.

In the city itself, you may want to check out the layout at the Carnegie Science Center.

Also, on the 17th and 18th, there is a small railroad festival in Derry, PA, Derry Railroad Days, a short drive East of Greensburg.  I will be there with the Pittsburgh Independent Hi-Railers -- we will be set up in a vacant storefront in town during the festival.  The Norfolk Southern runs through town, so there is an opportunity for train watching at this festival as well.

Andy

Andy more information on the  Not listed one the web page/flyer!Derry Railroad Days please as there are several Derry Townships/Parks in the Centre County PA area as in what county is this event in?

@RJT posted:

Andy more information on the  Not listed one the web page/flyer!Derry Railroad Days please as there are several Derry Townships/Parks in the Centre County PA area as in what county is this event in?

It is Derry, Westmoreland County, PA, just a little East of Latrobe.

Andy

About the layout in the Carnegie Science Center- it may only be open at the holidays. Call first. JohnA

Andy Thank You.

@RJT posted:

You can also try McCormicks Hardware.

C.T. McCormick in Zelienople, PA, (Jeff) is more or less my "go-to" local dealer ever since Dave Minarik's Mercer Junction closed. It's a bit of a drive for me, so I don't get over there often, but I do enjoy chatting with Jeff and he has a well-stocked store.

Where's @MartyE on this as I believe he's quite familiar with Pittsburgh and the surrounding area?  🤔

@John A posted:

About the layout in the Carnegie Science Center- it may only be open at the holidays. Call first. JohnA

The layout is open nearly year round.  It typically closes at the end of September for cleaning, repairs, and new additions and re-opens at Thanksgiving.  See the museum hours to see what days the Science Center is open.  Pay attention to the special hours - the CSC is sometimes closed for private events, Steelers games and other events at the stadium.

Andy

My favorite train store is Brady’s Train Outlet in Greensburg, PA (https://bradystrains.com). It also happens to be in the Pittsburg area.

Brady’s Train Outlet is big, bright, and clean. They have a phenomenal number of items on display outside of their boxes where you can see and appreciate them. John Brady is the owner. He’s outgoing and easy to talk to. He also buys collections and understands the used train market very well. Sometimes he has some gems from the used market that are hard to find. His shop is about 200 miles from my house but at times I have driven out there just to see his display items in person rather than look at manufacturer’s pictures of them on the internet.

Other people like the shop too. Pittsburgh Train Fanatic has put a nice tour of John Brady’s shop on youtube. Check it out:

Wow, I personally want to thank each of you fellows for all of the suggestions of places to visit, hobby shops to see, and other ideas to consider. I’m honored to say that I will be meeting Mark Boyce, a great forum contributor and member at a local hobby shop and we will visit other hobby shops and places of interest. My wife will be visiting our grandson, in his 4 th year at the University of Pittsburgh, and I’m going to enjoy some train time in Pittsburgh and surrounding area. One question, is there someone in Pittsburgh that has a nice layout we could visit, or even a club layout? It’s the folks in this great hobby that make it so much fun. Happy Railroading Everyone

Hi Larry,

  If it helps you, here are some more train related sites from Western Pa.:

https://www.frrandp.com/2021/0...ecting-railroad.html (seems to have faded away)

https://mckeesportmodelrr.com/ (check if they are open first)

https://old.post-gazette.com/n...1218strain1218p2.asp (more on their history)

I believe the roundhouse still exists:

https://www.interestingpennsyl...port-connecting.html

Some Pittsburgh railroad history: http://pghbridges.com/articles...Rhistory_fleming.htm

My grandfather worked in McKeesport for US Steel's National Tube Works.

Enjoy and send us all a postcard!

Tom

@leapinlarry posted:

Wow, I personally want to thank each of you fellows for all of the suggestions of places to visit, hobby shops to see, and other ideas to consider. I’m honored to say that I will be meeting Mark Boyce, a great forum contributor and member at a local hobby shop and we will visit other hobby shops and places of interest. My wife will be visiting our grandson, in his 4 th year at the University of Pittsburgh, and I’m going to enjoy some train time in Pittsburgh and surrounding area. One question, is there someone in Pittsburgh that has a nice layout we could visit, or even a club layout? It’s the folks in this great hobby that make it so much fun. Happy Railroading Everyone

Larry glad you will get to met Mark really super nice guy and I wish I was able to make it to the stores with yin as I will be in the Burgh Friday the 16 but it is for a family member that passed and won't be able to make any side trips to train stores but have loads of fun Mark will show around.

Folks PLEASE when you are talking about Pittsburgh learn how to properly spell it. Pittsburgh  is the only "XXXXBurg" in the state of PA that ends with an"H"!

@leapinlarry posted:

Wow, I personally want to thank each of you fellows for all of the suggestions of places to visit, hobby shops to see, and other ideas to consider. I’m honored to say that I will be meeting Mark Boyce, a great forum contributor and member at a local hobby shop and we will visit other hobby shops and places of interest. My wife will be visiting our grandson, in his 4th year at the University of Pittsburgh, and I’m going to enjoy some train time in Pittsburgh and surrounding area. One question, is there someone in Pittsburgh that has a nice layout we could visit, or even a club layout? It’s the folks in this great hobby that make it so much fun. Happy Railroading Everyone

I was glad to speak with Larry on the phone this afternoon.  He talks with the same enthusiasm as he writes with.  We have some stops in the works for Saturday.

@RJT posted:

Larry glad you will get to met Mark really super nice guy and I wish I was able to make it to the stores with yin as I will be in the Burgh Friday the 16 but it is for a family member that passed and won't be able to make any side trips to train stores but have loads of fun Mark will show around.

Folks PLEASE when you are talking about Pittsburgh learn how to properly spell it. Pittsburgh  is the only "XXXXBurg" in the state of PA that ends with an"H"!

Absolutely Rick!  Everyone from near The Burgh and us Scots like me in particular cringe every time we see the 'H' missing! Yinz (you ones) need to listen up!!  LOL

Also, I am sorry we won't make a connection.  My sympathy to you and all your family!!

@RJT, Rick, Pittsburgh, correct?! Yes, I’m so excited about going to this city and Rick, if you are available Saturday, get with us, however so sorry you have had a family member pass away, please accept our condolences. I know Mark and I will enjoy meeting each other in person as we have been on this OGR “Fun” Forum for a long time. Just think, “hobby shop jumping”,  just going to see what’s out there. The invitation is also reversible, if you’re ever in Nashville, I’ll take you on a model railroad tour you’ll never forget. (Rick, I’ll be back again when our grandson Graduates)  Happy Railroading Everyone

Chipper's Trains and Collectibles at 1500 Chestnut St, Washington, PA. It's not just a train store, but I stopped there on my way home from my brother-in-law's house in Daisytown at the end of July.

I found plenty of trains for my taste. This video of a walk-through will give you an idea of what the store has to offer.

Train Store Walk Through Part 12 - Chipper’s Trains & Collectibles - YouTube

@Mike Pyrtko posted:

Chipper's Trains and Collectibles at 1500 Chestnut St, Washington, PA. It's not just a train store, but I stopped there on my way home from my brother-in-law's house in Daisytown at the end of July.

I found plenty of trains for my taste. This video of a walk-through will give you an idea of what the store has to offer.

Train Store Walk Through Part 12 - Chipper’s Trains & Collectibles - YouTube

That’s one I never heard of.  Nick did a nice video.

1500 Chesnut Street in Washington is the Washington Crown Center mall (not a current high rent district).  Chipper's is a great place with LOT's of train's (MTH, Lionel, Weaver, KMT, Marx, HO,N) plus trucks, tractors, cars, figures, records, old video game cartridges, coal mine memorabilia and other what have you.  Definitely worth going to.

Hi fellows on this fun forum, I’m in Pittsburg, and it’s a very busy bustling City, home of the Pittsburg Steelers, a great team and next door to their stadium is The Carnegie Science Museum, a really cool place to visit. We spent 6 hours touring the different exhibits but the best part was the IMAX Movie, “Train Time” a BNSF movie that is so fantastic. 45 minutes of beautiful trains, BNSF operations, hump yards, trains running all over the USA. I’ll go more into detail later.

Did you have to post a picture of the Acrisure sign? It still is painful to see there.

@AmFlyer posted:

Did you have to post a picture of the Acrisure sign? It still is painful to see there.

😄😄  Yes, Acrisure certainly is not popular.  Heinz is an institution.  I am not a football fan, but you can’t live in Western Pennsylvania and get away from it.  I’m glad you had a great time at the Carnegie!!

I haven’t lived in the burg for 48 years and even I am upset about the new name.

Well Gentlemen, please forgive me for bringing up the new name of the Pittsburgh Steelers stadium, I had no idea it would cause bad feelings, please accept my apologies. However, I didn’t go to see the Steelers play ball, I went for other reasons, the wife wanted to visit the Grandson, I wanted to check out some cool hobby shops. So, I personally met Mark Boyce and we had a great day, two fine hobby shops, and had some fun conversation. We met at Hobby Express, and I must admit I was late. Navigating Pittsburgh and all of the many highways, I got lost, but, finally found my way to Hobby Express where we met. All I can say is, Hobby Express has more stock, trains and related items than all of the stores I shop at in one location. I went to look, but if there was anything I needed, it was there. Nice folks, a great inventory. Then we went to visit C,T. McCormick Hardware, and these folks have a beautiful hardware store and an awesome model train department complete with a layout in their picture window for folks to see outside the store. At this time, that’s all I’m going to say as we just got back home here in Clarksville Tennessee. Mark was a great host and we had a wonderful time, and I’ll be back next April as our grandson graduates. I will allow much more time to Hobby shop hop. Thank you Mark for a fun train day. You folks in the Pittsburgh area have a lot of great stores to shop at for your train collection. Happy Railroading Everyone

Larry, you are the same energetic person face to face as I expected from your forum posts.  I enjoyed our visit.  If I am available in April, we will plan a hobby shop trip east of Pittsburgh (Brady’s and Len’s). Anyone else will be welcome!  I’m glad you had a great time.  

Larry when you come back to see your grandsond graduate make time to see The Cornerfield Model Railroad display in Middle field Ohio. It is not a close drive but it is worth seeing this family layout. 

LARGEST family owned O-Gauge train layout in the America!! - Cornerfield Model Railroad Museum - YouTube

@harleyhouse, I’m glad you brought this up, Cornerfield Model Railroad is actually on my bucket list, how far would you think this store is from Pittsburgh?, my thoughts are around 105 miles? So, maybe Mark and Rick might want to make the trip, 2 hours there, 2 hours back, it’s maybe….. I’ve seen many pictures of the Cornerfield layout, but in person is always more interesting. We will see.
if you haven’t seen the layout at The Carnegie Science Center, it’s fantastic, 30 feet by 80 feet, well landscaped, 24 inches off the floor, lots of displays on the walls, everyone working for the model railroad was very friendly and helpful. Here are a few pictures I took. The lights go from daylight to dark and  the layout displays 4 seasons. Happy Railroading Everyone

Larry I am most definitely up for that trip what is another 2 hours when it will be 3 plus getting there and if I play my cards right I will con a family member into letting me crash with them for the weekend. I have also seen the U Tube videos and a Very Impressive layout it is.

@RJT posted:

Larry I am most definitely up for that trip what is another 2 hours when it will be 3 plus getting there and if I play my cards right I will con a family member into letting me crash with them for the weekend. I have also seen the U Tube videos and a Very Impressive layout it is.

God I miss living around the Burgh! ( That sign on the side of the stadium kills me yinz guys)

Cornerfield is a spot I have always wanted to hit too.  If yinz guys start putting a trip together keep me in mind.

My in-laws live in Mercer, which is up on I-80 about 19 mi from the Ohio line.  I always want to go to cornerfield when we visit but haven't made it yet.  If other were going too I t would be a good excuse to finally make it happen.

Now if yinz guys would let me go I gotta warsh the dog so I'm gonna go hook the hose up to the spigot!

JHZ

@jhz563 posted:

good excuse to finally make it happen.

Now if yinz guys would let me go I gotta warsh the dog so I'm gonna go hook the hose up to the spigot! ANAT.

JHZ

Fixed that for ya.

@jhz563 posted:

God I miss living around the Burgh! ( That sign on the side of the stadium kills me yinz guys)

Cornerfield is a spot I have always wanted to hit too.  If yinz guys start putting a trip together keep me in mind.

My in-laws live in Mercer, which is up on I-80 about 19 mi from the Ohio line.  I always want to go to cornerfield when we visit but haven't made it yet.  If other were going too I t would be a good excuse to finally make it happen.

Now if yinz guys would let me go I gotta warsh the dog so I'm gonna go hook the hose up to the spigot!

JHZ

JHZ are you really from the Burgh or just trying to "FAKE IT"  with a copy of "The Tongue-in-Cheek Guide to Pittsburgh"? For those who don't what that book is it translate the Burgh Slang to the rest of the world will understand Pittsburgheze!!!!!!

@Mike Pyrtko posted:

Chipper's Trains and Collectibles at 1500 Chestnut St, Washington, PA. It's not just a train store, but I stopped there on my way home from my brother-in-law's house in Daisytown at the end of July.

My club often does day trips from Pittsburgh to OGR Forum sponsor Patrick's Trains in Wheeling, WV, then to T&K Train & Hobby in Ohio (just 10 minutes from Patrick's), and then to Chipper's on the way back, sometimes stopping at Cabela's and Menards in WV along the way.  An ambitious day trip, or a trip to Chipper's without venturing as far as WV & OH, could also include a trip to the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington, PA (between Chipper's and Pittsburgh).

Andy

JHZ, I don’t watch the games, but I did see the sign on TV!  How offensive!  It’s drab looking as well. Chipper’s in Li’l Worshin’ton is a new one to me!

Andy, that is a huge day for sure, but sounds like fun!  My nasty sciatic nerve quieted down for me for the day with Larry, so maybe I can get down to Chipper’s and back to Patrick’s and T&K someday!

Regarding Corner Field, I have been there twice, once before the expansion and once after!  The Eleshes are such a great family too. Yes, I would be up for connecting with anyone heading over there.  I can drive over to I-79, I-80, or the $$Penn$$ylvania Turnpike$$ to meet up.

@RJT posted:

JHZ are you really from the Burgh or just trying to "FAKE IT"  with a copy of "The Tongue-in-Cheek Guide to Pittsburgh"? For those who don't what that book is it translate the Burgh Slang to the rest of the world will understand Pittsburgheze!!!!!!

6 yrs in Greensburg, 4 yrs at Pitt Johnstawn, and a few more years knocking around Monaca and New Brighton.   More like around the Burgh.

First few dates with Mrs. Z Included a game at the very new PNC Park, and a booze cruise on the Clipper. 

I really do miss living around the Burgh!!