Pittsburgh Area Train Shops that are Gone

You must be one of those youngsters -- you forgot Woodruffs....

SZ

Steinzeit, You forgot a few from 50's & 60's

Souls in Braddock

Eastland Hobby Shop

Train Stop in Turtle Creek J&J's

Souls in Wilkensburg

The 5 & 10 in Swissvale

Monroeville Hobby Shop, and Cameras (Loreskies)

Woodruffs

Pitcarin Train Shop

East Pittsburgh Hobbies

Wilmerding Hobby Shop

Keiths Hobby Shop, North Huntingdon

ODDO's Hobbies, McKeesport

Burlands,  North Hills Mall

Greensburg Hobby Shop (Colliers), Greensburg

Mondorfs (Mundon's Train Junction), Greensburg

Trains & Things, Rt 51

Allens Toy Land, Butler

Brentwood Station, Brentwood

Log Cabin Train Station, Mt Nebo

Newmeyers, Dequesene

Squirrel Hill Hobbies, Squirrel Hill

Hobby Corner, Gibsonia

Al's Bargan Center, Jeanette

J&C Hobbies & Bill & Walts just down sized and moved to different locations, Dave moved to White Oak and J&C Hobbies has stores in Penn Hills & Terentum, know the lady who owns them both.

what was the name of the card and camera shop in South Hills Village Mall?  I used to spend hours and hours in there as a kid while my mom shopped.

VidKidz,

   I have been trying to think of that Drug Stores name also, can't remember it.

PCRR/Dave

Was it Burlands in one of the North Hills strip malls? I think they downsized also; I remember them being next to a Value City.

Keith's Hobby Shop on Route 30 in North Huntingdon.

ODDO's Hobby Shop in McKeesport.  That's where I got bitten  by the 2 rail bug.

There used to be 1 in Greensburg. It was a hobby and craft shop.  Was just off Rt 30 in one of those strip malls. Just past Westmoreland Mall.  Years ago before Westmoreland Mall was even planned.  Can't remember the name.

That's all I can remember right now.

Rick

Rick C,

I believe you are thinking of Mundorfs. Also, there was Woody Colliers in Greensburg.

What was the name of the train shop on Route 19 in McMurray?  Actually, it was more of a train room.  The building was demolished and replaced by a strip mall.  It was across the street from Max and Erma's.

Trains 'n Things on 51 in Brentwood.

There apparently was one in Irwin, PA called 3rd Street Station.  I don't know if it was actually a shop or if it was just someone's home-based pre-order business.  The building had Lionel window signs, and had an outside re-configurable sign that read "Pre-order Lionel and MTH."  I tried unsuccessfully visiting it 7-8 years ago.  The signs were taken down some time last year.

Andy

Andy,

  You are correct, can't remember the name of his club, it may have been the 3rd Street Station,  it was there for years.

I think Harry Neil and some of the old timers from that area belonged to that club.

It was not really a store persay, but you could order trains thru their club.

Harry is still around dealing trains and you can still pre-order from him, you can see him at most of the trains shows in the Pittsburgh, Pa area.  I know Harry well and have bought a lot of different train stuff from him thru the years, just bought some

more RealTrax from him at a very reasonable price, at the last Monroeville train show.

PCRR/Dave 

The Log Cabin Train Shop

Didn't Bill and Walt's have a hobby shop with trains in the old Green Gate Mall. I believe it was on the second floor. Also, in Latrobe there was a shop filled to the ceiling with trains just stacked everywhere. You could barely move in it without knocking something down. My father took one of my American Flyer diesels there to get repaired back in 1959. When it came back it worked great. I went there in the early seventies looking to buy some flyer. The store was still jam packed with stuff everywhere. The owner, wouldn't sale me a thing. A year or two later, his store was on fire and he retired. I believe his name might of been George.

Jim,

   You are absolutely correct, that was one of Bill & Walts outing stores where they did repairs, George was one of the original repair technitions for Bill & Walts and later bought into the ownership, I believe when Dave bought Bill & Walts in late 59 he had to buy George out also, George then worked for Dave for many years fixing trains.  We had one of our engines repaired there also, I believe George Stump was originally from Braddock and repaired all the Lionel & Marx trains for Souls, Pennys and many others, before he went to work for Bill & Walts.

PCRR/Dave 

George Stoup in Oakmont on 11 th street.

J&J in Turtle Creek Nice selection but everything stank like smoke.

"Even today The foam inserts from the items I bought there smell"

Loreskies cameras and hobbies in Miracle Mile shopping center.

There used to be a Bill & Walt's in Century III mall as well.

harleyhouse,

   I bought one of the Crescent 1925 Engine Telephones from J&J, still in my living room today, had to clean it with Lysol and burn the box, to get rid of the smoke smell.

Great Engine telephone, the ringer is the whistle & Bell, a way cool conversation piece, looks fantastic also.

PCRR/Dave

 Excuse the Dust & Baby Powder please

What was the little tiny mom & pop up in Carrick, overlooking the city?  WAs there in June '94 and got a 2460 crane...that needed a new boom.  Quick trip to Bill and Walt's dahntahn and got 'er all fixed up n 'at!

After the mall closed, they opened up in a store front in downtown Greensburg.  Didn't last long there.

Andy

I don't remember the name but I walked past there every day on the way home from school.

Next time you go to a train show, pick up an old 40's or 50's Lionel Instruction manual that came with every train set. Look in the back at the list of dealers. There were 100's of them spread throughout the USA, Canada and Europe mainly around the big cities. Sadly most of them are now gone. At one time I counted 50 dealers in the boroughs of New York City alone. Today there are only two train stores that I can find there. The shift away from trains as a toy of choice began in the late 1960's and the market then became one of nostalgia. As a resultwhat was once the largest toy maker in the world (Lionel) is now only a small player in the adult hobby field. Its nice that many of us are still around that can recapture the magic of the 40's, 50's and 60's for the youth that might still have interest.

Allan's Toy Land on Main Street in Butler.  It was the place for me to see Lionel trains in the 1950's & 60's.  A very loooooooooong time ago!

Sometime during the late 70's I purchase two American Flyer #24533 Rocket Transport cars from Allan's Toy Land located in Butler. Also, on the opposite side of the street heading south on route 8 there was a hobby shop above a shoe store. In this hobby shop I found a American Flyer #23791 Cow On The Track accessory. 

Burns Hardware was still around when I was a kid.

Vidkidz,  OMG are you old enough to remember Trains n Things on RT 51?  I bought some HO stuff there back in 1976 or 1977.  Saw a Cresent Limited there I wanted but never bought.

Jim Sutter,  Yeah, I think Mundorfs was it.  Good memory.  Wasn't it called Munden's Junction?

Rick

Steamer,

    Where was the Log Cabin Train Shop located, I remember the name but can't

remember where it was.

PCRR/Dave

RICKC,

Yes, it did have the word Junction.

The Log Cabin was off of Rt79 at the Mt Nebo exit.

Steamer,

   Thanks much, I was only in there one time and could not remember it's location,

put her on the list.

PCRR/Dave

yeh I only made it there once myself, usually did mail order. woulda like to have gotten there more often.

With all the people who have to pass by Pittsburgh on the Turnpike  to get to York, this isn't as boring a subject to those west of there as you might think.  What I'd like to see is a weekly update of ones still open, there, and in the rest of country..

It's where Santa picked up my Kickapoo and Northern set (1972?) and Yardmaster (1974?) set that I got for Christmas as a kid.  I can remember getting misc Lionel cars and track there as well over the next few years.  I also got an AHM Alco HO set there around 1978ish when I was starting to get away from O27. 

harley house,

   Was George Stoup's place in Oakmont a store?

PCRR/Dave

Another closed Hobby Shop I didn't see listed was in Cranberry that closed about 4 or 5 years ago. It was in a building on the left side on 19 going north that shared a common entrance with a baseball card store. I was in there a few times and also visited the card store. The story I heard is that the owner of the card store expanded into the train store’s space. Anyone remember their name? Was it called Cranberry Hobby? Obviously it’s not Hobby Express which has been in business in that Target shopping center for many years.

Woodruff’s and Trains & Things on 51 have been mentioned as was Train-o-rama.  But weren't they also on 51?  I believe they were in one of those same locations on 51 but at a different time. I have a 1956 Lionel catalog with the front cover overstamped with Woodruff’s name and address. I didn’t realize they were around that long ago.

Bill

George Stoup worked out of his house.

There was a guy in Tarentum that had a shop in the basement of his house.  I bought a caboose there a while back.  I'm guessing he's gone now but don't know for sure.

Harleyhouse: If you're still collecting those blue box beauties I have 2 NYC coal hoppers and a Leighi (spelling unknown obviously) boxcar that I never use.  I used each one year on my Christmas layout and they never saw the light of day again so they are like NIB.  Nothing wrong with them, I just had too much other stuff that I liked more.  Let me know if you're interested.

- walt

Walt Rapp,

That was Jim Cortiese.

Bill,

   I believe Woodruffs goes clear back to the late 40's.  Bill I can not remember the name of that original hobby shop in Cranberry either, but I know which one you are talking about.

PCRR/Dave