I find myself moving to Erie PA. I would like to find a train club or hobby store that handles 3 tail trains. Preferably Lionel traditional sized although I have some scale sized.
thanks, Larry
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I don't know what might be available in Erie proper. Did a quick check of Lionel's dealer locator and didn't see anything very close to Erie, but if you are willing to drive for around 1.5 hours, you do have a number of options.
About an hour and twenty minutes West of Erie is the Corner Field Model Train Museum and Train Shop. The shop isn't big, but the layout is huge. Been there several times and will be going back.
About an hour and twenty minutes East of Erie is a shop in Warren PA that sells trains, according to Lionel's dealer locator. I've never been, but will probably visit it some time in the future.
About an hour and a half South is Hobby Express in Cranberry Twp.. Easy access off of I79. This shop is huge! The only downside to this shop is that they are higher in price than most for the trains themselves (supposedly will deal a little on locomotives, but no personal experience in this). They sell all kinds of hobby supplies, so there are often things elsewhere in the store that can be used or repurposed for a train layout (like 1:48 scale model kits and gaming figures).
Also about an hour and a half South is CT McCormick Hardware in Zelienople, PA. Great shop and also a great place for hardware. There is also a train club in the Zelienople area -- the Model Train Club of Zelienople. You can find them on FaceBook. If you are interested and not on FB, email me and I can send you their email contact info.
Andy
I live 30+ miles south of Erie near Meadville, PA. There's no longer anything close!
Two shops formerly in Erie are GONE.
Mercer Junction in Mercer PA, an hour+ on I79 south of Erie in Mercer, is GONE.
There is a shop in New Castle, PA which is a PITA trip. I've never been there because the trip is a PITA.
McCormick's in Zelenople, north of PGH, is about 2 hours on I79 and quite small.
There are no real options other than the Forum; TCA Ft Pitt meets in Pgh area, occasional private meets in Erie may still occur (I'm not sure).
There are also TCA and private Meets in the Cleveland and Buffalo areas, which are about 2 hours on I79 or I90.
Sorry for the bad news.
When you arrive in Erie, please get in touch with me!
There use to be a great train shop in Wesleyville on route 20 just east of the Eire City line. The name of the store was The Train Shop. It was owned and operated by Fred Sipple.
There is the Erie RR club that meets in the Meadville pa train depot. They have an operating layout and many artifacts. The Underground RR is nice in New Castle just a little bit of a drive down Route 18 out of Conautte There are many Bessemer and Lake Erie things to see along the way. and a museum in Greenville Pa. as for anything else Pittsburgh has some good train shops. Oh the Train Museum in North East Pa is very nice and full of train folks.
