Was there a closing of a train shop in gettsburg pa?

Aw, man, don't tell me Gilberts closed.
That was the first real hobby shop with model trains I ever saw, as a kid in 1981 when we were there for the battle re-enactment that year.
I had been stationed in Maryland in the Army in the late 90s and went to Gettysburg lots of times.
Gilberts had moved out past the tourist RR station by then. I bought a few (non-model) RR magazines just for nostalgic reasons as I was for the most part done with model trains at that time.

Man I hope it wasn't Gilbert's either.  He had the biggest selection of Bowser parts.  Don Carver's is in Gettysburg also.  I haven't been up that way in awhile, but I haven't heard anything on my grapevine.

Gene Anstine

I just looked online and I don't think it's Gilbert's. All their online presence is updated as of yesterday.

Man, now that I think on it, I think I'll call Gilbert's and ask if they have t-shirts with their company logo or something like that. I think I'd like that.

I was only in the place once for an hour or so as a little kid, but I never forgot the experience.

But as for the original question, I haven't been to G-burg since 2000 so I wasn't aware of any other hobby shops in the area other than Gilbert's.

Don Carver's is the one that would appeal to most members of this Forum as he was well-stocked with used post-war and modern Lionel plus Marx and S-gauge American Flyer.  I try to stop in on my way to or from York but its been about 3 years since I've been there.

I hope it's not his shop that closed.  His shop is on 30 west of downtown.

Bill

Tommy has been trying to sell / retire for several years....

Any info on this Carver fellow's shop would be appreciated, I am all about some postwar, and it's kind of hard to find locally, but I drive in the Harrisburg area several times a year.

 I never thought Gilbert's had much I wanted since they moved from down south

near the main battlefield to that other location on the side street.  (I still go

across from the old location to the Kilwin's ice cream every York trip).

Now is/was "Carver's" "on 30 west" that office machine repair shop, and the guy's

father-in-law had a little place east of Gettysburg on 30, and was handicapped (wheelchair) and a Marx collector.  Once his "father-in-law" held a flea market out in the front of that place during York week, and John Fox, Tasker Brush, and I and other Marx collectors set up in it.  I later heard he'd passed away.  I was only in that office

machine shop once.

You have it slightly wrong....The guy in the wheel chair was named Ivan Kling he ran the shop out of his house at 2500 York road and was a Marx specialist and yes he did run the flea market out of that location.He suffered from MS and ran the place with his wife Mary Jane after he passed away (around 90 or 91) Mary Jane sold the 2500 York road property and then married Don Carver some time later.They lived happily for well over 20 years and I read last winter she passed away last February.

I last saw her in June of 2013 and she was in poor health.

Andrew,

The address of the shop is 305 Buford Ave which is Route 30 and it's less than a mile west of town.  There is a sign out front in the shape of a steam locomotive. 

But we still don't know if they are the shop that just closed.  I hope not.  You better call first.  The building is a residential home that was turned into a train shop.  It looks like it had been added onto several times as it extends very far back on the property.   And it was filled with trains the last time I was there in 2012.  If it's still in business its definitely worth the trip.

Bill

Yes, I remember the name "Ivan Kling" (now)...that Carver shop, which must be the

one I am thinking about, had been or is marked for office machine repair.

When I had stopped a couple of times later, it had been closed (during York week), so I quit stopping. What about the train shop, in the Harrisburg area,  that was just south of downtown in Carlisle?  I used to stop there, but think I missed it the last couple of trips.  Is that still viable?  One out 30 between York and Gettysburg moved to downtown York, probably still open, but a couple up the Susquehanna from Harrisburg closed some time ago, as have some of the antique malls along the river.