I'm a freelance PHP and MySQL programmer living in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego with my wife and our 3 cats. I enjoy hiking, reading, gardening, watching too much television, and other nerdy activites.
For the past year I've been compiling a list of model train stores for my model railroading website. These shops all look like a lot of fun to visit, but what are the most popular? Here is a list for the great state of Pennsylvania.
The most popular model railroading shops (based on online chatter) in the state of Pennsylvania are:
10. Strasburg Train Shop in Strasburg
9. Cappelli Hobbies in Philadelphia
8. Neely's Train Shop in Altoona
7. Modelers' Depot in Hopwood
6. Action Hobbies in Langhorne
5. Hobby Express in Cranberry Township
4. Esther's Hobby Shop in Pittsburgh
3. Len's Train Shop in Irwin
2. A. B. Charles Hobby Shop in Pittsburgh
...and the most popular shop for model trains in Pennsylvania is...
1. Bill and Walt's Hobby Shop in Pittsburgh
Hobby shops not quite making my top 10 were Brentwood Station in Pittsburgh, Bussinger Trains in Ambler, C. T. McCormick Hardware in Zelienople, Central Keystone Hobbies in Avis, CoolTrains Toys and Hobbies in Salunga, English's Model Railroad Supply in Montoursville, Gene's Trains and Hobbies in Duncansville, Grzyboski's Train Store in Moosic, Henning Scale Models in Lansdale, Hobby Headquarters in Meadville, Imperial Train in Imperial, Jerry Quinn Classic Trains and Toys in Coatesville, Jim's Train Shop in Homer City, Ken's Trains in Glassport, Main Line Hobbies in East Norriton, Modellbahn Ott Hobbies in Gilbertsville, Nicholas Smith Trains in Broomall, Niedzalkoski's Train Shop in Jeannette, R and B Hobby Center in Tunkhannock, Singers Hobbies and Crafts in Wellsboro, T and J Train Junction in Danville, The Train Gallery in Pittsburgh, The Train Shoppe and Hobby Center in Wilkes Barre, The Underground Railroad Shoppe in New Castle, Tommy Gilbert's Hobby Shop in Gettysburg, Toys On The Square in Hummelstown, Winkie's Toy and Hobby in Lititz, and Ye Olde Train and Christmas Shoppe in Boyertown.
So lots of great model railroading shops from all over Pennsylvania in the top ten, but the Pittsburgh area had all of the top five. As usual, the top spot went to a store with both a fantastic local shop and a thriving website.
When in Pennsylvania be sure to visit some of the excellent railroading museums including National Toy Train Museum in Paradise, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, and Western Pennsylvania Model Rail Road Museum in Gibsonia. Also in Pennsylvania are some teriffic model railroad displays, including the Choo Choo Barn in Strasburg and National Christmas Center in Paradise.
I compiled this list by searching for the hobby shops listed on a number of search engines and ranking them by the number of web pages, discussion forums, photos, videos, etc that are available online.
I further screened this list to include only pages that mentioned model railroading. See a complete list of Model Train Shops in Pennsylvania at www.ModelTrainsWithLarry.com which has complete contact information for each shop including an address, phone number, and map to the store.
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