Good Hobby shops in Pittsburgh

[SpaceMouse]

I have to spend Sunday afternoon hanging out in Pittsburgh with nothing to do. I'm embarrassed to say I don't know the players in the area. Any hints.

[FRITSCHSR]

AB Charles in Dormont. 5-10 minutes from downtown. Only close one I know of. Used to be a Bill & Walts downtown, unsure if its still there. Oops, thought you said Saturday, I think AB Charles is closed on Sunday.

[Anonymous]

Just east of Pittsburgh in Homer City is one of the best hobby shops you can find. www.jimstrainshop.com Great people to deal with!

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mthrules

Just east of Pittsburgh in Homer City is one of the best hobby shops you can find. www.jimstrainshop.com Great people to deal with!

It's about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh and they are O scale only. I have a feeling you knew that. But thanks anyway.

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by FRITSCHSR

AB Charles in Dormont. 5-10 minutes from downtown. Only close one I know of. Used to be a Bill & Walts downtown, unsure if its still there. Oops, thought you said Saturday, I think AB Charles is closed on Sunday.

At least I have a couple names to start with. I can look in the phone book when I get there.

[tcwright973]

Chip,
Hobby Express in Cranberry Twp., just off I79. It's actually on Route 228 in the same shopping mall as Lowes. Nice folks to deal with.
Tom

[GAPPLEG]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tcwright973

Chip,
Hobby Express in Cranberry Twp., just off I79. It's actually on Route 228 in the same shopping mall as Lowes. Nice folks to deal with.
Tom

Yep been there, they had lots of stuff last time I was there. If it's still the same it's cramed with all kinds of items.[8D]

[Anonymous]

Im not sure if you know, but there is this nice layout in a museum across the street from Heinz Field. Im not sure of the name of the museum, but the layout is really nice, and worth the trip.

[tcwright973]

Chip,

Woodyip is talking about the Carnegie Science Center. It's an O gauge layout, and I agree it is a nice one. Not far from there is West Park, which the Norfolk Southern runs through. On the other side of the point is Station Square, which CSX runs through.
Tom

[ctyclsscs]

There are actually two hobby shops in the Cranberry area - Hobby Express and Cranberry Hobby Depot. I can't remember if they are open on Sundays, but both are neat, clean stores run by nice folks. Even though neither is really a "hard core" train shop, they're probably worth checking out if you're close. Especially since they're only about two miles apart.

Just don't waste your time going to Hobby town USA in Robinson Towne Center for trains. The train selection is very, very small. Mostly stuff that would be purchased by a person setting up a train set for Christmas. On the other hand, they have a very good selection of tools and paints.

Any other decent shops I can think of are closed on Sundays unless you want to go really far out of the city.

The Science Center layout is worth checking out just for the scenery even though it's a Lionel layout. If you stop in, you'll surely find other exhibits to look at since it's a very large place.

Jim

[bscroggi]

SpaceMouse,
I'm not exactly from the Pittsburgh area, however, there is a hobby shop at the lower end of Painter's Run Road. I think this is located just South of the city off of Route 19. It is called the Iron Horse Hobby Shop and sort of specializes in O scale. They do have some HO stuff there (on consignment??) along with your basic magazines, but not too much of anything else. I have heard of A.B. Charles (and I think it is top dollar), but have never been there.
Bud

[tsgtbob]

Yo. Yinz can check out these.
Not in Pgh, but south of Uniontown is Fairchance Pharmacy, and right off the the B&O yards in Connellsville there is a hobby shop (don't rmemeber the name) that has a good bit of HO.
I need to find a shop out this way that carries O SCALE! (not tinplate, Jim's is a nice place, but that danged middle rail...)
As they say, Good Luck, and Good Hunting!

[Anonymous]

In Crabtree,PA just outside of Greensburg is Tailspin hobbies. They're a small store but have a nice selection of used equipment and the owner is pretty cool.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse

QUOTE: Originally posted by mthrules

Just east of Pittsburgh in Homer City is one of the best hobby shops you can find. www.jimstrainshop.com Great people to deal with!

It's about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh and they are O scale only. I have a feeling you knew that. But thanks anyway.

That's true, although Jimmy will soon have the HO K-4 in stock. So he'll also be an HO dealer too.[:D][;)]

Even if you're not into O scale, his shop is worth a visit. He's got a fantastic O layout

[tstage]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mthrules
That's true, although Jimmy will soon have the HO K-4 in stock. So he'll also be an HO dealer too.[:D][;)]

Even if you're not into O scale, his shop is worth a visit. He's got a fantastic O layout

The Energizer bunny of the MR forum. Guess you gotta admire his loyalty - whether you agree with it or not.

Tom

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mthrules
That's true, although Jimmy will soon have the HO K-4 in stock. So he'll also be an HO dealer too.[:D][;)]

Hmmm. So stocking one expensive steamer in HO will make him an HO dealer????? Wow! That's a new one![:D][:p]

[:p] In that case Wal-Mart and Target also qualify as HO dealers, since they carry the John Deere tractors in HO and O.

[Anonymous]

There are no good train stores there, go train watching instead and you will ski the disappointment

[emdgp92]

Another hobby shop near Pittsburgh is Esther's in Millvale...just a short distance up Route 28 from downtown. They specialize in N scale, yet have some HO and O gauge stuff too. I don't think any of the shops (A.B. Charles, Iron Horse, or Esther's) is open on Sunday though.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tsgtbob

Yo. Yinz can check out these.
Not in Pgh, but south of Uniontown is Fairchance Pharmacy, and right off the the B&O yards in Connellsville there is a hobby shop (don't rmemeber the name) that has a good bit of HO.
I need to find a shop out this way that carries O SCALE! (not tinplate, Jim's is a nice place, but that danged middle rail...)
As they say, Good Luck, and Good Hunting!

There's a new shop in the Uniontown, PA area. Modelers' Depot in on Route 40 in Hopwood. It's about halfway inbetween Fairchance Pharmacy and Hobbys 'n' Stuff (the Connellsville shop). Mostly HO, a little N and On30. Paint, tools, etc.

The website is http://www.modelersdepot.com