English’s Model Railroad Supply to close after 77 years
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WILLIAMSPORT -- English's Model Railroad Supply, a staple of the Montoursville area for 57 years, has announced that they will be going out of business.
"After some 77 years, we're moving on and it's time to start closing it down," owner Lee English said.
"English's Model Railroad Supply started in 1946," English said of the business his father, Lew started.
"When he got out of the army after World War II, he started it in a storefront in Sunbury, and then by 1955, he moved to Muncy," English said.
After the move, Lew initially kept the business in the family basement.
"He used to travel up to Williamsport and to the Model Railroad Club, which was in a building close to the Peter Herdic House, and I remember I used to go as a kid," English said.
"Then in 1966, we moved to Montoursville and opened up the model railroad shop, and that grew into 35,000 square feet of buildings and space, and right now, 7,000 square feet of it is English's Model Railroad Supply," he added.
"We've been servicing model railroad people for lots of generations. We've had many, many little kids come in that grew up to have kids that come in, and it's been a fun time," English said. "We've just been around forever, and we're just multi-generational."
Though the physical store is closing down, Bowser Manufacturing, as well as English's website, ToyTrainHeaven.com, will remain fully operational.
"It's just a different way of selling around the world instead of selling just within about a 50 mile radius," English said.
"We have a lot of travelers that come from all over the world. We've had people from New Zealand, Switzerland and England. We get a lot of Canadian customers, because we're on via Route 15, which is the main route from Toronto down to the beaches in Florida. We get a lot of people traveling Route 80 east and west to go on vacations. So we're actually positioned pretty well here in Williamsport," he added. "We're out of the way but easy to get to."
The store will be closing as of Sept. 30, but in the meantime, they are currently running a 20% off sale on everything in the store, including the shelves.
"We've got an immense inventory, and in the first three days since we announced the sale, we've had an awful lot of people come in," English said.
For more information and updates from the shop, visit their Facebook page.