Carver's Toy Trains — Local services in Gettysburg

This store is really more of a museum. The owner was very kind and his collection is beautiful, but the prices are simply unrealistic. He has a lot of cheap stock like tyco or life like that is worth no more than 10-15 dollars at a train show or really at any other train store, yet he has them priced as high as 80-100 dollars each! I enjoyed looking at his vast stock, but if you want to buy anything, don’t plan on it. The owner told me he charges 50.00 per hour for repairs which I believe is partly why everything is so outrageously priced. 50 is not a competitive rate, let alone fair, and the prices of the stuff here are higher than all of the scams on eBay. I would recommend visiting if you just want to see some vintage models, but don’t go if you actually want to buy stuff or you’ll end up paying 90 dollars for a life like 0-4-0 or a tyco gp20. The owner also doesn’t use the internet which I can respect but it has made him very out of touch as he didn’t even know some basic recent developments in the hobby like the reintroduction of TT by hornby (he was saying TT was unavailable now, hence why I mention this). Again, the owner was very nice, but he is never going to sell anything when he wants 100 for a bachmann pancake drive loco. He mentioned that a lot of this stuff isn’t made anymore almost as a justification for the prices but some of these models were made in the thousands to millions, and as a result have depreciated in value, hence why they are so easy and accessible for beginners at train shows and train stores. Even the higher end stuff like rivarossi or bowser was priced 2x higher than what is reasonable. Overall, don’t get your hopes up. I enjoyed looking, and I appreciate the owner’s kindness, but left disappointed with how crazily priced...

I just visited Don's store for the first time after riding past his store-front for 30 years thinking it was a toy shop geared more towards children. I could not have been more incorrect! The place is packed with American Flyer, Lionel, Marx, MTH, ETC. You can tell Don takes pride in what he sells. His prices are not cheap, but somewhat comparable to what I see on e-bay when you factor in shipping and handling and the fact that you are not able to test what you are buying. I recently purchased a 1946 Flyer engine and Don was meticulous in how he tested the piece before he sold it. The engine was well oiled and cleaned right out of the showcase, but Don ran it through his test again before selling it to me. I will definitely be shopping at his store again in the future and I am coming up from Baltimore. His is the best shop I have seen in a long time. Just can't believe it took me this long to stop by. Don't make the same mistake I did. Check his store out. I would have given him 5 stars if his prices were a...

My father and I brought in my Grandfather’s old American Flyer locomotive to see if she was able to run after being boxed up for 30+ years. Right after I walked in I knew I had come to the right place. Everywhere you turn was model trains. I’d be more surprised to find a part of accessory they didn’t have. As far as the repair went, as soon as I took the locomotive out of the wrapper, the owner knew exactly what it was and had an idea of what needed done. The shop owner handled my train with immense care and proceeded to replace the bulb, lubricate the entire engine, and fix a loose smokestack. Every question we had was answered honestly and professionally. It was such a good experience we ended up leaving with everything we came for (and then some). Will most definitely be coming back for years to come as the shop owner was extremely knowledgable and skilled, but I guess 65 years of experience is also to credit for that. If you need anything model train related, Carter’s Toy Trains...