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‘O-Gauge’ model collector trains now on sale by chamber
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SHAMOKIN — The Foundation for Growth announced this week it will sell O-Gauge Toy Train Collectors Series train cars featuring the once proud passenger and freight stations that were the focal point of travel from the late 1800s to the 1950s.
The trains are on sale through the holiday season. This is a limited series, and each will be sold on a first-come basis.
According to Sandy Winhofer, director, Brush Valley Chamber of Commerce, “Each of these toy trains, made locally in the Borough of Northumberland by Weaver Trains, feature five local stations — from the Lehigh Valley passenger and freight station along Railroad Street in the once thriving community of Centralia, to the Philadelphia and Reading passenger station in the bustling city of Shamokin, what we in the chamber consider the coal region’s unofficial capital.”
Winhofer noted these giants of the railroad industry combined both passenger stations with rugged freight stations, which are featured on a variety of cars, including a steel-sided box car and more traditional two- and four-bay hoppers. “This collector’s series ... has a little something for everyone who loves collecting trains, and in this case those depicting stations that once dotted our unique countryside.”
The Centralia station was built around the turn of the 20th century, and was featured on the commemorative issue of Collectors’ O Gauge Model Train Cars issued by the Brush Valley Foundation for Growth. This old Lehigh Valley Railroad station was located in Centralia to the left of what’s now Route 42 when traveling north toward Aristes. The old Philadelphia and Reading Station was located on Independence Street, Shamokin, directly behind Original Italian Pizza.
“The series began back in 2006 with the release of the ‘Hottest town in Pennsylvania,’ or the Centralia station, and has grown to include four additional O-Gauge train cars featuring stations from throughout the region, including the famed P and R station in Shamokin. Our goal is to continue the collection with several additional stations and a caboose featuring the logos or mascots of the several schools that were then part of our Brush Valley region. The Foundation collectors series features a historical train station that served the people and communities of the Brush Valley.
“From the borough of Centralia and traveling westward, the anthracite coal regions of northeastern Pennsylvania have a history rich in mining lore, as well as in heroism of the men who worked the mines and the women who strived to keep them healthy, both in times of peace and in times of war. Each station holds many fond memories of a time that once was. The collectors train series has, and continues, to stir up those memories of a time long since past but still held dear to each of us, not only in our memories but, more importantly, in our hearts.”
The first of the series was the Centralia issue, a replica 40-foot box car. The second issue was the Mount Carmel Junction, four-bay center-flow Reading Lines hopper car. The third issue was the station located in Excelsior (a replica 40-foot steel-sided double-door box car). The fourth issue, the Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania and Reading Railroad Station, was featured on the four-bay center-flow hopper. The latest in the series was the Shamokin, Philadelphia and Reading Station, shown on a double-door steel-sided box car.
To order any of the train cars or to reserve a set, call the chamber office at 648-4675 or John Boback at 672-9999. The first four issues in the series cost $35 each, while the Shamokin model costs $40. Shipping and handling costs are separate.
The trains are on sale through the holiday season. This is a limited series, and each will be sold on a first-come basis.
According to Sandy Winhofer, director, Brush Valley Chamber of Commerce, “Each of these toy trains, made locally in the Borough of Northumberland by Weaver Trains, feature five local stations — from the Lehigh Valley passenger and freight station along Railroad Street in the once thriving community of Centralia, to the Philadelphia and Reading passenger station in the bustling city of Shamokin, what we in the chamber consider the coal region’s unofficial capital.”
Winhofer noted these giants of the railroad industry combined both passenger stations with rugged freight stations, which are featured on a variety of cars, including a steel-sided box car and more traditional two- and four-bay hoppers. “This collector’s series ... has a little something for everyone who loves collecting trains, and in this case those depicting stations that once dotted our unique countryside.”
The Centralia station was built around the turn of the 20th century, and was featured on the commemorative issue of Collectors’ O Gauge Model Train Cars issued by the Brush Valley Foundation for Growth. This old Lehigh Valley Railroad station was located in Centralia to the left of what’s now Route 42 when traveling north toward Aristes. The old Philadelphia and Reading Station was located on Independence Street, Shamokin, directly behind Original Italian Pizza.
“The series began back in 2006 with the release of the ‘Hottest town in Pennsylvania,’ or the Centralia station, and has grown to include four additional O-Gauge train cars featuring stations from throughout the region, including the famed P and R station in Shamokin. Our goal is to continue the collection with several additional stations and a caboose featuring the logos or mascots of the several schools that were then part of our Brush Valley region. The Foundation collectors series features a historical train station that served the people and communities of the Brush Valley.
“From the borough of Centralia and traveling westward, the anthracite coal regions of northeastern Pennsylvania have a history rich in mining lore, as well as in heroism of the men who worked the mines and the women who strived to keep them healthy, both in times of peace and in times of war. Each station holds many fond memories of a time that once was. The collectors train series has, and continues, to stir up those memories of a time long since past but still held dear to each of us, not only in our memories but, more importantly, in our hearts.”
The first of the series was the Centralia issue, a replica 40-foot box car. The second issue was the Mount Carmel Junction, four-bay center-flow Reading Lines hopper car. The third issue was the station located in Excelsior (a replica 40-foot steel-sided double-door box car). The fourth issue, the Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania and Reading Railroad Station, was featured on the four-bay center-flow hopper. The latest in the series was the Shamokin, Philadelphia and Reading Station, shown on a double-door steel-sided box car.
To order any of the train cars or to reserve a set, call the chamber office at 648-4675 or John Boback at 672-9999. The first four issues in the series cost $35 each, while the Shamokin model costs $40. Shipping and handling costs are separate.
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