About Us
Brady's Train Outlet was founded by John A. Brady, who has been selling model trains since the 1970’s. It started out of the basement of his own house, and grew through train shows. John traveled up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States, making connections and starting a brand for himself. Everyone began to recognize the name, the game, and the charm that came along with John’s business strategies.
After so many years, the inventory he carried with him to various shows and states began to overflow in his house, his cars, and everything he owned. John realized that he needed a physical store to set up shop, where he could run a day-to-day operations. Brady's Train Outlet is an authorized dealer for a variety of brands including Lionel, MTH, Atlas, and more.
In 2020, the store expanded to feature a thriving online business at www.bradystrains.com, with an expanded selection of items including "new old stock" and used items; the store ships nationwide and internationally upon request.
Brady's Train Outlet prides itself on offering quality model train products to customers. We stand behind our merchandise!
Visit us: 1046 South Main Street, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania 15601
Meet the founder & owner of Brady's Train Outlet, John A. Brady!
His business started out of the basement of his house as he worked numerous train shows. However, in the 1990s, the show inventories began taking over his house and he opened a store on the 700 block on South Main Street in Southwest Greensburg. He quickly outgrew that space, which led him to his current location at 1046 S. Main in 2006.
John has had a lifelong fascination with model trains. His last career involved delivering heavy duty industrial truck parts for Point Spring. One day, while on the job in Jeanette, a Norfolk Southern diesel engine happened to pass and John stopped to watch it on the way back to his truck. “The man I was working with at the supplier came out and asked, ‘What’s wrong John?’ ” John shared: “And I told him I’m just admiring that train. That’s the nature of this, you either have the fascination or you don’t, and I certainly have it.”
Meet the Staff!
2024 York Show
2024 MTH Visit
Meet our Store Manager, Anne Zemba!
Anne Zemba has been working at Brady's Train Outlet since 2019. Anne got her first train set when she was 6 years old, a Tyco Bicentennial HO Set. Anne has a Master's Degree in library science and worked in a community college library before joining the team at Brady's. Anne was instrumental in building Brady's Train Outlet's website and transitioning from E-Bay to the Shopify e-commerce platform. Anne's favorite part about being store manager is meeting customers. Instead of helping library patrons locate books, Anne now helps customers find the trains and layout accessories that they've been searching for!
Meet our Marketing & Customer Service Manager, Steph Zemba!
Steph Zemba has been working at Brady's Train Outlet since 2019. As the Marketing manager, Steph coordinates the store's online presence, including the updating the website and overseeing all advertising strategies. She also handles customer service for the online store. Steph has a Master's Degree in sociology and experience in graphic design. Steph's favorite part about model railroading is learning the historical background of the hobby and the connections between model trains and their real-life counterparts. Her first model train set was a Christmas gift in 2008, the Lionel 6-30087 O Gauge Area 51 Alien Spaceship Recovery Steam Train Set.
Meet our Logistics Manager, Ben Zemba!
Ben Zemba is the Logistics Manager at Brady's Train Outlet. Ben is an avid model railroader and collects Union Pacific, Conrail, CSX, and PRR items. He has a background as a heavy equipment mechanic. Ben got his first train set in 2008 for Christmas, the 30-4192-1 Jersey Central Blue Comet set. Ben conducts repairs on some model trains and has a knack for design. In addition to layouts design, Ben helped create our most recent custom run, the Lionel Vision Line UP Big Boy 4013 along with the water tender and caboose. Ben was also on the employee team (along with Steph, Anne, Jim, and Henry) who designed the Vision Line Pennsylvania Triplex custom run, available for preorder
Meet the Shipping Department Head, John Zemba!
John Zemba is the Shipping Department Head at Brady's Train Outlet. He is responsible for packing and shipping most orders! John enjoys the model railroad hobby and his favorite set is the Coors Light train.
Meet our Sales Associate, Henry Sobota!
Henry Sobota has worked as a sales associate at Brady's Train Outlet for 17 years, after retiring from his job as a schoolteacher. Henry likes to say that he has been into railroading since the womb! His first train set was a Lionel 2026 engine set sold by Sears, a gift from his mother for Christmas in 1949-- but Henry wasn't born until February of 1950! Henry is a big Pennsylvania Railroad fan and he has a long family history of railroading. Both of his grandfathers and his godfather were railroad employees.
Meet our IT Specialist, Brandon Fiume!
Brandon Fiume is the developer behind Brady's Train Outlet's IT solutions, specializing in inventory management, layaway, and time-saving automation programs. After working two summers at Brady's Train Outlet as his first job nearly a decade ago, Brandon has returned to provide exceptional IT support. Brandon has made several improvements to the customer exeperience, including the new Brady's Wishlist, and the layaway portal. Brandon also has an extensive personal train collection focusing on Amtrak and PRR.
Beyond his development work, Brandon is an accomplished photographer who has won national awards, including several from Trains Magazine. His photography can be viewed at brandonfiume.com
Honoring our Repairman, Joseph Paravate
"American Flyer Joe", as he was known around the shop, was a common sight at Brady's Train Outlet. Joe was passionate about the hobby and loved introducing people to model trains, especially American Flyer S gauge. Joe was also a skilled model train repairman and put in a lot of hours every holiday season to be sure customers could have their trains back in time to run them under their Christmas trees. Joe was a wonderful person and a dear colleague, and he will be missed.