ELMER WAGNER
Mr. Wagner in his home basement shop. He told me that he was the only person he knew of who bought Erector sets and sold the parts. He did most of his selling mail order, but many collectors visited his home on S. Pitt St. in Carlisle PA; they probably wanted to see for themselves. He welcomed my wife and I into his home and shop a couple of times. Erector author Bill Bean tells of the times that he and his father visited.
The basement had been filled with a Lionel train layout when his children were young.
Mr. Wagner was proud of his system for organizing his shop and business; he prompted me to take this picture of his storage bins for small parts and the table on which he filled his customer’s orders. He counted every last piece that he sold, including the hundreds of nuts and bolts.
This is another part of the basement. The shop took up the entire full basement of his house on Pitt Street. In this view you see the empty boxes of the desirable sets that he has “broken up” to sell the parts. He showed me a set on the table that was worth several times the normal price because it had an unusual decal on the top. He intended to sell this set as a whole.
Mr. Wagner passed away a couple of years ago and his children now continue the Erector business and a Lionel train business. The store is located on Willow Avenue, just a short distance from the old home of their father.