A Message from Your Editor – Fall 2025

e*Train Issue: Oct 2025 | Posted in: TCA Adventures

By Michael S. Oher, TCA #18-73531 Fall 2025 e*Train

All Aboard The e*Train, fellow train enthusiasts!

I’m Michael S. Oher, your conductor of the e*Train.

As we turn the corner into Fall, I find myself reflecting on what has been a season filled with connection, remembrance, and renewed momentum within the TCA. This hobby thrives not only because of the trains we love, but because of the people we meet and the experiences we share—and this summer has been a powerful reminder of that.

Since our last issue, I’ve had the privilege of traveling far and wide for the hobby. I attended the LCCA Convention in Scranton, PA, and also had the honor of joining friends and fellow collectors at the celebration of life for longtime TCA member Dan Danielson. From there, I made my way to Concord, North Carolina, where I toured Lionel’s headquarters and distribution center and visited the Lionel Retail Store at Concord Mills.

My travels also brought me to Virginia, where I spent time with Ryan Numan and had the opportunity to play trains with Clem Clement at a private train show hosted at his retirement community. It was there that I met the infomus and eclectic STOMPER and also enjoyed the chance to tour Clem’s remarkable private collection. I also visited Carol Redman Meginus (former editor of TCA e*Train) and her husband, Chuck, at their home in Maryland, where I had the honor of learning firsthand about Carol’s dad, Lou Redman, and seeing one-of-a-kind artifacts of his life as Mr TCA. Later in the summer, I headed up to Boston to view the collection of a friend—another reminder of how diverse and inspiring our community truly is.

On the organizational side, I was honored to accept the position of Social Media & Marketing Chairman for the Eastern Division, working closely with Division President Bob Buhler. In this role, I am focusing on promoting the York Train Fair while reimagining the Division’s marketing strategy to better connect with the next generation of collectors and operators, all while honoring the foundation built by our legacy collector base.

This summer also included some wonderful regional highlights. I attended the Keystone Division Fall Train Meet alongside my executive assistant, Sampson Hofmann, an enthusiastic and rising member within the TCA. (Remember his name, for within the next ten years, i am convinced Sampson will be a heavyweight within the Association.) Together, we also visited the National Toy Train Museum and the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum during our Lancaster-area tour, making for a trip filled with history and inspiration. In addition to all of this, I also attended the Magnolia show in Magnolia, NJ, with fellow TCA members.

As the leaves change and the days grow shorter, there’s a familiar energy building in the air. It’s almost time to get Yorkin’. I will see you all at York, and as Clem Clement says, always remember to keep playin’ trains.

As always, if you have ideas, questions, or suggestions about how we can enhance e*Train, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to contact me anytime at [email protected], and let’s keep our shared love of trains rolling into the fall!

Ever Upward,

Michael S. Oher, TCA #18-73531

Editor, TCA e*Train

Helping TCA with your ebay purchases when you use PayPal

If you’re an ebay user and have a PayPal account you use to make payments, you can designate a donation for TCA when you’re checking out — any amount, small or large.
If you’re a regular seller on ebay, you can pre-designate a percentage of your sales to be donated automatically in your name to TCA as long as the purchaser pays with their PayPal account.

In both cases, you will receive a donation receipt from the PayPal Giving Fund, and enjoy applicable tax advantages.

How to do it:

Click on the image above, or use this link. This will take you to ebay, where you will see the following page (log in to ebay if you are not already):

This offers TCA as an option. Click on the “Add to My Charities” button where indicated with the red arrow. Thereafter, when you make a purchase, at checkout you will be offered the option to make a donation to TCA in any amount of your choosing. Small amounts add up, larger ones are great! It’s always up to you!

The option will appear at the lower part of your checkout page, something like this:

If you’re a regular seller on ebay, you can allocate a portion of your sales proceeds to be donated to TCA. Look at the green arrow marked “Optional” above to see how to do it. Details on how ebay calculates the donation may be read here. This is a wonderful way to share the financial benefits of your hobby with the organization that promotes it!

An added benefit to TCA is that these donations are not subject to normal processing fees, so that makes your donation work harder!

* Note. TCA is not a party to any of your eBay transactions, and does not endorse any products or vendors. PayPal issues the receipts to you for your donation, not TCA.

Shop Amazon and Help TCA

TCA members who shop at Amazon.com can have each of their normal purchases generate a modest payment to TCA! And it won’t cost you anything!

The Train Collectors Association is now a participant with AmazonSmile, which is a special website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com.

The difference is that when customers shop at AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers.

The process is simple. Just search for and select Train Collectors Association when you sign up and shop at smile.amazon.com.

You use your regular Amazon.com username and password, but when you log in to smile.amazon.com, you’ll see that you are supporting TCA with your purchases:

Note that if you just log in to the regular amazon.com, this benefit does not operate.

There are no costs to either you or TCA, but TCA benefits!

This is a great way for TCA to earn extra cash to offset costs, so sign up today to help support TCA.

* Note: TCA is not a party to any of your Amazon transactions, and does not endorse any products or vendors.

A Message from Your Editor – Fall 2025

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