Dead Man Talking

e*Train Issue: Mar 2003 | Posted in: TCA Adventures

By Anonymous Member

I have had a change of heart. At first the thought of a National Convention tour to the collection of a recently deceased member was appalling to me. Now, I think that Ward Kimball would have approved.

After all, when he came to our local Western Division meet in late 2002 to discuss some of the details of a tour in June of 2003 he brought with him a grandson to witness and take notes in the event that he might not be around. The fact that he will not be there is a loss to all that make the trek to his home and the Grizzly Flats Railroad as part of the upcoming convention this June.

I was privileged to play host to an earlier visit with a different National club holding a convention in this area about 12 years ago. I remember the fun of meeting with Ward to plan the event. I recall that all Ward really expected was that a porta-potty be brought in so that visitors wouldn’t constantly be asking to run into the house to use the facilities. Ward got his wish and I often wonder how many National conventions list the rental of a porta-potty as one of the expenses?

I expect that the majority of the toy trains will still be as Ward left them. Visitors will get to see the wonderful collection but will miss the wonderful stories that Ward used to tell as you went from one room to the other and from shelf after shelf on every wall.

Outside on the full size narrow gauge railroad visitors will miss most of the rolling stock and the Emma Nevada steam locomotive. A visit to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris (also one of the convention tours) will be necessary to view these Ward Kimball items as Ward made a fantastic donation to the museum a few years ago.

It is my understanding that the Grizzly Flats Depot will also be relocated to Perris at some future date. That will be something to see as I think the movers will have to drive right past my house on their trip.

I have had the thrill of visiting the Ward Kimball collection several times both as part of a large tour and privately. I can honestly tell you that the best part of every tour was Ward himself.

I am sorry that visitors in 2003 will not have the experience I had.

As my tribute to Ward and his railroad I met with the folks from Stoney Creek over two years ago to discuss the possibility of recreating the Grizzly Flats depot in “O” gauge. A reluctant Division Board went along with the project after a few of us pledged the required money to get the project started. The Grizzly Flats Depot is now available for purchase and I must say it is a real beauty. Ward even let me peel a small bit of “original paint” from his full size depot to give to Stoney Creek as a paint color sample. Ward’s signature is etched in every model. This little depot is a fitting tribute to a man and his railroad and I hope every TCA member will appreciate its’ beauty even if they don’t purchase one.

But every toy train railroad can use another depot…or two.

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.

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.

Dead Man Talking

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