I Play with “O” Gauge

e*Train Issue: Oct 2008 | Posted in: Collecting, Combined Eras

By Mike Stella

If you ever are lucky enough to work in a train store at Christmas time and you get to sell “O” gauge trains to the public, you will find yourself constantly explaining the difference between 0-27 and “O”, between “Scale size” and regular “Lionel size”, and why everything is still considered “O” gauge!

Sixty years ago there was a need to have trains that cost a few dollars less than the deluxe models, as a few dollars was a lot of money. Lionel and others wanted to capture as big a share of the toy train market as possible and price was the way to do it.

In 2008, everybody seems to have a catalog that is 1/2″ thick filled with hundreds of the same items over and over and over again. Price doesn’t seem to matter anymore. I don’t know anyone buying $1000+ locomotives every year.

I believe manufactures are killing our hobby and are trying to sell as much as possible before we all say “I have enough” and stop buying new trains altogether.

Maybe then we can all return to the great hobby of building a model railroad and playing with our toy trains? I may not be around to see it but I know that that day is coming very soon.

Until then, Happy Railroading to all.

I have to go look at the newest catalogs to see what I can’t live without!!!

**An “O” Gauge GS4 by MTH. I call it a mini-GS4.**

**A GS4 by Lionel pulls in. This is “O” Gauge too?**

**Finally, a “Scale-O” GS4 from Williams dwarfs the other two!**

**The Williams, Lionel, and MTH are ALL “O” Gauge?**

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.

I Play with “O” Gauge

Search By:

Sort By:

Have Train Stories to Share?