Super O is Super!

e*Train Issue: Jun 2023 | Posted in: Operating & Layouts

By Mike Spanier, TCA #85-21856 Summer e*Train 2023

“I call myself (quite modestly) the largest buyer and seller of Lionel Super O trackage in the world! Of course, it is not a huge market! Are you aware of this track system?

Super O Track (ebay.org)

My first experience with Super O track was in 1994. Two good friends, at the time, Tasker Brush and John Fox (both TCA members), said I should come with them to a small monthly train show in Midlothian, Illinois. Well, the show was packed with buyers and sellers. Jam packed…. That was the first train show I attended. What fun! They said there was a very large train show coming up in York, Pennsylvania. They mentioned it to my wife and she thought plane tickets to York would be a great birthday present! So for the next 15 years us three guys, twice a year, went Yorking!

Let me get back to Super O. At that very first train show, as we were leaving, I saw some strange looking track I had never seen before! That was my first experience with Super O track. I asked what it was, and became quite interested. There were eighteen pieces (some had pins broken off in them!) As I was carrying the track out a person asked me if the track was for sale!! I was intrigued!! I doubled the price I paid(still not much). My first customer grabbed it and it was my first sale. From that point on I started buying all the Super O trackage I could find at good prices and decent shape.

Super O switches (ebay.org)

Learning where to sell it, what pricing, should I advertise, etc., all made the journey a fun one. I supplied all the trackage to TCA member Steve Garofalo when he built his recreation of Lionel Super O showroom layout that was in Classic Toy Trains Magazine. After 10 years he took it down and I bought my track back!!

Shortly after becoming a Super O fan, I learned about Yahoo Groups, which I later switched to Groups.IO which is where we are today. We have almost 700 members who can answer any question about Super O Trackage and Post War Lionel Trains. I introduced Joe Lechner to Groups.IO and their site (the TTML) has moved there as well.

All Super O trackage (straight, curves, 1/2 sections, switches, etc) are readily available today and quite reasonably priced.

My co-moderator is Rob Wachter who is a fountain of knowledge about Super O trackage and Postwar Lionel.

The History of Lionel Super “O” Track

www.tcatrains.org/etrain/lionel-super-o-track-a-historical-perspective/

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.

Super O is Super!

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