The Times and Travels of Toy Trains

e*Train Issue: Jun 2016 | Posted in: Toy Train Paper & Auctions

By Carol Redman McGinnis TCA #95-41066 Summer 2016

The beginning of this project was simple. A timeline to share what makes a person have such an impact on us, on you and me. I tried to capture what it was that Lou Redman brought to the table. Is he a hero, is he larger than life, is he a puzzle that you and I have to try and figure out?

So, the chart began. Details about the life he lived and the people who he knew and met. The key components of the life of Lou Redman were put down onto paper. The years and the events that made this man the man he was to become. The birth, the high school graduation, the marriage, the children, the grandchildren, and the great grandchildren. Each of these events built his aura. Even the marriage of his parents, who caught a train to West Virginia, were markers in his life.

The events that form each of us also formed him, yet he was different. He was strong, he worked toward nonconformity, he worked to keep the Train Collectors Association an impact player in the field of collecting and operating toy trains. He did not mince words and would speak his mind. He was not always right, but he was willing to make things work right. He thought “outside the box” before we knew there was a box!

In the course of the development of this book I received a comical email that had a listing of cartoon characters and how old they would be in 2016. Each character was sketched with wrinkles, gray hair, and a crooked back. These just had to be added. A search for inventions made sense, and so those were also added. Magazines had such an impact on the growth of our hobby, so those were added. And so the project grew and grew.

Fort Pitt Division, host of the 2017 National TCA Convention, was looking for a timeline of manufacturers, so along came the toy train manufacturers. A discussion at a meeting of the National Toy Train Library Committee about their quest led me to include these. These folks were intertwined more than expected, and that’s where the adventure began. Wanting to be inclusive became a challenge, and it was worth it.

So the question becomes, what happens now. Well, that is up to you. Add yourself to the timeline. How do you fit in, how do you see yourself in the timeline, and what can you learn about the manufacturers and will that add to your knowledge of toy trains?

Enjoy the adventure!

Open The Times and Travels of Toy Trains (PDF, allow download time) to read about the extended timeline, as seen through the prism of the heritage of Lou Redman, “Mr. TCA,” and the wonderful organization he served for so many years.

From Lou Redman’s Family Photo Album:

From National Toy Train Museum and Library:

At TCA’s beginning, Yardley, PA
Front row right.

Lou Redman was TCA Charter Member #3. A pioneer in TCA’s early years and a central figure in its development for decades, he served as both Treasurer and Secretary. The typewriter that he used to produce years of TCA’s early records and publications is at the National Toy Train Library.

~~Click pictures for larger versions. ~~

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.

The Times and Travels of Toy Trains

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