Using the National Toy Train Library

e*Train Issue: Jan 2018 | Posted in: TCA Adventures

By Lori Nyce, TCA Librarian Winter 2018
with TCA President Joe Fanara

Coming to the National Toy Train Library is coming to a wonderful place!

Nowhere else could one find such a unique collection of books, periodicals, catalogs, photos, records and other publications related to the toy train hobby. And videos and recorded oral histories too!

Making it better yet, the Library is accessible to everyone whether you live nearby or a far distance from our physical location at the TCA National Headquarters in Strasburg, PA.

Outlined below are the ways members and the public can reach us so that we serve your research needs.

(click image to go to the catalog)

How to Access the Library’s Online Database, PastPerfect

PastPerfect is the online catalog which lists the contents of the Library collection. This program is a work in progress and is currently extensive enough to be very useful. PastPerfect lists a representative sampling of the Library’s contents.

Here is how to use it (or just click the link above):
1) Go to the National Toy Train Museum’s website: nttmuseum.org
2) Click on the tab “Library,” on the top menu
3) Click on dropdown item, “ Online Catalog”
4) Select one of the search options, such as “Keyword Search”
5) Use these tools to explore the contents of the Library
6) Contact us for further information on items of interest

Basic Research Requests

The Library offers members and non-members a half hour of free research time. Many requests fall into this category. Do you need a wiring diagram for a Lionel locomotive? Would you like information on how to sell a train collection? Are you looking for the contents of a particular set box?

Some requests require additional research, in which case there is a charge of $15 an hour, or $30 an hour for non-members. Should you need something copied you are charged $0.25 for each B&W photocopy ($0.50 for color), plus postage. The full schedule of fees, including larger copies and other charges, may be viewed here.

Major Research Projects

The Library also assists researchers with long-term, in-depth projects. Our collection contains many one-of-a-kind items and original source material which makes it a great resource for authors, teachers, companies, television and radio producers, journalists and more.

Are you researching information for a book about an obscure toy train company? Do you want to author an article for the Train Collectors Quarterly or the e*Train? Are you giving a presentation on toy train history to your local train club? We can provide you with research assistance and information which will help to make your project a success. We can also call on skilled toy train experts to assist.

Contact us at [email protected], call us at 717 687-8623 ext 108, or write us at: PO Box 248, Strasburg, PA 17579. To assure our ability to serve you, please call us before making a special trip.

We welcome your inquiries!

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.

Using the National Toy Train Library

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