Where we have been and where we are going, to e*Train …. and beyond!

e*Train Issue: Jan 2016 | Posted in: TCA Adventures

By Carol R. McGinnis, TCA 95-41066 Winter 2016

With the Winter 2016 edition, Carol has undertaken the role of e*Train editor. You may also view her request for authors here.

I am really excited about 2016 and the movement I feel among young and old to share their knowledge and experience with these little toy trains. I owe a big thanks to Bob Mintz, who single handedly edited, published, promoted, authored, and did so much more to make e*Train what it is today. His guidance and wit have carried this publication to the masses, and it is anticipated that this effort will continue.

I see the e*Train as a link to the X and Millennial Generations and then beyond, to those who are now growing up with the Internet. In the meantime, TCA will promote and encourage the GI, Silent, X and Baby Boomer Generations. As a Baby Boomer myself, I have seen the impact of the internet, the World Wide Web, and a computer on many people. These “things” can be seen as a fancy typewriter with super powers to those of us who have been around the block for a while. We can be intimidated, and some of those around us can be put off.

In the meantime, our children and grandchildren are growing up in a much different world. It is one where information is available with the click of a mouse, where pictures and text are readily available, but where learning can still take place at the kitchen table, now with a computer and an internet connection.

With that in mind, TCA can provide vital, historical, background, and contemporary information on a wide selection of subjects and venues. Authors come from within the ranks of TCA, and also come from venues of interest like the Whippany Railway Museum and the B&O Railroad Museum. Searching these archives of TCA will be a continuing source of historically accurate information moving forward.

Moving forward I see e*Train as TCA’s format moving into the next era. Thank you for your past contributions and for your future support.

410-336-8522, call me if you need to talk.

[email protected], email me if you need me to respond in writing.

Pictures seen above: Some of Carol’s favorites: A Brittains circus set, PrideLines Toonerville Trolley, and an MTH Pittsburgh PCC.

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.

Where we have been and where we are going, to e*Train …. and beyond!

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