Learning all about how trains work—and sharing that knowledge with family and friends—is one of the best parts of growing in the toy train hobby! This page contains some cool facts to jumpstart your curiosity! Be sure to check out all of the resource links, too.
There are different combinations of long and short blasts on the locomotive’s whistle or horn. They let the train crew communicate. Here are just a few:
Apply brakes, stop!
Release brakes, proceed.
Approaching a crossing.
Flagman protect rear of train.
When standing, back up.
When standing, start.
A series of shorts: emergency, something on the tracks!
There are other signals, and there may be some variations when such signals are sent from the conductor to the engine via a communication gong, buzzer, or whistle. Procedures are included in railroad handbooks.
Want to know more? We like this authoritative discussion of railroad signals from a very old issue of Trains magazine.
Other aspects of controlling trains include trackside signals, block control, and more. Check out this article from Trains for a more in-depth look. Today, much communication to and onboard trains is by radio or other mobile communication, with railroads and toy trains taking full advantage of the digital revolution.
Northlandz, in Flemington, NJ, claims to be. It has 8 miles of track and up to 100 trains running at once!
Truthfully, we aren’t sure! There are Z-gauge layouts that fit into a briefcase or under glass in a coffee table.
We have assembled a number of links to major toy train organizations and information sources from around the world. Check out our links and learn something new!
Learning about trains is even more fun when you can share your enthusiasm with others. If you’re not yet a member of our TCA Kids Club (under age 13) or TCA Teens Club (ages 13-18), get your parents’ permission to sign up for free to experience more of the toy train collecting hobby and meet new friends!
When you join, you will receive a membership certificate, member card, and more.
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.
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.