Have you loved trains for as long as you can remember? Real trains and toy trains—they’re all fascinating to you! And you probably can’t wait to meet the many other kids out there who get just as excited about trains as you do. In fact, these are probably the biggest reasons you signed up for the TCA Kids Club.
But what can you do with your membership? So much! Discover all of the fun right here on this special webpage just for you.
Does your room already look like a train museum? If not, why not turn it into one? Decorating with train photos and memorabilia is a great way to surround yourself with trains.
You can also listen to songs about trains, learn about train whistle signals, and so much more.
The Train Collectors Association is divided into local Divisions for different regions of the United States and beyond. Within those Divisions, dedicated Kids and Teens Club Coordinators are responsible for programming and are happy to provide information about membership benefits and more.
Have your parents get in touch with your local Club Coordinator, which is the best way to get involved with in-person activities and meetups near you. Find contact listings on the page linked below.
Missed an issue of “Keeping Track”? You can check out current and recent past editions of our Kids Club newsletters online now.
Did you know that all members of our TCA Youth Clubs receive free admission whenever they visit the National Toy Train Museum in Strasburg, PA?
Make a plan to come out and see our massive collection of trains—and run them, too! The NTTM is located in “Train City USA,” which has many other train-themed attractions nearby. It’s the perfect destination for railfans of all ages!
Not Yet a Kids Club Member? Join Today!
With permission from your parent or guardian, kids can join our TCA Kids (under age 13) Club for free to get acquainted with 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.