Have you been looking for that one cherished toy train item that you had
when you were a child? Did your parents give your trains away when you went off to
college? Do you yearn for those days when you came home from a hard day at school and
spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the running of your electric trains? Is there one
train that you always wanted but could never find, and would love to finally get your
hands on it? Well, a TCA Western division
train meet is the place to find those lost treasures!
Thin your collection, or enhance your collection, the opportunity
is here at the TCA Western Division train meets.
For those of you who yearn to operate the trains you have been
stockpiling and collecting over the years, we have operating layouts available to facilitate your needs
at TCA Western division meets.
You can normally find a loop or two of Pre-war Standard
gauge, 'O' Gauge, 'O-27' gauge and sometimes 'G' or 'S' gauge available
in the 30' x 20' backroom space allocated for running trains. Whether its
modern era command control equipped or postwar E-unit based, the layout is
ready to handle whatever motive power you can provide. So bring a train to run, and enjoy an afternoon
of fun. Guests and those interested in becoming members are always welcome. TCA Western
Division meets are open meets. That means there is no admission fee charged. We encourage
our fellow TCA members from other divisions to drop in on our monthly meets anytime they
are in the Los Angeles area on vacation or visiting.
Each month we have a display theme. You will have
an opportunity to see some of the rarest tinplate trains ever manufactured,
from the private collections of some of the most noted collectors in the
world. These displays provide the opportunity for the novice or beginning collector, as
well as for those merely interested in the hobby, to learn about the various types of
trains that are collected, traded, prized and valued in this hobby.
The display themes also facilitate a method for those who own the
prized collectibles to show off these beautiful toys. Any member is welcome to
bring an item for the display session. Please be prepared to tell us the story behind
where you found it, how long you were searching for it, and what a bargain it was!
Each quarter we have an auction.The auction is always very lively and offers a great
opportunity to bid on some great deals. Everything
for the train hobbyist and collector, such as motive power in all gauges, rolling stock,
accessories, books, memorabilia, and rare catalogues.
There is no reserve and no seller or buyers
fee charged at the TCA Western Division auctions. The auction is held as a courtesy for
TCA members to facilitate re-circulation of valuable train items within the membership at
reasonable prices. If you are looking to liquidate a toy
train collection, the Western Division auction would be the ideal mechanism to
facilitate this process. Please contact a TCA
Western
Division Board Member if you would like more information about placing
your train items in the monthly auction.
TCA Western Division is working hard to encourage a younger generation of enthusiasts to embrace the hobby of train
collecting and operation. A special program has been developed with the Boy Scouts of America. Scouts can earn a merit
badge in Model Railroading through completion of several exercises, including construction of ‘O’ gauge, ‘S’ gauge and ‘G’
scale model train layouts, identification of ten different types of train cars,
building a railroad structure (from scratch or using a kit), painting and
weathering the model, learning several types of railroading signals,
and then explaining these signals and the safety precautions to take while being
around real trains. In the past, TCA Western Division has also held special
"Children's Meets". We encouraged kids of all ages to come to this event. We also
invited organizations who care for disabled, foster care or abused children to participate.
At these meets Western Division donated starter train sets to organizations that care for
needy and underprivileged children, disabled, abused and foster care children.