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The Train Collectors Association Western Division |
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Our club holds 10 train meets every year. The next Western Division train meet is scheduled to take place on Saturday July 27th, 2024. This meet will be conducted at the Arcadia Community Center, 365 Campus Drive (at Huntington Drive & Holly Ave.). All TCA Members and their families are invited. Come enjoy the camaraderie and enjoyment of model and antique toy train collecting! The meet will include trading tables, a display theme and operating layouts. The doors open at 9 AM for setup and the meet starts at 10:00 AM. The meet typically ends around 2 PM. Parking is free. The meet also features a free repair clinic and an auction. TCA members are admitted free (please wear your current membership badge and show it at the door when you enter the hall). Non-members/train enthusiasts are welcome to attend 1 meet per year for free. There is no charge for use of trading tables for sellers but you must be a member in good standing of TCA in order to have a trading table. Email info@tcawestern.org to reserve a trading table.
For a detailed listing of all upcoming TCA Western Division train meets, click
here.
For information on how to join TCA Western Division, click
here.
July 13th, 2024 Western Division Santa Barbara by Amtrak Coast Starlight Route Adventure
Want to take a one day trip? Western Division is organizing another special one day Amtrak train adventure for members and their families to Santa Barbara on Saturday July 13th. The excursion will include a visit to the newly opened Bosse Train Museum. The museum features displays highlighting the "Golden Age of Trains". There is an operating Lionel 'O' gauge layout with 1930's to 1940's type model trains, a replica of an early 1900's observation car, display cabinets filled with original trains from different time periods collected over the years by Art Bosse, as well as lots of actual train memorabilia, located in a building that has been designated a California Historic Landmark. Art has agreed to open up his museum just for train club members and their guests from 2:30 PM until 5:00 PM on Saturday July 13th. For more information on the Bosse Train Museum in Santa Barbara, please visit the website here: https://www.bossetoytrainmuseum.org/.The itinerary for this trip is designed to facilitate participants to board the train at any station in the LA County, San Diego County and Orange County areas that services the Amtrak Coast Starlight route. We will be riding the northbound Pacific Surfliner #765 train that departs L.A.'s Union Station at 9:15 AM and arrives in Santa Barbara at 11:50 AM. The Southbound return ride will be on Pacific Surfliner #794 train that departs Santa Barbara station at 6:50 PM and arrives at L.A.'s Union Station at 9:46 PM. Please study the Amtrak posted time schedules to determine the closest station to your location for boarding, and the associated departure times and fares if you are interested in joining the group.
Each attendee is responsible for purchasing their own transportation/tickets on Amtrak, and for any transfers via taxi or UBER/Lyft while in Santa Barbara. The club is recommending a Business Class ticket for the round trip. This fare is only a bit higher than regular coach fare for the 2 to 3 hour ride each way (depending where you board), and offers the benefits of extra legroom with footrests, a dedicated car with a service attendant and complimentary snacks and drinks. Amtrak offers senior fare discounts as well as discounts for handicapped persons, veterans, and children under 12. Please consult the Amtrak website at http://amtrak.com to make your ticket purchases.
Upon arrival in Santa Barbara, the plan is to either walk a leisurely stroll from the station, down State Street, or take public transportation to a restaurant located near the Bosse Train Museum named Olio e Limone Ristorante for lunch. This restaurant offers Italian/Mediterranean fare and they have a separate pizzeria and bottega next door. To view information about this restaurant and their menus/prices, please visit their website at https://www.olioelimone.com/. Walking distance from the station to the restaurant is approximately 1.1 miles and will take about 24 minutes. Travelling distance by car is a short 6 minute ride. Attendees will pay for their own meals. Of course, those participating in this adventure are free to choose whatever train departure and return times, and whatever fare they wish, and to dine at whatever restaurant venue they would like, but we would hope that the attendees will follow this preferred itinerary. Amtrak offers several trains on this route with multiple departure and arrival times all day long for you to choose from. You also have the option to drive your personal auto to Santa Barbara instead of riding the Amtrak Surfliner and you may also choose to stay overnight.
For further questions and information regarding this trip or to confirm participation and to reserve your spot(s) please contact Robert Caplan at 213-369-2446 or email: rmcstrains@aol.com
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What is TCA?
The mission of the Train
Collector’s Association (TCA) is to develop an appreciation of and to
preserve an important segment of history -
tinplate toy trains - through research, education, community outreach, fellowship,
establishment of collecting standards and to promote the growth and enjoyment of the hobby of
collecting and operating toy, model and scale trains. The By-laws of TCA Western Division are viewable by clicking here.
TCA Western Division carries out this mission by holding 10 monthly meets during the calendar year. At these meets, the trading and displaying of tinplate toy trains and toy train related items takes place. TCA Western is the only Southern California based toy train club that provides free use of tables for these purposes. We have plenty of them available, in a well lighted, spacious hall.
There are over 30,000 members in the TCA organization nationally. Western Division boasts a membership of over 300 train hobbyists.
TCA and
Western Division have been in existence since 1954. For a little bit
of history about TCA Western Division click here.
Do you have a box of old tinplate trains that you have been storing in the attic all these years since your childhood? Are you anxious to break them out and run them again? Do you need help in getting your old trains to run again - perhaps they require some servicing? Have you been meaning to perhaps convert those old trains into some cash in your pocket? Then bring those trains to our next TCA Western Division toy train meet in Arcadia. Those dusty old electric trains could potentially be something rare and unusual. The club layout would be a great place to see those trains running again after all these years. Or, if you have intended to get rid of those trains, selling them at the TCA Western Division meet can yield cash for you and make a collector happy as well.
To request more information about TCA contact any Western Division board member or send e-mail to: info@tcawestern.org