Do you have to be a member of TCA to goto York?
John
You Must be a Member, or a Guest of a Member to attend the TCA Show at York, PA.
1. As a Guest of a Member you may attend only once. At the time you attend as a Guest, you will be presented with a TCA Application should you like the shows and want to return.
2. Applications can be obtained On-Line at www.traincollectors.org or www.easterntca.org
An applicant must obtain the signatures of 2 TCA Members, Pay an Application Fee, and Pay a years Dues to become a Probationary Member. During the 1 year Probation your name is published to the Membership 3 times. After 1 year with no complaints you become a Full Member. Probationary Members have full rights and can attend all meets.
Conventions are held each year. Denver this year, Burlington VT in 2008, Phoenix, AZ 2009, and Baltimore, MD in 2010.
The Eastern Div. hosts a show in April and again in October each year at York, PA. It starts at Thursday noon and runs to 2 PM Saturday. Average attendence is 15,000 Members, Family, and Guests. Eight halls are filled with Trains (only trains allowed). Four of the halls are Manufacturers and Dealers, the other four are for Members that wish to buy and sell items.
Don U. TCA 73-5735
I have had a application for a while but I don't and have never belonged to a train club and nor do I know anyone but one other family member who likes trains. So I don't know what to do about the 2 TCA member signatures as I don't know anybody in there. Nov 11, 2005 my house was struck by lightning and burned down, I had a 25year lionel collection in the finished attic and in one spare upstairs bedroom. I have begun to start buying on my new collection and have gone to a few shows like WGH show in indy and the Greenbugh show in louisville. But these shows where somewhat of a dissapointment for there where more tables just reselling new items then people dealing on older items. I did find more stuff at the Greenburg show and left happy. I have heard great stories about the York show and would love to be a member of TCA but how can I do it if I don't know anyone.
Hello DMU:
Thank you for posting this information. Membership sounds interesting. Just out of curiousity, what kind of complaints would be made against probationary members?
Regards,
John O
The TCA is an organization of 40,000 active members.
Members past and present includes, besides the Editor, Senior Editor, and Associate Editor of Classic Toy Trains, the CEO of Lionel Jerry Calabrese, Neil Young the father of TMCC and famous Songwriter/Performer, Mike Wolf owner of MTH, The Polk Family owners of Aristocraft, Murray Kline former owner of K-Line, Charles Ro (Jr & Sr) USA Trains, the late Frank Sinatra and President Ronald Reagan.
To join go to the Web Page www.tcamembers.org
Click on the left side, "How To Join"
Go to the bottom of that next page and click on that "How To Join"
You can then fill in information that will go to the Chapter in your area and you will be contacted by your local Chapter or Division of the Association.
April and October each contain a "York Week" At least 4 Train Shows at local Hotels start on Monday and are open to the public. Starting on Thursday the TCA takes over the York Fair Grounds for the "Members Only" show lasting until Saturday.
In my 34 years in TCA, I haven't missed a YORK Show in the last 21 of them. That's a 6 hour drive each way. I make my Hotel reservation up to a year in advance. This is a lot of people in a small city. Plan ahead.
All Lionel all the time.
Okiechoochoo
johnandjulie13 wrote:Hello DMU:Thank you for posting this information. Membership sounds interesting. Just out of curiousity, what kind of complaints would be made against probationary members?Regards,John O
Most complaints--and they are few and far between--relate to business dealings a current member may have had with a prospective member. Since the buying and selling of trains is such an integral part of the hobby, it's only natural that complaints about a prospective member would relate to the way he may have handled past transactions at shows, on line, via auctions, and that sort of thing. But I suppose any character issue is fair game so long as the person (member) filing the complaint has valid grounds that can be substantiated in some way.
If your an honest person and an honest hobbyist, you should have absolutely no problem getting through the probationary period. After all, the vast majority of members probably don't even know you.
Hello Alan:
Thank you for the response. I was wondering if members had certain responsibilities/duties, that if not filled, would/could cause complaints.
As I continue to get more involved in this hobby, organizations like TCA start having more of an interest to me. Are there other events besides conventions that give hobbyists an opportunity to interact with TCA members?
TCA Membership has declined in recent years as older members who grew up in the age of the Toy Train die off . The younger gererations has had little contact with railroads, riding the real thing or buying toy trains. The total number of people that have been members of the TCA in its 53 years exceed 60,000. Membership numbers are given with the first two digits the year you joined followed by the number of your application. When I joined in 1973 there were only a little over 5,000 members. As most large cities turn to Commuter Rail this may change. To help, TCA has started a "Kids Club" and a member's wife and chrildren are always admitted free.
Some join, not to attend shows, but just to receive the 4 magazines, 4 newsletters, and the phonebook size directory each year. As for me, I attend the four TCA shows by the New England Division, the two YORK shows, and one non TCA show. Seven shows in twelve months is about right.
jchase1970 wrote: I have heard great stories about the York show and would love to be a member of TCA but how can I do it if I don't know anyone. John
I have heard great stories about the York show and would love to be a member of TCA but how can I do it if I don't know anyone.
It is my understanding that you can "join at the door", but a email to TCA can confirm this. I had 2 guys at my train store sign for me, but do it soon because the date is getting close. Joe
It is definitely possible to join TCA at the door for the York Meet. I did at the April 2004 meet. All you need is a properly filled out and signed application, pay the initiation fee, one years dues and meet fee. If I remember correctly, the initiation fee is $25.00, one years dues is $32.00, and the "at the door" meet fee is $15.00, total of $72.00. My meet notice arrived yesterday and I haven't read it yet so the following may be incorrect. I think it was possible for the last few meets to sign up Wednesday evening but if not then during meet hours. When I joined there was a special line just for new members. Back then TCA was running a promotion that if you paid the first two years dues you received a free book. Wasn't smart enough to take advantage of the offer at the time.
I hope no one gets upset about this, because it involves another forum. All I will say is that I got my second signature for the application from someone I was aquainted with on the OGR forum at the Thursday evening gathering at Friday's restaurant in York. I have read that individuals bring application forms with them and will sign for new members.
On the TCA join page there is a link where they will help you locate 2 recomendations, so I have filled out the request and am waiting for the response. I hope someone contacts me soon. Do you have to preregistar to attend the York meet? I hate to try to join at the door and not be able as I live in southern Indiana and it will be a good drive to get there.
jchase1970 wrote: On the TCA join page there is a link where they will help you locate 2 recomendations, so I have filled out the request and am waiting for the response. I hope someone contacts me soon. Do you have to preregistar to attend the York meet? I hate to try to join at the door and not be able as I live in southern Indiana and it will be a good drive to get there. John
First off, it would take about 30 seconds to find 2 people to sign for you at the door. Do you have to mail your form to the 2 people that you are waiting to hear from? If so, you can send it to me, I'll get the 2 signatures, and mail it back to you next day. Joe
All three of these attractions are a must if you are only 45 minutes away in York.
I took my kids there for fathers day weekend. We had such a wonderful time there. We rode the strasburg railroad (and Thomas).
Joe Hohmann wrote:First off, it would take about 30 seconds to find 2 people to sign for you at the door. Do you have to mail your form to the 2 people that you are waiting to hear from? If so, you can send it to me, I'll get the 2 signatures, and mail it back to you next day. Joe
Thank you for offering. I think the TCA trys to locate people around my area for me to meet with cause they ask for my address information. The site says it may take five days to respond. If I don't get a response I'll get ahold of you Joe and mail the form to you because I really don't want to miss this show.
Thanks, John.
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