Message from the LCCA
The LCCA’s annual convention week is almost here. It’s time to pack up and head to Kansas City! Once again, your convention Co-Chairs, Bob Carter and Dienzel Dennis have put together a wonderful array of activities for convention goers to enjoy. As in the past, this promises to be an outstanding gathering of Lionel train enthusiasts. Many of our members have decided to make convention week an annual family gathering with something to please all ages. What a great idea! Come to Kansas City, enjoy America’s great Mid-West, ride trains, watch trains, meet longtime friends, make new friends, and enjoy the many tours which are both informative about this great American city and the hobby we all enjoy. By the way, our Trading Hall is “sold out” so the club will have 85 dealer tables for our members and their families to enjoy! Also, our LCCA store convention team, headed by Sal Gambino and Mike Battaglia, has put together a wide array of items to tempt any wallet. The convention team has arranged for United Parcel Service (UPS) to be present on Friday and Saturday. Don’t miss the Get Acquainted Party on Thursday, July 28. The entertainment is going to be very special. “Barbeque Bob” has gone out of his way to keep you and your family enthralled. And for those members who were among the first 400 to register for this year’s convention, don’t forget you will receive the pick-up truck inspection vehicle decorated in the iconic colors of the Kansas City Southern! This item is sure to become one of the LCCA’s most collectible products.
Kansas City Southern Pick Up Truck
TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EDITION:
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
LCCA CONVENTION PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE ICONIC UNION STATION
CONVENTION CLINIC INFORMATION AND SCHEDULES
KANSAS CITY CONVENTION CAR
KANSAS CITY CONVENTION ON-SITE CAR
LCCA 2016 CHRISTMAS CAR
SPECIAL EVENTS
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS DUE 7/1/2016
CLOSING
MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Wow, it is hard to believe, our 46Th Annual Convention at the Kansas City Hilton Airport hotel is almost here. Time flies, when you are having fun. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, Officers and club volunteers, we hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July Holiday and are enjoying the summer.
convention2016 logoThis e-blast contains a lot of information about recent developments with our upcoming convention. Convention Managers “Barbecue Bob” Carter and Dienzel Dennis and the entire volunteer team of members have been working long and hard to make this the best possible experience for our members to enjoy. Thank you volunteers! Our conventions are very family friendly, with activities for husbands, wives, children and grandparents all to enjoy. LCCA Regular members, Electronic Members, Junior Members and family members will all be having fun in KC. If you get a chance, please stop by the Airport Hilton hotel in KC the week of July 25. Come and meet with Lionel President Howard Hitchcock and members of his team. You will most definitely experience the magic of Lionel trains and one of the benefits for belonging to the LCCA
LCCA volunteer Tim Fuhrmann will be bringing the 2016 LCCA Switching Tracks Traveling box car to the convention. Let’s have some fun, be creative and submit your photo with our traveling boxcar in KC. Who knows, there may be a small prize for the best and most creative Switching Tracks Traveling Boxcar photo from KC that is submitted to Tim Fuhrmann at fuhrmanntim@hotmail.com
For those of you who cannot physically attend our conventions, you may want to visit www.notch6.com and listen to club member and Notch 6 podcast host Derek Thomas recap the daily activities of the convention. If you can send an e-mail, you can listen in on these daily podcasts from Kansas City at any time that is convenient for you. Thank you Derek Thomas! Just search for notch6.com and click on the LCCA convention tab.
The LCCA is so much more than a great convention club. Yes, we do have the best toy train conventions on this planet, but we are so much more. If you are not able to attend a convention, please try to attend one of our LCCA Special Events in your area. If there are no LCCA Special Events in your area, please consider hosting one. Send your ideas for a Special Event in your area to LCCA President-elect Ken Kelley (kjkwildcat@q.com We want a LCCA Special Event in all 50 states.
Special thanks go out to club member Bill Fuller who volunteered and created Train Talk for our website. Check out this item on our website and share your thoughts and opinions. This Train Talk is intended to be another communication channel and allow our members to share their ideas with others. Thank you Bill, for a job well done!
We have great product club offerings, and deals on various Lionel and LCCA merchandise. Please check out our website club store. We are also posting new exclusive LCCA Video productions in the “video gallery” section of our website. We have hundreds of entertaining, informative and exciting club videos. You will definitely want to see some of our club member’s home layouts. After the convention, we are planning to post new and more updated information. Make www.lioncollectors.org one of your favorites and visit daily. Explore our website. There is a lot of club information there. As we are a volunteer organization, it is a challenge to update and populate our website. Which brings me to my next point!
Volunteer, Volunteer Volunteer! We need your help. The LCCA is a not for profit organization that relies on club volunteers who have a passion for the hobby and our club. As we continue to grow and have more year round activities, we need your help. There are so many different areas we need help with. Please contact me at akolis619@gmail.com to express your area of interest.
We are constantly looking for members to share their personal stories about Lionel trains and their experiences. Everyone has at least one good story to tell. Submit your articles and you can be featured on our website www.lionelcollectors.org , our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Lione...ectorsClubOfAmerica/ or in our wonderful club publications The Lion Roars and Interchange Track. Please send your articles to TLR editor Mike mamclintock@verizon.net for possible consideration to be published. We need you, your passion, enthusiasm and help. Please volunteer for something that you can enjoy. It will greatly enhance your experience as a fellow club member of the LCC
Lionel Kids Club by LCCA
If you have an article for our newly formed Lionel Kids Club JM club publication, ‘The Lion Cub,’ please contact Dawn and Tyler Balamut at lionelkidsclub@lionelcollectors.org. Dawn and Tyler are also planning a lot of fun events for the children who attend our convention next week. We encourage parents to get involved with their children who have an interest in Lionel trains, and help develop and share their stories. We need to encourage and support our children who have an interest in the hobby. Who knows, one may grow up to be the future President of the LCCA…lol.
Lastly, I want to extend my sincere appreciation to outgoing club Secretary Harry Hampson. We heard you members and we understand your wishes. Harry has volunteered to send out a monthly e-blast to better communicate more current information to our members. This is in addition to all of the information specified in our hard copy publications, ‘The Lion Roars’ and ‘Interchange Track.’ I have started a new job, so it has been extremely difficult for me to create these e-blasts properly and promptly. So, thank you Harry, and I hope all of our members appreciate this timely updated information.
And finally, let’s have some fun! Please enjoy your Lionel trains this summer! Yes, it is summer time, but there you can enjoy your hobby on a year round basis. Maybe not every day, but you can escape the heat sometimes and go to your train room or train space to feel the magic of Lionel Trains.
If you have travel plans for this summer, please be safe. We hope to see you in KC and we would love to hear from new LCCA volunteers.
Sincerely,
Al Kolis
Fellow Member, President & CEO
Lionel Collectors Club of America
248 709-4137
Akolis619@gmail.com
PS. Please note my new e-mail address.
PPS. Are we having fun yet? Let’s have some Fun!
LCCA PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE HISTORIC KANSAS CITY UNION STATION
All LCCA members whether attending the convention or not are invited to attend the very special LCCA/Lionel Press Conference to be held at Kansas City’s Union Station in THE East Side Grand Hall on Wednesday, July 27 at 10 AM. The historic station will receive an architecturally compressed version of the station created by nationally known model builder Roger Farkash, owner of TW TrainWorx in Dallas, Texas. The miniature station is 40 inches wide x 14 inches deep and 12 1/6 inches tall. Officials of LCCA, Lionel and Mr. Farkash will be on hand for the presentation and available afterwards for questions and photographs. To get your ticket to this free event click here: https://www.lionelcollectors.o...LionelSeminarWeb.pdf. You may view the entire press release with regard to this LCCA Special Convention Event on the LCCA web site at http://www.lionelcollectors.org/lcca- newsstand/lccanews/newsStory.aspx?id+931&catld+13. If your schedule permits, don’t miss this wonderful event.
CONVENTION CLINIC INFORMATION AND SCHEDULES
At this writing there will be three exciting clinics offered at this year’s convention. Special thanks to our presenters for taking time to share their knowledge with the LCCA membership. As in the past all seminars are free to convention attendees.
convention2016 hotel
Monday, July 25 – 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM OGR’s Ed Boyle in a Great Double Feature
First Topic: “Collector Club Lionel Single Truck Birneys – Home Grown Collectibles?” In 2014 and 2015 LCCA gave away specially decorated Birney trolleys to the first 400 folks who signed up for the Annual Convention and stayed at least three nights at the convention hotel. Ed makes the case these Birneys are potential modern collectibles due to their extraordinary level of decoration and relatively low production numbers, among the other factors making them desirable. He also covers the two Lionel Birneys made for the 2015 TCA Annual Convention. Ed’s presentation will have dozens of colorful pictures for this concise look at these special trolleys.
Second Topic: “Digital Electronic Grading Standards.” The idea here is to use the existing standards as a base for the LCCA to develop a more definitive version which can be used as a set of standards to grade the values of the electronic components in modern trains. This is the first time grading standards will be used to designate how a train operates, rather than just what it looks like. The discussion of this topic promises to be quite lively!
Wednesday, July 27 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM Sharon Kempfer’s “Sharing Your Interest in Toy Trains”
First Topic: A discussion of the Home Layout Tours which will be conducted on Saturday July 30.
Andy Dubil
This is a very impressive and highly detailed layout of 1950’s trains and related train collection.
Don Miller
Scenic Postwar Collection Layout with mountainous areas transitioning to cities and amusement parks.
Jim Eudaly
Massive layout of the New River Gorge in West Virginia. Each bend in the river is true to scale. Features include actual replicas of depots, coal mines and over 2000 handmade trees and shrubs.
Second Topic: “The Madison Hardware Story” with presenter Derek Thomas.
Author and podcast host Derek Thomas shares stories and photos from Madison Hardware. See never before published photographs from the collection of Richard Kughn and receive a brief history of the legendary Lionel hobby store. A full length book with hundreds of images and stories about the store is scheduled for publication.
Friday July 29, Angela Trotta Thomas Art Clinic. 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM. Angela will be doing a Lionel scene pencil drawing.
Once again, Ms. Angela Trotta Thomas will enlighten us with a special clinic which young and old will certainly enjoy. This year Ms. Thomas will demonstrate the various techniques she uses to create her iconic works of art. Participants will not be drawing as in past years but will be watching the maestro at work. The art work Ms. Thomas creates will be donated to the LCCA for the Silent Auction! Don’t miss this fun and informative time.
2016 CONVENTION CAR
The 2016 convention car is stacking up to be a huge success. In another LCCA first the club is offering the ability to personalize one of the containers on the double stack container car. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity! Made by Lionel, the car is available to members only for a special discounted price of $97.00 plus $15.00 shipping until September 15 or while limited quantities last. Limit of two sets per member. Use the special order form on the back of the June edition of ‘The Lion Roars’ to order yours today!
6 58271 2016 LCCA Convention Missouri Pacific Maxi Stack with 6 83860
2016 ON-SITE CONVENTION CAR
The 2016 On-Site Convention Car Set is the perfect complement to the 2016 Convention Car Set. To get this limited edition set, you must register for the Kansas City Convention. The set with the Burlington Northern container can be yours at the convention for the discounted price of $85.00. BUT WAIT! When you attend Lionel’s special Friday afternoon seminar at the convention, you’ll receive the second container for the set FREE!! It looks just like a Lionel product box.
Can’t attend the convention but still want an on-site car?? There are two ways to buy one:
Have the on-site car sent to you, GUARANTEED, after the convention for $97.00 (plus $15.00) shipping. You need to register for the convention and your car will be delivered between August 1 and September 30. You can expedite convention registration by calling the LCCA business office at 1-815-223-0115.
Or, any member can order one set after October 1 for $165.00 (plus $15.00 shipping), subject to availability. Simply call the LCCA business office at 1-815-223-0115 or order online through the LCCA store.
6 58272 2016 LCCA Convention MKT Maxi Stack with 6 58273 container
2016 LCCA CHRISTMAS CAR
Red, White and Blue and Santa Too! Santa just announced plans for the 2016 LCCA All-American Christmas car which you are sure to want in your stocking this Christmas season. Santa reports the car is made in the good ole’ USA and from new tooling and is loaded with features which will provide lots of joy for years to come. This is a limited edition 10 ½ inch long O gauge boxcar and will include die-cast metal sprung trucks, operating couplers and metal frame. Graphics include a festive snowman and Santa himself on both sides. The opening doors are adorned with Old Glory to remind everyone the car was made right here in the USA! Santa will only be able to make a few of this highly collectible car so be sure to order yours not later than November 30 so your stocking won’t be EMPTY on December 25! Use the order form in the June edition of ‘The Lion Roars,’ order online at the LCCA store, call the LCCA business office at 1-815-223-0115 to place your order or fax your completed form to 1-815-223-0791. The car sells for $74.00 plus shipping of $10.00. Insert link to LCCA store: https://www.lionelcollectors.org/store
6 58264 LCCA 2016 Christmas USBC Lyrs
SPECIAL EVENTS
The LCCA continues to participate in and sponsor numerous Special Events! President-elect Ken Kelley is the go-to-guy for all things Special. If you wish to sponsor a Special Event or need information about our Special Events, please contact Ken at kjkwildcat@q.com or call 520-904-7841. Below is the most up to date list available of scheduled Special Events:
August 20, 2016 – New Berlin, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Rail Road Club Picnic and Open House, Saturday, August 20, 10 AM to 4 PM, Parkland Plaza, 2721 S. Calhoun Rd. New Berlin, Wis. 53151. To contact Jerry Brettschneider, email Lionelman41@aol.com or call 414-393-8567 or visit website milw-lrrs.com.
August 27-28, 2016 – Denver, Colo. LCCA-Colorado Toy Train Group (CTTG) co-sponsored Toy Train Auction event, Ramada Plaza Denver Central (I-25/I-70) 4849 Bannock St. Denver, Colo. 80216. 750+ lots of O gauge toy trains for sale. For more details, visit cttg.1wp/ or contact Jim at 303-880-3877 with questions.
October 8-9, Tidewater Division of the Model Railroaders, 27th Annual Train Show
Virginia Beach Convention Center, 19th Street, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Tidewater O Gauge Association will feature their traveling layout and Kids Run Trains will have their LCCA modular layout on display. Harry and Bridget Hampson will represent the LCCA. Be sure to stop by the LCCA booth and say hello!
November 26 – 27, 2016 – New Berlin, Wis. Milwaukee Rail Road Club Fall Open House, Parkland Plaza, 2721 S. Calhoun Rd. New Berlin, Wis. 53151, Saturday and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. Free to LCCA members and families. For information call Jerry Brettschneider via email at Lionelman41@aol.com or phone 414-393-8567 or visit milw-lrrc.com.
February 25 -26, 2017 – Palmetto/Bradenton/Sarasota. Florida Real Rail sponsors their 40th annual train show at the Bradenton Area Convention Center on Haben Blvd. in Palmetto, Florida. Show hours are 10 – 4 on Saturday and 10 -3 on Sunday.
Real Rail will feature their Lionel/LCCA modular layout. Harry and Bridget Hampson will represent the LCCA. Stop by the LCCA booth located next to the Real Rail layout and say hello!
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
All LCCA members who have expiration dates of 7/1/2016, it is past time to renew!!
The club tries to make it easy for you to renew your membership in “The Best Toy Train Club on the Planet!” To that end there are three ways to renew. 1) Renew online by logging onto the LCCA web site at www.lionelcollectors.org. If you need your member number and password, simply email Harry Hampson, Membership Chairman at hbhampson@gmail.com and he will promptly provide you with the information. 2) For those members who prefer not use the online renewal option, simply log on as noted above and print your renewal form from the web site, check the data thereon and send it to the LCCA business office at the address shown on the form. 3) Simply call the LCCA business office at 1-815-223-0115 and ask for Cathy Rios. She is available from 7 AM to 4 PM, CDT, M-F and will quickly assist you with your renewal. Any time you need assistance with membership questions please contact Membership Chairman, Harry Hampson at hbhampson@gmail.com or by phone at 1-757-406-9636.
IN CLOSING
We hope to see you in Kansas City at the next great LCCA convention! If you can’t be with us we hope to see you next year in Tacoma, Washington at the Hotel Murano. For those of you attending the convention, please stop by and say hello, I am usually working in the LCCA store.
With best wishes from your friends at the LCCA!
LCCA Secretary Harry Hampson
Harry Hampson – RM 28626
Secretary, LCCA and Fellow Member
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