I'm thinking of joining TTOS and am looking for pros and cons, benefits, etc... I looked at LOTS but lean more toward the 'toy' aspect of the hobby.
Thank you for your insight.
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LOTS and TTOS are sharing a Convention this July in Reno, NV...and the LOTS Club Cars are the BEST of any train club!!!
I was a 20+ year member of TTOS, but I bailed last year. The club has been struggling, and I wanted to support them through their troubles. But all I was hearing was more of the same without a clear-cut plan for digging themselves out and remaining healthy. Hint: Guys, you need to do something different!
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend LOTS to anyone - it's a great small club, run by great people, and one which is not constantly in your pocket. Also, their conventions are a bit more homespun in somewhat out-of-the-way places, and I guarantee you'll meet a lot more train buddies as a result.
Todd Wagner
LOTS RM-1856
Well, I felt I received far more information from the LOTS website than I did the TTOS site. LOTS seemed more up to date, more active. The TTOS site seemed lacking for want of a better word. The cost to join either club isn't much, but I still want to get my moneys worth. I see myself belonging to both in the future it's just taking that first step.
Thank you for the input.
I'm a member of a TTOS division that recently broke away and incorporated. The club president said that the TTOS is having problems, basically he said "and if the ship sinks we don't want to go down with it".
Tell me (and the rest of us) about the LOTS Convention cars....are they good models
(Atlas or?) of prototypes with prototypical lettering on them, hopefully of more obscure or vanished roads (fallen flags) , or are they just generic with the manufacturer's name all over them? I used to belong to LCCA but my problem is the same as it is with OGR's competitor magazine, I ain't exclusively Lionel..they do very infrequently come up with something I want... (and that would be a problem with LOTS). The "L". Certainly conventions in less common and out of the way places is
appealing.
Bummer. I just rejoined the TTOS. That bad eh? Haven't received anything from them yet.
LOTS cars are all over the map. Most are traditional size but there have been several scale cars. Some have prototypical decoration, others are goofy. Here's a link to a page with pictures of LOTS cars 1980-2010. This year's car is a Sierra Beer PS-2 boxcar, a joint issue with TTOS.
Originally Posted by Toytrainguy:
I'm thinking of joining TTOS and am looking for pros and cons, benefits, etc... I looked at LOTS but lean more toward the 'toy' aspect of the hobby.
Thank you for your insight.
I am happy and thankful for your interest. Without knowing where you live I would say the major benefit of all the various clubs is the social interaction that the meets provide. I currently belong to the Southern Pacific Division and we have lots of fun and activities at our meets. Since I am the webmaster I invite you to visit our website at www.ttos-sp.com. Now since my joining TTOS several years ago I agree that there have been issues with the National organization. I can tell you that there have been many instances where I took flak for things that I did not know about or have any answer to but since I volunteered and got voted onto the board of directors for the Southern Pacific Division I understood that it is my job to serve a greater audience. I have spent many hours asking questions, suggesting solutions, and being involved. The members that now are in charge of the National organization are all volunteer and TTOS is now in good financial shape with past issues having been resolved. Is everything perfect? No. Really no organization is perfect, but I can tell you that are folks in TTOS that work hard and care for growing the hobby. If you are ever in the Orange County CA area then please look us up and drop by. Please say hello and I will personally show you around and help you to meet our members. This invitation is open to everyone by the way, so stop on by and see for yourself.
All organizations have their good points and they all take members to make them great organizations.
I THINK this was a TTOS thread -- see title.
I joined TTOS in 1972 & thoroughly enjoy the publications and camaraderie. After a couple of difficult years recently, TTOS--founded in 1966 as the second toy train club--has made a rebound under new leadership. Give the organization a try.
BTW, I'm a member of LOTS, LCCA and TCA so I have no particular bias. I enjoy the memberships and the information. TTOS is a strong component in my enjoyment of the hobby.
Membership is recommended.
I have been a TTOS member since 1990. Its fine and I enjoyed the convention in Altoona...plus some of their recent convention cars have been pretty neat. However we had an odd experience. Shortly after paying for the 2007 Convention with our credit cards we were told at the hotel in Altoona that the card was declined. We called MasterCard and were told that someone in Glendale CA was charging up thousands to the card. At the same time TTOS had some issues and lost orders for convention cars etc and apparantly had to let some office staff go. This is all hearsay mind you but I feel there is a connection. But aside from this I am still a happy TTOS member. None of this if related was the fault of TTOS.
Mike,
In 2007 I was TTOS National Vice President when what you are describing went down. While I do not know what happened with your credit card, I do find the Glendale connection interesting. At the time of the 2007 convention TTOS only had one office person, who was supposed to go to the convention but decided at the last second to not go and give notice. The Treasurer at the time stayed behind and let the person go ahead of the short notice date. After the convention we found out that the office person had not done any order processing for the convention cars. We found most of the orders buried in a drawer. Orders that were done on-line were ignored and not processed. It took us several months to straighten out the mess. I should know since I was the one that had to figure it all out. As for the convention cars, Lionel sent what was supposed to be the banquet cars to the convention. What actually arrived were the regular cars in the wrong boxes with the wrong part numbers. Those cars had to have the boxes fixed, and get sent to the shipping company in Michigan to be sent to the members. The banquet cars were held up until Lionel could get new doors from China, send them to us so we could install them, and relabel the boxes. The operating hoppers were held up in China, so those were two months late. The only car that made it on time was the S gauge hopper. It was a mess but eventually we sorted it out. In spite of the problems, Altoona was a blast. I and my family had a great time.
Regards,
Randall
Originally Posted by Mike W.:
I have been a TTOS member since 1990. Its fine and I enjoyed the convention in Altoona...plus some of their recent convention cars have been pretty neat. However we had an odd experience. Shortly after paying for the 2007 Convention with our credit cards we were told at the hotel in Altoona that the card was declined. We called MasterCard and were told that someone in Glendale CA was charging up thousands to the card. At the same time TTOS had some issues and lost orders for convention cars etc and apparantly had to let some office staff go. This is all hearsay mind you but I feel there is a connection. But aside from this I am still a happy TTOS member. None of this if related was the fault of TTOS.
Well, I joined LOTS this afternoon. I will probably join TTOS next month and LCCA the month after that. We will see.
Thanks for all the input.
No club is worth the fee, unless you choose to get involved and have fun. If you get involved, even in a small way, they are a bargain that comes with new friends.
Steve
Each club is offering their OWN convention car. No joint issues. LOTS is offering a Yellow UP deep well car with two Western Pacific Feather containers. TTOS is offering a Red PS-1 Sierra Beer boxcar in O gauge and S gauge. These cars can be viewed at www.lots-trains.org. LOTS is scheduling the tours during the week and TTOS is handling the train show for Friday night and Saturday. Each club will have their OWN banquet on Saturday night. I hope this clears up and confusion.
Victor Bodek - CBOD LOTS
