President's Perspective
"For Your Friends Are My Friends."
Welcome to the TCA's Metropolitan Division (METCA) website. We hope you'll take the time to look around here and discover why METCA has been one of the fastest growing divisions in the Train Collectors Association™.
You remember the kiddie song from the above title? The more we get together, together, together. for your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends. the happier we'll be".
It sounds simplistic, but that's the basis of the TCA. It's been our drum beat as we've worked to improve and make METCA better for our members - ALL of us.
The METCA Board of Directors is always trying innovative and creative ways to make this great hobby more accessible and more fun; the successful Meet'n'Greets and our upcoming mini-meet at the Clinton Diner (3rd annual!) are just a couple of examples, and we WELCOME your suggestions. The division has hit the bulls-eye three times now on very successful and collectible division cars~ and another one is on the way! The division now offers FREE admission to METCA events for members In Good Standing (our faithful MIGS). And don't forget the FREE coffee all show long!
The great thing about being a TCA member is meeting hobby-knowledgeable guys in a train-comfortable environment; that's not the case at every train show. At every METCA show we have our own National Standards Committee members on hand to try and answer your questions or concerns about a particular piece; something you can find ONLY at a TCA show.
And speaking of train shows, when was the last time you invited a friend to come with you? It's something you can do that's easily overlooked in the excitement of getting ready for a show, but give it some thought~ your buddy would make an excellent 'navigator'! Maybe you have a question for him; maybe he's got a question for you. After all, if he invites you golfing, or out on his boat, why can't you invite him to a train show?
There's so much to learn~ manufacturers such as Ives, Dorfan, Hoge, American Flyer, MTH, AMT, Skyline, Atlas, Bachmann, Maarklin, Bing, Buddy L, Ready Made~ the list goes on and on~ it's not just Lionel! And the history, the timeline; your trains, your grandfather's trains, HIS father's trains. it goes back to before the invention of electricity! Manufacturing variations, special runs, reproductions, fakes, home-made~ all waiting to be discovered. Standard gauge, wide-gauge, narrow gauge, prewar, postwar, modern, digital~ why, there might even be a long-lost memory waiting for you just around the bend at the next train show!
So, come join us online. See what we're all about. METCA has our own discussion group linked to this website. You never know what you'll discover until you try.
"I have a propensity for friendship. I try to see the good in people". That quote from former President George H.W. Bush very much applies to this hobby. Think of it~ when you come to a train show, you're surrounded by trains and friends. it doesn't get much better than that"
With METCA's quarterly newsletter, the Waybill; shows in New York and New Jersey; an O gauge modular group; extra and special perks for our Members In Good Standing (the METCA MIGS); collectible division cars; community involvement and just plain having a good time with friends, it's no wonder METCA continues to be recognized as one of the fastest-growing divisions in TCA. Come see what the fun is all about~ join METCA today, and soon you'll say
"You BETCHA I'm METCA!"
Scot Kienzlen
President
METCA Division