Interesting cover for the July 2020 TCA Quarterly magazine

Agree that all should mask their political beliefs on this and all other Forum topics. I suspect the Moderators would agree as well.

Pat

I disagree. I just fired off the following email to the TCA.

I received my copy of the train collectors quarterly today. When I looked at the cover photo I could not believe what I was looking at, a toy train with a medical mask on the front. I am so irritated by Larry Poland's photo and the fact that the TCA allowed this to be put on the publication. I don't know about you, but I use my toy train hobby to escape the realities of what is going on in the real world, even only for a brief moment. But here the TCA decides to push real world issues right in our face. What's next politics, racism? I am truly disappointed with this issue. Thanks for taking the fun from my hobby.

Kevin and Joe', I understand both of your perspectives on this magazine photo.  However, I am kind of inclined to agree with Joe'.. I am sick and tired of Corona'.. and all the rest of the BS that is taking place.  I really don't need to be reminded of it in my train magazines..... Just my opinion...🙄

via GIPHY

Yes, they are our Toys, and we Love them.

But they can be dangerous too.

Lead paint and solder, Electrical shorts and fires, Chemicals in smoke and oils and many other items to cut or hurt you.

A little care in these trying times may save a life, maybe your own.

I am going back to hide in my train room for a while.

Well you already have the big 2 pushing politics.

I am disappointed in the cover and feel that it is in poor taste. I have chosen not to open the magazine and instead placed it in the recycle bin. I am fully aware of how the virus has affected all of us and don’t need to be reminded. 

I also understand both sides of this one.

I think most everyone is tired of the ongoing effects of the virus along with the other nonsense going on too. I certainly see my trains as a refuge from the real world; there always there and there always loads of fun to run or even just look at. 

Yet, I see the humor in the picture too. Sometimes when times are tough, even in the most serious of situations, it’s good to be able to laugh about things because it helps you to overcome them easier.

Most importantly, I am very happy to be part of this wonderful OGR Forum community; a community that is largely comprised of a generation who grew up being taught to respect others, and respect our flag (and preserve all the history associated with it). 

Perhaps one reason so many people of my generation are so disconnected from reality is because few have traveled across the country by rail and seen all parts of it, the big cities and the small towns. Traveling by rail (without phones and 24/7 social media) naturally brought people from different upbringings together in places like the club car where they would have a drink and a smoke while engaging in a real conversation with someone else.

That doesn’t exist now. Instead people walk thru the airport with their headphones in while pushing their way in front of everyone only to be squeezed into a tiny tin can shaped bus full of people looking for the first chance to be offended about something or someone. 

While the only passenger trains I will likely ever ride are the occasional Amtrak train, I am able to enjoy the best of what was in the vast railroad history that has been preserved in museums, books, and personal anecdotes. And when that isn’t enough, I stroll on over to 

 http://www.goldengatedepot.com/reservation.html

and order me up the 3 Rail O scale version of the many passenger trains I never had a chance to ride. 

Enjoy this wonderful hobby and fly your American flags with pride because a great many have died wishing they could experience the freedoms we take for granted every day in this magnificent country. 

@Keith k posted:

I am disappointed in the cover and feel that it is in poor taste. I have chosen not to open the magazine and instead placed it in the recycle bin. I am fully aware of how the virus has affected all of us and don’t need to be reminded. 

Can you pull it out and send it to me? I haven't seen a TCA Quarterly in a long time. 

I think it was an attempt at humor.

@BigJohn&theWork posted:

 

Yet, I see the humor in the picture too. Sometimes when times are tough, even in the most serious of situations, it’s good to be able to laugh about things because it helps you to overcome them easier.

Most importantly, I am very happy to be part of this wonderful OGR Forum community; a community that is largely comprised of a generation who grew up being taught to respect others, and respect our flag (and preserve all the history associated with it). 

 

I agree.  I see the photo as a humorous reflection of our times and I am grateful for this wonderful forum.

NH Joe

I see no problem with the image.

Charlie

Cover photo just another reason I don't belong in the tca...

Could be that the cover photo's primary message is not necessarily humor, but rather how the covid19 virus has greatly affected or impaired one of the most important characteristics of the model train hobby ...the model train hobby's social aspect.  Consider how many train club meetings, train store visits, train meets/shows, conventions, etc. have been cancelled without a definitive restart date.  The virus is still a problem with its many unknown characteristics, but arguably human behavior might be a strong second that can possibly keep the covid19 problem among us for much longer.

This all is to silly to keep this thread going... Don

I was disappointed to say the least.  You have a cover of a magazine about toy trains and you put a mask on it? 

A nice reprint of a previous cover, or a 700e, Blue Comet, or whatever would be more in line with what I paid 50.00 a year for.

You only get a few shots a year at wowing your membership and remind them of how great? you think you are.

I'd like to point out that contrary to the mask-wearing locomotive depicted, if your mask has pleats, remember that they should face downward.

@Jim Berger posted:

Cover photo just another reason I don't belong in the tca...

Continues to be your loss.  

@Chris Lonero posted:

Well you already have the big 2 pushing politics.

Hardly true.

The "big two" (soon to be one) are pushing selling trains.

People buying the trains are "pushing" politics - probably for a variety of reasons.