May 18 Special Event in Bloomsburg, PA (Recap)
The Lionel Collectors Club of America (LCCA) attended the third annual Train Show in the Columbia Mall in Bloomsburg PA on Saturday, May 18, 2013. This family friendly train show was held inside of the Columbia Mall and open to the public. There were model trains, railroad memorabilia and railroad photos for sale. The Loose Ties Club House in the center of the mall was a huge draw for the general public. They have several O-gauge and other gauge operating toy train layouts for everyone to enjoy. An added attraction was the Wheelchair Engineers Club's operating layout. This layout is designed to be at the right height to be visible from people sitting in wheel chairs. This club's layout travels to various hospitals and events to help out wheel chair bound children in hospital settings. Both the Loose Ties Model Railroad Club and the Wheelchair Engineer's club are great organization that is doing a lot of activities to promote our hobby and to introduce model toy trains to children.
Al Kolis, Immediate Past President & Special Events manager was there representing the club at the LCCA table. All of the LCCA members who attended received a set of LCCA commemorative un-cut billboard sheets along with a LCCA Special Events pin. Thank you to all of the members who stopped by and talked trains and a sincere welcome to all of the new members who joined our organization on Saturday. I personally invite you all to attend future LCCA Special Events and get involved with our club. The more participation you have, the more you will enjoy the club. Everyone has at least one good story to tell about themselves and their Lionel Train experiences. Please contact Mike Mottler at motlerm@conwaycorp.net to discuss your ideas about a future article in our club publication The Lion Roars. We can also post stories on our great website www.lionelcollectors.org and facebook page www.facebook.com/LionelCollectorsClubofAmerica.
Our sincere thanks to Andrew Hoke, Ryan Newman, the entire Loose Ties Model Railroad Club and Bob Bomboy of the Wheelchair Engineers Club for their great hospitality and hosting this train show. Thank you for spreading the magic of Lionel Trains to an entire new generation of visitors.
Al Kolis
Immediate Past President & Special Events Manager Lionel Collectors Club of America