gregc richhotrain Maybe someone needs to post a convincing message about what is good about joining a model railroad club.
richhotrain Maybe someone needs to post a convincing message about what is good about joining a model railroad club.
Rich
Alton Junction
I agree with almost everyone who has replied. If you had a great time with one or more clubs, then you definitely did. If you had a bad experience and a club, then you had a bad time at that club.
Now, to stasrt a new club, you need some like minded people, then you need a space, rented, free or nominal rent from some other organization.
Next you need all the decisions you would for a home layout, namely Road name, era, location on planet earth, etc. Then a track plan, and have at it.
Problems and pitfalls: Dues, expenses, etc.
How long does the President serve, how long does anyone serve on the excecutive body? Either the founders run things forever, or term limits must be imposed. I have been in groups, not all model RR, that went each way. Term limits seem to me to be better.
Are you going to be a permantently locasted club with open houses, are you going to be a portable club that takes part in shows. I suggest one or the other. If the secong you need wide aisles.
Are you going to have a selection criteria for new members? Will you have a way to ask/tell people like me to depart? Excessive vulgarity and profanity will offend many, either the offender goes, or many will go.
So as not to preach, I'll quit now.
Dave
· I met some great ffolkes, not necessarily with the same modelling interests.
· Some of those ffolkes are still good friends.
· I learnt a lot; in fact I’d go as far to say my bench work, track laying, and wiring, through the experience gained at the club, is bullet proof.
· With like minded modellers I learnt a lot more and also contributed (occasionally and surprisingly intelligently) in some amazing brainstorming sessions which were also great fun. These sessions, never planned, covered the whole spectrum of model railroading.
· I got to drool over, and run, locomotives and rolling stock that I would probably not have got to see as a lone wolf.
· The club has a great library for research and plain enjoyment. With the advent of the MR 75th Anniversary DVD set and continued improvements in accessing information on the internet now a days, this may not seem to be so important but it was certainly the mother lode for me back then.
· While a lot of hard work, I thought the effort that was put into putting on our annual show to promote the hobby was well worth it, especially the positive feedback from the general public.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Our club is pretty successful, for a couple of reasons. Several years ago, the need for a major construction project provided a make or break point. Up until then, it had been the usual free-for-all HO train club, with a little bit of drift toward proto-style operations.
The guys took a vote on whether to disband, go ahead with the project, or find another site. "Go ahead" won and about a third of the members quit because they didn't want to wait five years to run trains again. Another third drifted out over the next couple of years. The remainder, now remembered as "The Seven Dwarfs,"* used the work sessions to talk out what they really wanted to do and where they wanted the club to go. So, there was a unified purpose.
*much digging was involved
Then, instead of a big membership drive to populate the club, the seven guys kind of spread out through the local modeling community, seeking out people who fit well into their scheme of an operating late '70s railroad -- but mostly, people they wanted to be friends with. One and two at a time, they added people (myself included) and got to work on the layout. The layout was designed to be built in stages, so within a year of starting construction, they were having monthly op sessions on their plywood and flex track baby. By the time Phase 2 needed more people to run it, there were more people in the club. Now, all four planned phases function and we run eight hours of op sessions a month, keeping 18 to 20 people busy. At any given session, there are one or two guests, some of whom fade out and some of whom join.
Because the club had a clear purpose and added members a few at a time, it has been relatively easy to stay focused on the original goals. There is the occasional member who has problems working as part of a group, and there have been some who wanted to make major changes. But when people come around to visit, and well before they are voted in as members, they learn what the goals of the club are. Some have faded away, some "drink the Kool-Aid" and have fun with the rest of us.
The layout certainly wasn't built exactly to the original plan -- opportunities popped up to improve on an already good design, and now it's even better. The operating scheme has also evolved, with input from many different people.
Big egos are rarely a problem, and the club is structured so that it's hard for one or two people to dominate it. The group has also limited itself to 30 members, so everyone knows everybody else. New people don't get lost or ignored.
One advantage is that there are several other groups in our area, two of them with permanent layouts. If someone shows up but really isn't interested in diesel operating sessions, there are other local places for them to go.
So yes, a club can be a good situation and in our case, is a good answer for people who like to operate but can't, or don't want to, build and maintain a layout on their own. But it's a good club that took a decade or more to build.
traintravlerWhat should I consider, have and dont have, etc..
clubs, like many social and work activities depends on the chemistry of those participating. Some are successful and others less successful. Work environments face the same issues, but not participating has bigger ramifications (e.g. finding a new job).
Smarter, Faster, Better discusses the things that make successful teams and work environments. I believe many of these same ideas pertain to clubs (assuming everyone wants to particpate -- motivation is not a paycheck).
while the book discusses several aspects that help motivate people to participate and be more productive, it also discusses work cultures that are more successful. While the venture capitalists seem to think companies with super-star individuals will be more successful, the books says the statistics more than favor the companies that have a strong cultures giving everyone in the company a say in the companies success, emphasising values of listening to all viewpoints and the ability to contribute.
it makes similar comments about teams -- that more successful teams give everyone more equal time to speak and contribute to activities.
I believe many of the negative comments about clubs are attributed to the lack of the things I mention above. While the administrative details of a club can't be ignored, the culture may be more important.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
If you political leanings don't match up with the central cabal, ruling junta, or what ever you want to call it in the club, you will always be an outsider and detached.