I am not a member of the NMRA. I am in a club and none of the members belong to the NMRA. Although the NMRA does much for the hobby, the majority of people I have met who are members of the NMRA have turned me of to that organization due to their elitist attitudes and constant nitpicking.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL BRAKIE: richhotrain: betamax, I don't think anyone is arguing anything to the contrary. The NMRA is a worthwhile organization. But as to the original issue of membership, is it your position that anyone and everyone in the model railroading hobby should be a member of the NMRA? Rich Rich,At one time most HO clubs was 100% NMRA membership and if you wanted to join you had to join the NMRA as well.Back then it was a good thing to belong to the NMRA and have a voice and vote. Even the NMRA designed X2F coupler was sorely needed in order to have a common coupler instead of a hodgepodge of manufacturers couplers that wouldn't couple with other brands. Larry, That is an intersting experiance you have about clubs and the NMRA. In 40 years in this hobby, not one club here in the Mid Atlantic that I have known of requires or required NMRA membership. Sheldon
BRAKIE: richhotrain: betamax, I don't think anyone is arguing anything to the contrary. The NMRA is a worthwhile organization. But as to the original issue of membership, is it your position that anyone and everyone in the model railroading hobby should be a member of the NMRA? Rich Rich,At one time most HO clubs was 100% NMRA membership and if you wanted to join you had to join the NMRA as well.Back then it was a good thing to belong to the NMRA and have a voice and vote. Even the NMRA designed X2F coupler was sorely needed in order to have a common coupler instead of a hodgepodge of manufacturers couplers that wouldn't couple with other brands.
richhotrain: betamax, I don't think anyone is arguing anything to the contrary. The NMRA is a worthwhile organization. But as to the original issue of membership, is it your position that anyone and everyone in the model railroading hobby should be a member of the NMRA? Rich
betamax,
I don't think anyone is arguing anything to the contrary. The NMRA is a worthwhile organization.
But as to the original issue of membership, is it your position that anyone and everyone in the model railroading hobby should be a member of the NMRA?
Rich
Rich,At one time most HO clubs was 100% NMRA membership and if you wanted to join you had to join the NMRA as well.Back then it was a good thing to belong to the NMRA and have a voice and vote.
Even the NMRA designed X2F coupler was sorely needed in order to have a common coupler instead of a hodgepodge of manufacturers couplers that wouldn't couple with other brands.
Larry,
That is an intersting experiance you have about clubs and the NMRA. In 40 years in this hobby, not one club here in the Mid Atlantic that I have known of requires or required NMRA membership.
Sheldon
Sheldon,Only 40 years? That's a long time but,not quite long enough.
Try the 40s, 50s and 60s when the NMRA was big and was sitting Standards and RPs that you enjoy today..
My dad was a NMRA member and I started going with him to the Division 6 meetings in the mid 50s and I can still recall the debates(some heated) and voting. I joined the NMRA in 1964 and joined in on the debates and voting.
The Columbus HO Club was 100% NMRA club back then..
You may find this interesting.
http://nmra.org/regions/100Club/100ClubList.html
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Sheldon, thank you for the common sense. Betamax, and you also.
I have not seen any tempers flaring. I lively discussion, but not really any more then that.
Ken G Price My N-Scale Layout
Digitrax Super Empire Builder Radio System. South Valley Texas Railroad. SVTRR
N-Scale out west. 1996-1998 or so! UP, SP, Missouri Pacific, C&NW.
cuyama ndbprr: I joined for one year. They didn't tell you anything about local chapters. The entire year had an ongoing discussion about outhouses and the highlight of one issue was a strip club with a model of a naked woman on stage. That was what, twenty-five to thirty years ago, maybe? Things have changed a bit since then ....
ndbprr: I joined for one year. They didn't tell you anything about local chapters. The entire year had an ongoing discussion about outhouses and the highlight of one issue was a strip club with a model of a naked woman on stage.
That was what, twenty-five to thirty years ago, maybe? Things have changed a bit since then ....
And yet I miss those biffies. I still think Whit Towers was the best editor the Bulletin had.
Enjoy
Paul
I'm going to attempt to lock this thread. I was hoping that this topic could be discussed without tempers flairing! I am a dreamer, I guess!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
Some people are not into clubs. So be it. Others like belonging to a group.
But the NMRA is not a club, it is an association of people who have the same interests, are interested in promoting the hobby, and others volunteer to work on standards committees or organize conventions.
The two main reasons for the NMRA are Standards and Social.
The NMRA came about mainly because interchange was difficult unless you had the same equipment. Which made it possible for more people to enjoy the hobby, and they could get together to run their equipment together knowing it would work, as well as show off their skills at building accurate models.
Men like John Allen belonged to the NMRA, went to the conventions, and took great pride in not only showing their work to everyone, but in showing everyone how to improve their work.
But if you want to do things alone, that is your choice.
ndbprrI joined for one year. They didn't tell you anything about local chapters. The entire year had an ongoing discussion about outhouses and the highlight of one issue was a strip club with a model of a naked woman on stage.
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
ATLANTIC CENTRAL richhotrain: ATLANTIC CENTRAL: Rich, How much plainer do we have to say it? You have paid nothing, and done nothing but you benifit from the standards and all the work others have done for seventy plus years. Forget about the future of the hobby, that sounds like a free ride to me. Sheldon Sheldon, that is just plain silliness. You probably drive a late model car, live in a decent home, have a nice camera, stereo, whatever. You have paid nothing, and done nothing but you benefit from the standards and all the work others have done for over a century. Yet, no one accuses you of taking a "free ride". Rich Bad example
richhotrain: ATLANTIC CENTRAL: Rich, How much plainer do we have to say it? You have paid nothing, and done nothing but you benifit from the standards and all the work others have done for seventy plus years. Forget about the future of the hobby, that sounds like a free ride to me. Sheldon Sheldon, that is just plain silliness. You probably drive a late model car, live in a decent home, have a nice camera, stereo, whatever. You have paid nothing, and done nothing but you benefit from the standards and all the work others have done for over a century. Yet, no one accuses you of taking a "free ride". Rich
ATLANTIC CENTRAL: Rich, How much plainer do we have to say it? You have paid nothing, and done nothing but you benifit from the standards and all the work others have done for seventy plus years. Forget about the future of the hobby, that sounds like a free ride to me. Sheldon
Rich,
How much plainer do we have to say it? You have paid nothing, and done nothing but you benifit from the standards and all the work others have done for seventy plus years. Forget about the future of the hobby, that sounds like a free ride to me.
Sheldon, that is just plain silliness.
You probably drive a late model car, live in a decent home, have a nice camera, stereo, whatever.
You have paid nothing, and done nothing but you benefit from the standards and all the work others have done for over a century. Yet, no one accuses you of taking a "free ride".
Bad example
And you missed the point.
In your earlier reply, you clearly indicated that to participate in the hobby without being a member of the organization that sets the standards, you are in for a "free ride".
My point being, using that logic, for every product that you buy without membership in the organization that sets the standards, you are a freeloader.
Alton Junction
There are some advantages to being an "old coot of 75" one is which I have a lot more history to look back at than many of you. My dad was a Santa Fe engineer, I was riding steam before I started grade school back in Arkansas City KS (div. point) and then later when dad bid in one of the switch engines in Enid OK. I grew up there, rode diesels, got to "run a geep down the main at age 14, with dad right there with me, and I even worked for Santa Fe in Topeka in the 60's, where I was given the opportunity to attend IBM classes to learn computers. Having a theological degree and IBM certificates let me lead an interesting life as a railfanning, computer techie and also a minister. Plus being an avid model railroader.
I still say that belonging to the NMRA is not for everyone even though I have been a long time member. Some people just aren't joiners. That is fine, but don't belittle what the NMRA has done in setting standards for the hobby industry. I remember model trains before that time, I enjoy the benefits of NMRA in my hobby today and those standards make modeling much easier. Don't want to belong? FINE WITH ME. But don't bite the hand that makes modeling much easier today.
Bob
richhotrain ATLANTIC CENTRAL: Rich, How much plainer do we have to say it? You have paid nothing, and done nothing but you benifit from the standards and all the work others have done for seventy plus years. Forget about the future of the hobby, that sounds like a free ride to me. Sheldon Sheldon, that is just plain silliness. You probably drive a late model car, live in a decent home, have a nice camera, stereo, whatever. You have paid nothing, and done nothing but you benefit from the standards and all the work others have done for over a century. Yet, no one accuses you of taking a "free ride". Rich
Bad example - Ford parts still don't fit Chevy's and HP printers don't take Cannon ink, there are a number of different "industry standard" data cards and batteries in cameras, not one cell phone I have ever owned used the same charger or battery as the next one, but all your different brands of trains run on the same track and use one of two established power systems.
My home was built in 1901, with completely different methods/standards (mostly better I might ad) from any home today. Some consumer products benifit from volunteer industry standards, some from government regulation, but very few are governed by non profit user organizations like the NMRA.
I pay taxes for that government regulation, and the price of volunteer industry standards is built into the price of the goods.
Like Bob pointed out, take a close look at the mess in large scale trains. Track gauge is the only constant. Nearly every manufacturer has their own scale, couplers, coupler height, and even incompatible power systems. The NMRA prevented that from happening to HO and N, and to some degree to highrail O gauge. had they been stronger, they might have prevented those problems in large scale as well.
It is because of the past work of the NMRA that bullies like MTH are pressured into compatiblity.
And that patent thieves cannot extort money for knowledge that is in the public domain. Like Bose does in the speaker business by buying up every speaker patent that comes into the patent office, and then hiding the information unless you do an expensive patent search. So even if you develope it on your own, they prevent you from marketing it.
I've decided to join the NMRA just because one can get a lot more exposure to other ways of doing things...why is this a hot button topic now?
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
These threads do break out occasionally, but I have to say I think that this is a particularly good one. Excellent, well considered points being made for-and-against membership.
I am not a member. I have toyed with the idea off and on, over the last few years. I don't have a lot of time for the hobby as it is. I hardly have the time to read the hobby related publications I subscribe to. I concluded, and this thread has strengthened that view, that I would contribute very little, if anything, to the Association. My local chapter is actually very active, but most of the meetings are a 50 mile round-trip from my house. I am more inclined to join a local club in the next town. I don't see myself as being in the least bit active, so would not expect to get anything out of it. Most of my hobby related activities are at the local hobby shop K-10 in Maryville, where the 4000 sq ft layout has become the focal point for what might as well be called a club. I spent 4 hours their yesterday with the boys running trains.
So for me, a membership would be simply a "donation" to the cause. Perhaps worthwhile? But one that I have not elected to do as yet.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Rich, How much plainer do we have to say it? You have paid nothing, and done nothing but you benifit from the standards and all the work others have done for seventy plus years. Forget about the future of the hobby, that sounds like a free ride to me. Sheldon
Good Morning!
I feel for the OP, who (IMHO) asked an innocent question and opened up Pandora's Box - as those of us who have been around awhile knew it would.
All the postings here express the writers views, opinions, and experiences - for better or worse. And, we are each entitled to our own thoughts on the subject, and while its hard, we should respect the views of others.
With the possible exception of the OP, everyone else here has their mind made up about the NMRA, and there is nothing any of us can write that is going to alter that.
If I had the icon of the little guy banging his head against that brick wall, I would post it here.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
richhotrain pastorbob: As I stated in an early post, I am an NMRA member, since around 1960, have the Master Model Railroader certificate, and still pay dues and participate. I would remind those who think they have no stake in the NMRA that most if not all of the improvements and standards now in place in the hobby, and which we hold "so dear" have come about because of the efforts of the NMRA. I also have a garden railroad in the back yard, there are no standards and trying to match equpment from different manufacturers are almost impossible. One manufacturer is trying to get everyone in G or 1 gauge in synch but not having much success as one manufacturer has little clout. Now there are always who want a free ride, and the hobby is no exception. There are plenty of modelers I have talked to who want all the cake but don't want to open the box and work with the mix, ie. they want a free ride on the good things of the hobby and crab when things aren't good. As far as I am concerned, there is a need for a unified voice/body to represent the needs of the hobby so we have a chance of being able to have compatibility wiith products, and especially with the standards for DCC and DCC sound. At the same time we must explore options for future needs, and that when that time would come, our present equipment isn't suddenly outdated because ONE MANUFACTURER jumped in and produced something that will become a new standard, but only that maker holds the patent rights. NMRA to me is not just about meets and conventions, and titles but it is about protecting the investments we make in good faith with the manufacturers. I would also point out that standards are always changing and new standards come along. Compatibility becomes the key word as far as how long our investment will hold value. It all comes down to the needs and the wants of the majority or we will be swallowed by the minority. Bob Bob, Isn't this reply at least a bit of an overstatement on your part? First of all, what do you mean by a "stake in the NMRA"? Being a member, paying dues, attending meetings, taking on a leadership role? As a non-member, don't I have a stake in the NMRA everytime I buy any product from any manufacturer ? Second, what do you mean by a "free ride"? I expect nothing for nothing. I have invested a small fortune in the hobby. I pay for repairs to my faulty equipment. What is it that I or any other model railroader expects for "free"? Third, couldn't our present equipment suddenly become outdated because "ONE MANUFACTURER jumped in and produced something that will become a new standard, but only that maker holds the patent rights", even with the presence of the NMRA? Not that it is likely that such an event would occur unless that "something" were a dramatic improvement to the current standard. Isn't that in fact what happened when DCC antiquated DC as an operating system? Was that bad? Fourth, It all comes down to the needs and the wants of the majority or we will be swallowed by the minority? How exactly would that happen? If everyone were a member of the NMRA but me, would all of the rest of you be in danger of being swallowed up by me? Rich
pastorbob: As I stated in an early post, I am an NMRA member, since around 1960, have the Master Model Railroader certificate, and still pay dues and participate. I would remind those who think they have no stake in the NMRA that most if not all of the improvements and standards now in place in the hobby, and which we hold "so dear" have come about because of the efforts of the NMRA. I also have a garden railroad in the back yard, there are no standards and trying to match equpment from different manufacturers are almost impossible. One manufacturer is trying to get everyone in G or 1 gauge in synch but not having much success as one manufacturer has little clout. Now there are always who want a free ride, and the hobby is no exception. There are plenty of modelers I have talked to who want all the cake but don't want to open the box and work with the mix, ie. they want a free ride on the good things of the hobby and crab when things aren't good. As far as I am concerned, there is a need for a unified voice/body to represent the needs of the hobby so we have a chance of being able to have compatibility wiith products, and especially with the standards for DCC and DCC sound. At the same time we must explore options for future needs, and that when that time would come, our present equipment isn't suddenly outdated because ONE MANUFACTURER jumped in and produced something that will become a new standard, but only that maker holds the patent rights. NMRA to me is not just about meets and conventions, and titles but it is about protecting the investments we make in good faith with the manufacturers. I would also point out that standards are always changing and new standards come along. Compatibility becomes the key word as far as how long our investment will hold value. It all comes down to the needs and the wants of the majority or we will be swallowed by the minority. Bob
As I stated in an early post, I am an NMRA member, since around 1960, have the Master Model Railroader certificate, and still pay dues and participate. I would remind those who think they have no stake in the NMRA that most if not all of the improvements and standards now in place in the hobby, and which we hold "so dear" have come about because of the efforts of the NMRA. I also have a garden railroad in the back yard, there are no standards and trying to match equpment from different manufacturers are almost impossible. One manufacturer is trying to get everyone in G or 1 gauge in synch but not having much success as one manufacturer has little clout.
Now there are always who want a free ride, and the hobby is no exception. There are plenty of modelers I have talked to who want all the cake but don't want to open the box and work with the mix, ie. they want a free ride on the good things of the hobby and crab when things aren't good.
As far as I am concerned, there is a need for a unified voice/body to represent the needs of the hobby so we have a chance of being able to have compatibility wiith products, and especially with the standards for DCC and DCC sound. At the same time we must explore options for future needs, and that when that time would come, our present equipment isn't suddenly outdated because ONE MANUFACTURER jumped in and produced something that will become a new standard, but only that maker holds the patent rights.
NMRA to me is not just about meets and conventions, and titles but it is about protecting the investments we make in good faith with the manufacturers. I would also point out that standards are always changing and new standards come along. Compatibility becomes the key word as far as how long our investment will hold value.
It all comes down to the needs and the wants of the majority or we will be swallowed by the minority.
Bob,
Isn't this reply at least a bit of an overstatement on your part?
First of all, what do you mean by a "stake in the NMRA"? Being a member, paying dues, attending meetings, taking on a leadership role? As a non-member, don't I have a stake in the NMRA everytime I buy any product from any manufacturer ?
Second, what do you mean by a "free ride"? I expect nothing for nothing. I have invested a small fortune in the hobby. I pay for repairs to my faulty equipment. What is it that I or any other model railroader expects for "free"?
Third, couldn't our present equipment suddenly become outdated because "ONE MANUFACTURER jumped in and produced something that will become a new standard, but only that maker holds the patent rights", even with the presence of the NMRA? Not that it is likely that such an event would occur unless that "something" were a dramatic improvement to the current standard. Isn't that in fact what happened when DCC antiquated DC as an operating system? Was that bad?
Fourth, It all comes down to the needs and the wants of the majority or we will be swallowed by the minority? How exactly would that happen? If everyone were a member of the NMRA but me, would all of the rest of you be in danger of being swallowed up by me?
pastorbob As I stated in an early post, I am an NMRA member, since around 1960, have the Master Model Railroader certificate, and still pay dues and participate. I would remind those who think they have no stake in the NMRA that most if not all of the improvements and standards now in place in the hobby, and which we hold "so dear" have come about because of the efforts of the NMRA. I also have a garden railroad in the back yard, there are no standards and trying to match equpment from different manufacturers are almost impossible. One manufacturer is trying to get everyone in G or 1 gauge in synch but not having much success as one manufacturer has little clout. Now there are always who want a free ride, and the hobby is no exception. There are plenty of modelers I have talked to who want all the cake but don't want to open the box and work with the mix, ie. they want a free ride on the good things of the hobby and crab when things aren't good. As far as I am concerned, there is a need for a unified voice/body to represent the needs of the hobby so we have a chance of being able to have compatibility wiith products, and especially with the standards for DCC and DCC sound. At the same time we must explore options for future needs, and that when that time would come, our present equipment isn't suddenly outdated because ONE MANUFACTURER jumped in and produced something that will become a new standard, but only that maker holds the patent rights. NMRA to me is not just about meets and conventions, and titles but it is about protecting the investments we make in good faith with the manufacturers. I would also point out that standards are always changing and new standards come along. Compatibility becomes the key word as far as how long our investment will hold value. It all comes down to the needs and the wants of the majority or we will be swallowed by the minority. Bob
BRAKIE richhotrain: betamax, I don't think anyone is arguing anything to the contrary. The NMRA is a worthwhile organization. But as to the original issue of membership, is it your position that anyone and everyone in the model railroading hobby should be a member of the NMRA? Rich Rich,At one time most HO clubs was 100% NMRA membership and if you wanted to join you had to join the NMRA as well.Back then it was a good thing to belong to the NMRA and have a voice and vote. Even the NMRA designed X2F coupler was sorely needed in order to have a common coupler instead of a hodgepodge of manufacturers couplers that wouldn't couple with other brands.
If you extend that argument to its natural conclusion, you would be required to be a member of NMRA, and show proof of membership, to purchase any model railroading equipment or supplies, ranging from locomotives to rolling stock to electronics to track to ballast to ground cover.
The original premise of this thread was to question whether members of this forum were members of the NMRA and if not, why not. But, this thread seems to have taken a turn in the direction of NMRA membership or else you are not a serious modeler, somehow to the detriment of the hobby.
Nope, I'm indoors but I'm large scale, and beyond freelanced to a point beyond what some would call whimsical. I dont consider it such, a Dr Suess layout or a Star Wars themed layout is "whimsical" mine is just a different, compressed view of reality.
Nothing I could see as gaining any benefit from such as group.
Have fun with your trains
I have been an NMRA member since 1998. I joined before I found out about the local division here, the Tidewater Division, but did join them also (this was back when the NMRA Regions and Divisions had separate dues). If I were not involved with the Division, I would not be an NMRA member now.
I believe that the best reasons for being a member or not are found at that Division level. There are about 150 NMRA members who are in the Tidewater Division, but only about half of them are actively involved. These are the folks who make my NMRA membership worth the $44.00.
If you have not already done so, go to nmra.org and and figure out which Region you reside in. The site will link you in to the Region's web page and you can get help from them determining if there is an active Division where you live. Even if there is none, they can get you in touch with nearby NMRA members and you may end up starting one.
John
If everybody is thinking alike, then nobody is really thinking.
http://photobucket.com/tandarailroad/
rdgk1se3019When I was a teenager living in Florida .....myself and several of my friends were denied the opportunity to take part in the "Master Model Railroader" program.
That would be the first and only time I've ever heard of NMRA members (of any age) being "denied" an opportunity to participate in the MMR program. You were all NMRA members in good standing at the time?
What year was this? How were you "denied"? You weren't allowed to enter a model for judging in a contest? Your AP paperwork wasn't processed after the models were judged? What AP certificates were you applying for?
richhotrain betamax, I don't think anyone is arguing anything to the contrary. The NMRA is a worthwhile organization. But as to the original issue of membership, is it your position that anyone and everyone in the model railroading hobby should be a member of the NMRA? Rich
I think an NMRA membership is fine if one likes to travel to conventions and shows and can afford to do so. I don't like traveling, so a membership would not be of much use to me.
Let us not forget how the NMRA fought a patent troll a few years ago claiming that they invented the DCC decoder with Sound.
If there were no NMRA, the choice in sound decoders would probably have gone down, and the price would go up. Manufacturers would have two choices: Pay the royalties demanded, or just stop making sound decoders. Either way the community loses. You would either pay more for a sound decoder or locomotive equipped with one, or have less choice.
The NMRA prevailed because they represent everyone, and proved this "patent" was invalid.
We saw the same thing recently with JMRI, where someone claimed JMRI infringed on their patents and copyrights. The community rallied and provided the money needed to defend JMRI, eventually settling the case. Not before proving that the other party had in fact stripped copyright info and violated the licences on the JMRI software.
Let us not forget DCC which was a standard created to end the confusion and benefits everyone.
pastorbob rdgk1se3019: Personally I have no use for the NMRA....... When I was a teenager living in Florida .....myself and several of my friends were denied the opportunity to take part in the "Master Model Railroader" program. And the way I and other friends of mine see it.......I don`t need a piece of paper to tell me that I am a master of my hobby. As I stated in an early post, I am an NMRA member, since around 1960, have the Master Model Railroader certificate, and still pay dues and participate. I would remind those who think they have no stake in the NMRA that most if not all of the improvements and standards now in place in the hobby, and which we hold "so dear" have come about because of the efforts of the NMRA. I also have a garden railroad in the back yard, there are no standards and trying to match equpment from different manufacturers are almost impossible. One manufacturer is trying to get everyone in G or 1 gauge in synch but not having much success as one manufacturer has little clout. Now there are always who want a free ride, and the hobby is no exception. There are plenty of modelers I have talked to who want all the cake but don't want to open the box and work with the mix, ie. they want a free ride on the good things of the hobby and crab when things aren't good. As far as I am concerned, there is a need for a unified voice/body to represent the needs of the hobby so we have a chance of being able to have compatibility wiith products, and especially with the standards for DCC and DCC sound. At the same time we must explore options for future needs, and that when that time would come, our present equipment isn't suddenly outdated because ONE MANUFACTURER jumped in and produced something that will become a new standard, but only that maker holds the patent rights. NMRA to me is not just about meets and conventions, and titles but it is about protecting the investments we make in good faith with the manufacturers. I would also point out that standards are always changing and new standards come along. Compatibility becomes the key word as far as how long our investment will hold value. It all comes down to the needs and the wants of the majority or we will be swallowed by the minority. Bob
rdgk1se3019: Personally I have no use for the NMRA....... When I was a teenager living in Florida .....myself and several of my friends were denied the opportunity to take part in the "Master Model Railroader" program. And the way I and other friends of mine see it.......I don`t need a piece of paper to tell me that I am a master of my hobby.
Personally I have no use for the NMRA.......
When I was a teenager living in Florida .....myself and several of my friends were denied the opportunity to take part in the "Master Model Railroader" program.
And the way I and other friends of mine see it.......I don`t need a piece of paper to tell me that I am a master of my hobby.
Very well said.
rdgk1se3019 Personally I have no use for the NMRA....... When I was a teenager living in Florida .....myself and several of my friends were denied the opportunity to take part in the "Master Model Railroader" program. And the way I and other friends of mine see it.......I don`t need a piece of paper to tell me that I am a master of my hobby.
"denied"? In what way?