Demise of local train clubs

["JaBear"]

A look on the wall at my local club shows almost as many deceased members as there are current members, and we’re getting older!

 

We own our building but while it is on land that was gifted to the city for recreational use, what was a peppercorn lease up to ten years ago is now skyrocketing due to bureaucratic greed.

 

The insurance for both the Public Liability, and the building is also increasing.

 

Some of the members as they get older have more disposable income and are now building “the dream layout” at home, and as a consequence are spending very little time at the Club.

 

But where, I think we, The Club, are missing out is that none of us know how to engage younger possible members, through the use of “social media”. I hope in the New Year to try and understand how it works to try and remedy the situation.

Cheers, the Bear.

[SBX]

We have many model railway clubs here in the UK but I have never had any happy experiences visiting my local club. I visited once to give them a complete set of Model Railway Journal magazine (a fine scale publication in the UK). Almost no thanks - "put them down there" was the only thing said to me. I noticed that they had a US outline N Scale DC layout and tried to get chatting. The minute I said that I had a US N Scale layout with DCC - well, their faces dropped and you would have thought that i had said a rude word! Scratch that one. 

I then visited a club that meets near Clacton, in Essex. they are one of the few US outline clubs in the UK. They meet on a farm and erect a large DCC/JMRI layout once a month. I turned up. No one asked my name. I ended up sitting in a corner watching. Next thing I knew thay had all left to get their fish and chip lunch, leaving me behind! Scratch that one.

Joined the NMRA and found myself in a group of four local people only one of which had a working layout and all they spoke about was people that they knew and I didn't. Scratch that one! 

I then tried to put my "in progress" layout on the UK NMRA layout list. Sent them an e-mail and never got an answer.

I guess I will live in my own little world.

David

 

[tstage]

I joined and got involved with a local MRRing club early on in its inception.  We had grandiose ideas and plans but the implementation of that was the tricky part.  Inconsistent construction practices, cutting corners, abrupt changes in policies, and lack of a permanent home and participation were its eventual doom.

When I was living in western PA, I could and would have joined a well-established MRRing club and museum.  However, it was an hour and 15 min. drive each way; a bit far after a long day at work.

While I do enjoy the social aspect of MRRing and clubs, I going to stick with and concentrate on building my own basement empire for now, where I can set the standards that I want to achieve with my modeling.

Tom

[SeeYou190]

ATLANTIC CENTRAL

Not sure I understand what sort of places these are that you are calling fair grounds or expo centers? And how/why would they be a good home for a model railroard club?

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Here in Southwest Florida, the Model Railroad Club leased space in the Lee County Fairgrounds for $1.00 per year with a 99 year lease.

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Unfortunately, the area was too far out of town, so the club moved. First to property leased from the SCL, then to a permament structure they own.

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Fairgrounds can be good. They had a 40 by 40 space in a pavillion that the only requirement was that the Model Railroad display had to be open and operating for the general public during the two main annual events at the fairgrounds.

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-Kevin

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[snjroy]

Membership in our club actually increased over the last two years. Most got recruited through exhibits in shopping malls. We tend to be a pretty tolerant bunch and the layout is far from perfect. Many just go to chat and see trains go by. And one member loves to run long trains that just goes round and round... The conversations take care of the rest. Oh well.

Simon

[mlehman]

Good points, Simon and Bear, among the doom-and-gloom. All it takes is people who care enough to make it happen. Doesn't mean it will, because that's life, but with any human endeavour it doesnt happen untill people crae to make it happen.

Let's remember that much of these issues arise because the hobby is swimming upstream against larger challenges to prople working together in society. The aging out of membership is a fact, but we know there are new model railroadrrs out there. They just need to be reached in a way that works to engage them.

The hobby has changed, too. People want prototype, not generic, yet it's going to take a compromise to come up with a layout concept that can inspire both sorts of members - and those in between. It's a rare case where there's enough interest in a specific road that a club can form that is prototype-specific, so that points toward some sort of inclusive solution as the practical one in most cases. Maybe a modular or round-robin group of some sort is the best solution then.

With the right group of people intent on reaching a clear goal, anything is still possible.

[CGW121]

Our club is actually doing quite well. One reason is we are a social group who likes running trains. We have a fairly diverse age group, but the majority of us are in their 60s. I would guess because younger people dont have as much disposable income. If people do not like each other it will be hard to have a club. Our layout is not perfect or even done but we all enjoy each other, and have fun with trains.

[fmilhaupt]

mlehman

With the right group of people intent on reaching a clear goal, anything is still possible.

 

I agree, completely. Putting together that right group isn't always easy (or even, in some cases, possible), but it can work very well.

One of our local clubs addressed the matter of varying interests by having two sections and two layouts: a "traditional" anything-goes modular layout, and a group that models a specific prototype and is into operations. It's worked very well for nearly twenty years, and there's about 50% overlap in participation.

Having said that, the layouts I've run on that were the most consistent in terms of objectives and standards have been home layouts. The larger ones, requiring a number of operators and plenty of volunteer labor, have worked out best when run as benevolent dictatorships^* by the owner. One person sets the objectives and the standards; if you don't like them, you don't have to participate.

The challenge for clubs is that all involved have to have a shared vision and shared expectations, or at least enough of a shared vision. And often that is tricky.



^* In the case of one well-known layout about 90 minutes west of me, describing the dictatorship as "benevolent" might be stretching that word to a breaking point...

[Deane Johnson]

Anyone on here know how the Portland, Oregon club is doing?  When I lived near Portland in the 1980's it was going strong with a new building they built looking generally like a depot.

As I remember, they had a huge membership, stringent rules, committes to run various things such as minimum standards for members equipment, etc.  Their open house each year was huge.

I've wondered recently if it's still successful.

[rrebell]

I was a member of the one at the San Mateo County fairgrounds many years ago and most of the guys in the hobby I know were a member at one time or at the time of the closing, long after they were kicked out I ran into the former head of the fairgrounds (he became a member), he said it was because of the county wanting more revinue, this was many years before the funding cuts. Maybe the fairs attatude is why they cut funding, I know if I had a vote, the changes would have made me vote to cut their funding without even the model railroad being considered in the least, that his how bad they have gotten in the last 15 years.

[rrinker]

Sheldon, that's what happened to the L&KV when I was a memember, the landlord decided to triple the rent when he renewed the lease. Thought he had us over a barral as all of the benchwork and track was done and about half was sceniced. However, there were no qualms about finding a new home (they had already done so once - they had FREE space in the basement of one of the office buildings one member's father owned, but the kid (30 some year old 'kid') ticked his dad off so bad he kicked them out.) so out came the sawzalls and we cut it all up and left to find a new home. Meanwhile the old-time barber across the street who had probably been there 40 years would intercept anyone taking in interest in the place and relate what the landlord did to us - it took forever to get the building rented again.

 So now they have their own space, they OWN the building outright, no mortgage, no lease. 

                        --Randy

 

[Paul3]

Here in Massachusetts, we have a bunch of clubs:

North Shore Model Railroad Club
South Shore Model Railway Club
Worcester Model Railroaders
Old Colony Model Railroad Club
Bay State Model Railroad Museum
Pepperell Siding Model Railroad Club
Nauset Model Railroad Club
Amherst Railway Society/Dry Hill Model Railroad Club
Pioneer Valley Model Railroad Club
Waushakum Live Steamers
South Shore Highrailers

And there are probably several more (including modular clubs) that I've forgotten at the moment (I know there's an ETTE chapter and an N-scale group around).  We all seem to be doing well.

My club, the South Shore Model Railway Club, has been around continuously since 1938 and always HO scale.  www.ssmrc.org  We've got about 65 members with three applicants in the wings.  We're building a 6300+ sq. ft. layout right now, about 50% of which is done.  We do bi-monthly operation sessions, plus two train shows and one open house a year.  We have a monthly 12+ page newsletter and have a Christmas party and a Summer cookout every year, not to mention occasional movie nights and special guests (clinics or slide shows).  Every so often, we have a club trip on a train like the Downeaster to Maine, or down to Cape Cod, or to Amtrak's Southampton St. Facility in Boston...things like that.

Our club has a full paint booth, a wood shop, a model shop, and train lockers for all members to rent.  Every member has 24-7 access to the club and free wi-fi to high speed internet.  We have a kitchen/lunch room with a Coke machine, Kuerig, microwave and fridge (plus a sink).  A full library with just about every North American train hobby magazine known to man, plus a half dozen bookcases full of books (plus another two of DVD's); all available for check out to any member.  There's also a candy/snack counter run on the honor system.

We like to think we offer a lot to our members.  Not to mention the chance to work and run on a really big HO layout with a decent budget.

But to me, the best things are the friends I've made.  I've made some really close friends at the club, and have been able to see and do things that a non-member never would.  For example, because of the friends I've made, I've had cab rides in an F40PH and an FL9, I've actually taken the throttle on an S-4, S-6, SW9, and a B23-7.  I've been able to take part in the hobby manufacturing side of the business and getting products to market.  It's been a blast, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

[moelarrycurly4]

Here where I live, I never knew there was a club. There is/was one but I never knew it until years later. So I joined a modular group about 40 miles from me and had a grand ole time. unfortunate for me work had me on call on meeting nights and I have been unable to attend. I don't know if the modular club still exists as most of the members were aging out.

Back to the club here. I learned of their existence when I joined the local railroad museum. They rented space from the museum and were open to the public on certain days. I learned why i had never heard of them. I called them The Justice League, because it was "just us" and they wanted no part of "strangers" or the public and dues where high per month. Some also had potty mouths and not that I am a prude but every other word gets old.

They decided to take their football and go home and leave the museum as far as i know they have not reconstitued anywhere else yet.

 

[Attuvian]

Deane Johnson

Anyone on here know how the Portland, Oregon club is doing?  When I lived near Portland in the 1980's it was going strong with a new building they built looking generally like a depot.

As I remember, they had a huge membership, stringent rules, committes to run various things such as minimum standards for members equipment, etc.  Their open house each year was huge.

I've wondered recently if it's still successful.

 

Deane,

 

I live in Portland and have attended their annual openhouses three times, the last just this past month.  They hold forth with them on all the weekends of November, and, for a couple more bucks, reserve "behind-the-scenes" tours early in the day.  Their layout advertizes as more than 4000sf and I can attest that there are areas on it that are still being developed.  It is still an elaborate operation and had well over a dozen doing operations the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving.  That does not include the members and friends who were involved in parking control, admissions, the snack bar and sales counter, etc.

 

They are DCC (as one might expect), operate on train orders, and appear to have a younger component.  I can't attest to their level of "welcome" to potential new members as it was fairly packed during my visit.  But they were friendly to the masses.

 

You can find them under www.columbiagorgemodelrailroadclub.com/ . It's a fairly robust website.

 

There is another notable club in Portland.  Its info is found here:  www.mthoodmodelengineers.org/ .  A bit smaller at 1200sf, in the basement of an old Masonic Lodge, if I recall.  I visited once many years ago and they still seem to be healthy, at least by their website.

 

I would not venture what relational and communicative surprises might await if I began to pursue an interest in either one.  That might be evident in a first phone call to the contact person identified on their websites, but maybe not.  It should become plain after attending a regular meeting or two.  Won't really know until I jump in the pool, eh?

 

John

 

[ROBERT PETRICK]

Paul3

My club, the South Shore Model Railway Club . . .

Hey Paul-

I apologize for being so nosy, but I can't help it. What are your monthly/annual dues? And do membership dues cover total expenses? Or is their some sort of grant or endowment that takes up the slack? The clubs I've been involved with have been frugal with very limited resources. Good guys and I enjoyed hanging out with them, but minimal facilities and virtually no amenities.

Thanks.

Robert 

[7j43k]

There's been comment on the rise of strict-prototype layouts, and that being unappealing to many.

A simple solution:

Let's say the layout is for Santa Fe.  Maybe somwhere around LA.  In 1960.

AAARRRGGHHHHH! you say.  That ain't ME.  I model SP&S!

Here's what you do:  You go buy a Santa Fe Geep, some Santa Fe Reefers, and a Santa Fe caboose.

This here super-specialty club, being the bright lads and lasses that they are, realizes not everyone does Santa Fe.  So what they do is they run only Santa Fe on public nights.  On private nights, everyone runs what they want.

Because you have that little bit of Santa Fe equipment, you're a TEAM PLAYER, and welcome.  Because THEY are so tolerant and accomodating, they're happy to see your SP&S Z-8 (a brass one, not that Athearn one) running.  'Cause it's so cool.

 

There.  Problem solved.

 

Ed

[JEREMY CENTANNI]

Hmmmmm, not sure where to go on a personal basis on this post.......

I'm 41 and recently elected presidend of the Lake Shore Model Railroad Association in Chicago, IL.  The vice-president who was also recently elected is 26.  My son who is 7 is a constant attendee(with me) and will become a junior member in March when he turns 8(he acquires his own engines and builds his own trains).

So regular attendees range from 7 yrs old to well into the 80s.  We have a few teenagers, a few more guys in there 20s, 30s seems to be a gap, 40s there are quite a few of us and 50s, 60s and 70 age range are represented well.  It is the mix that keeps it fresh.

As with anything if it boils down to the same 5 or 10 people working on projects, people burn out.   This goes for holding officer roles in the club as well.  We don't test new members, you more or less need to show up and participate and be able to get along with people Same goes for becoming a voting member, you will be voted in, but it is more formality and getting back to the point, if you get along with people it has a 100% success rate. 

We do operating sessions more or less once a month.  Most of the time it is open run dcc, so member will be running everything from 150 car trains to switching industries and if you stack up a half dozen guys/gals running, it is every bit an operating sessiong to keep it fluid.  You can run club equipment if you prefer or hae no DCC equipped engines of your own.  People are free to bring their own equipment and run it at their leisure.   We've been toying with stuff like SD45 night, Alco night, etc just to have some fun and guys can share engines.  We also have a couple night operating sessions coming up as well.

We are modernized in regards to DCC, computer dispatching(or off the dispatchers board) and equipped with a fully functional signal system.  You can log into the router and use your cell phone as a throttle if you prefer or whatever you wish to use on the Digitrax system.  We encourage people, we try to put throttles in their hands when they visit and give them tours.  As for our members everyone does a pretty good job of helping each other out from decoders to repairs and painting.

I ended up at Lake Shore Model Railroad Association for a lot of the reasons people posted.  Closer locations to me just didn't have a friendly vibe and I was a package deal with my older boy(4yr old waiting in the wings).  I was encouraged by multiple people there that "the next time you come you better have your son with you" and when I did he had his hands on a throttle and was running a pair of UP heritage units.  It doesn't take a lot to make a friendly environment, a little bit goes a long way.  This was roughly two years ago and I decided to run for president when asked.

Soemtimes maybe you need to be the guy that joins the club to help it out.  Sometimes you need to be the guy at the club to help make it into something more.  Most importantly, you need to be the guy(s)/gal(s) that put a throttle in that kids hand when his Dad brought him back to see it in person after he dropped by to scope it out first.  You never know what happens in a couple years.

I have a decent idea of things I want to try and get accomplished.  Starting small at first and working out from there.  Entry way and wall are going to get stripped down and new fresh paint applied.  Get all the signs cleaned up and remounted, along with the display case.   Getting the fascia repaired where it needs it, some plexiglass replaced where it has some cracks.  Really trying to work on layout lighting as well.   I believe as folks see things getting done we should have more than enough volunteers to get right into updating the layout after making it a nicer place for everyone.   The guys that hold positions in the club know we cannot do it all by ourselves, we have to keep people interested and wanting to push forward.  All I know it I want to try and do my best and keep it going strong.

Our location is not the greatest being located in Calumet Park Field House basement in Chicago, IL. Our normal operating nights are Wed. and Thurs. 6:30-8:30(working to expand them shortly) and most Thurs. mornings(hit or miss and not guaranteed).  We are also looking at possibly adding a day as well.  The PArk District limits our hours M-F 9-9 and Sat. 9-5 and closed on Sun.  Members in good standing our allowed a key so they are able to go at off hour times as long as the Park District is open.

I hope my 2 cents might have helped somebody. 

For more information:

www.lakeshoremodelrr.org

www.facebook.com/lakeshoremodelrr

 

[mbinsewi]

I guess Paul's is the ultimate club, wow, but it seems that Jeremy C is in a great club, judging from the web site.

Great!

Mike

[ricktrains4824]

Steven (NWP) -

Nope. I live in NW Pennsylvania, and where the club is now located, while it is a "sweet" spot, (near the former GE plant), it is the East side of Erie, and where the new locale is at, isn't exactly the best area of town. (I won't railfan that side of town during daylight, let alone after dark...)

Not to mention it would be a 45-50 minute drive. One way. In dry weather. Even worse this time of year... I get more Lake Effect Snow than they do along the lakeshore most times. 

While they are now closer to me than they were, (Girard area before.) I am not thrilled about their new location, so I skip the area, and the club.

(NOTE: The building is more than likely safe, as it is in the basement of a local church. So I am not trying to knock their location, just saying that I am a little nervous about it because of it's neighborhood.)

The other Western PA club mentioned is a bit too far south for me... as Tom (Tstage) lived further south of me when he was in PA.

[Paul3]

Robert,
Hi!  Hey, no problem.  I don't consider that nosy at all.

At the SSMRC, dues are $32 per month ($384 annually).  Without breaking any confidences, the dues does not cover our entire operating budget.  We also sell locker space to the members at $20 per locker per year, and we have about 100 lockers that are occupied.  Other income is from the profit from our two annual train shows (our last show attendance was 1500+ people over two days) and from our open house.  We also recycle bottles and cans, sell candy and coffee, have White Elephant Tables at our shows and an annual Christmas auction (where the club keeps ~20% of what we sell).  We also sell club cars, T-shirts, and we always solicit donations wherever we can.  Basically, everything we get above and beyond our dues goes towards the layout.  It adds up.

We balance the budget every year.  Sometimes we're short, sometimes we're over, but never significantly so.  We do have an endowment fund that is invested in mutual funds, which has paid for most of our building rehab.  Every year for the past 30 years, we've put away money into the fund to cover future building projects.  In the past few years, we've put on a new roof, patched our terra cotta walls, repainted the exterior and interior walls, added steel gutters, bought a tool shed for our snowblower & lawnmower, installed a new tile floor in the kitchen, and a few other things.  Expected future expenses are a new HVAC unit, a new well pump, and maybe do something with our 200' long concrete loading dock.  We're not sure when these things will get replaced, but something will need to be done eventually.

This does not cover, of course, a major layout expansion we did in the past few years.  We added about 60' of benchwork and a major yard & terminal with over 100 switches installed.  And we have a lot more to go.

We are located in a former US Naval Ammunition Depot which is now a town-owned park.  We do not own our building (and I will not comment on our financial arrangement with the town).  The town owns the building but they like having us there as we're a presence in the town park at night.  Before we came along, there was a lot of little crimes and teen parties in the park after dark.  Since we've moved full time to the park in 1999, that activity has almost disappeared. 

A lot of our money has been invested in our building.  When we got it, it was 4 walls, a floor and most of a roof (a 30' hole was in the middle from a tree landing on it).  Since then, we brought in utilities, dug a well, fixed the roof, installed bathrooms, and put in HVAC.  It's like an office building instead of the ammo bunker it was for 50+ years.  It is probably the finest club building in the USA.  Our layout isn't too bad either, but I'd put our building up against anyone else.

Here, take a look at some photos of our club: http://ssmrc.org/photos.htm

If it isn't worth $32 a month for 24-7 access to something like this, I don't know what is.

[JEREMY CENTANNI]

mbinsewi

I guess Paul's is the ultimate club, wow, but it seems that Jeremy C is in a great club, judging from the web site.

Great!

Mike

 

 

Thanks for the kind words.  Paul's does seem impressive as well.

It's always worth poking your nose in somewhere and checking it out.  It might even take a couple tries, but you never know what you might find until you go looking.  I didn't even know my club existed before I found out about it from my local hobby shot.

[mlehman]

7j43k

Because you have that little bit of Santa Fe equipment, you're a TEAM PLAYER, and welcome. Because THEY are so tolerant and accomodating, they're happy to see your SP&S Z-8 (a brass one, not that Athearn one) running. 'Cause it's so cool. There. Problem solved. Ed

Ed,

That would work for me. Being in a club means you do have to be a little flexible, but that can be beneficial. The home road is hardly the only fish in the tank, so exposure to alternatives is a good thing in my book

Paul and JEREMY's experiences are good examples of what it takes to make a successful club. It needs to meet your needs, but in a way that works to meet the needs of a broader crowd.

There's nothing wrong with being prototype specific, it just takes some accommodation in group situations. When that's done, model railroad groups thrive, a reminder that's it's not what you exclude as a club, but what you make an effort to include that makes for organizational success due to a satisfied membership.

[RRR_BethBr]

Being in the DC area, I'm aware of 2-3 clubs that are "local" w/in an hour's drive. One I'm positive is a large active organization as they've appeared recently in MR, hold monthly open houses, and (separate) operating sessions on a large DCC layout depicting a protolanced shortline. Their space is a historic depot, under the control of the regional parks commission, which sounds close to ideal (though I know nothing of the details).

I keep telling myself I need to get down there and check it out, as I'm a long ways away from having a home layout, or even the space for one. It sure sounds like close to the ideal club situation.

[selector]

caldreamer

I was looking into joining a local club.  I visited it and found that it had a layout about half of what my home layout is and ran DC only.  When I went to fill out an application, just to see if they would accept me, I found out that they wanted to do abckground check on me.  Not a problem, but I was not going back to work for the US Government and they had no business doing a background check.  Kiss off that club.

 

I think you have hit a nail, perhaps knowingly, perhaps not, caldreamer. 

Organizations tend to be conservative in nature.  They quickly gel around a culture driven by the most prominent leaders, those most charismatic or willing to be involved and active in making the club work.  There is a phenomenon known as social loafing where a few members of a group find ways to make themselves unavailable in the hope that others will carry more weight.  You know, if you want something done, give the task to the busiest person around you.

A culture is very slow to evolve.  Individually, its members might feel constrained or marginalized by that slow pace as they evolve as a modeler.  I have seen that in our membership over time.  I am slow to evolve, with some strong fits and starts, but others find something about which they are very passionate and they run hard with it...often at a tangent, diverging where the rest continue to circle faithfully around a central theme or leader's influence.

I suspected this would be the case with me, so I have not sought out clubs.  Early on, I was open to learning new things, new ways of doing, willing to explore in depth certain aspects of railroading that I might want to replicate in scale...where others wanted nothing of that kind, or not to that extent.

Our youth of today don't seem to favour organizations the way our parents did right after the war.  In fact, they are more suspicious of organizations, especially those run by older people who aren't conversant with modern technologies and cultural practices.

[hon30critter]

Mullet19

The first time I walked into the building I was in there 30 minutes and not a single member approached  I left without a single word being spoken

My club was suffering similar difficulties. Sometimes, nobody seemed to want to start the introductions. Henk, the Pres. and I noticed as soon as we joined the club a little over a year ago that people who walked in off the street were sometimes being ignored. When Henk and I became the Pres. and V.P. respectively we addressed the situation directly. We asked that everyone make a point of interupting their conversations and go up to the newcomer, introduce themselves and welcome the person to the club. Now pretty much everybody makes a point of introducing themselves and getting to know the newcomers.

Dave

[Left Coast Rail]

I'm in Southern California and belong to a club in Simi Valley (Ventura County) that has a stable membership and bylaws.  Our real estate in a retired Southern Pacific depot freight room is provided by a regional Recreation and Parks Department.  Being open to the public on Saturday and Sunday afternoons covers our rent.  I know of several other clubs with both permanent and modular layouts in the region and they all seem to be running well.  I know several of the members of modular clubs located here would love to have the opportunity to set up their layouts more often.  The other clubs with permanent layouts either own or have long-term lease agreements with their landlords.
The fairground issues like the ones facing the Napa club have driven at least one other clubs out of existence at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds (aka:Fairplex) several years ago.  As mentioned above, the Vallejo club was also shown the door by the Vallejo County Fair Board of Directors quite a while ago. This club moved into an Oddfellows Club building across the bridge into Crockett and last I checked they seem to be thriving.  I visited the Coachella Valley Model Railroaders' layout recently.  It is located at the Riverside County Fairgrounds in Indio near Palm Springs.  They have a very nicely sceniced layout and an active membership.  

 

[marksrailroad]

I'm very sorry to hear of the demise of the model railroading clubs but, I personally am an N scaler and have never belonged to a club in my 30 years of being in the hobby and probably never will. In fact, the only other railroader that I know lives five miles away and has his own large HO layout which I work on from time to time but that's as far as it goes...

Young people just aren't into hobbies like us old timers are. Sad.

[NYBW-John]

Bayfield Transfer Railway

When John Allen built his Gorre and Daphetid at around 800 square feet, it was considered a very large home layout.

Basements and home layouts have gotten bigger.  I personally know a number of modelers with home layouts over 1000 square feet.  When you can build as big a railroad as you like, exactly as you like, often with the help of friends, but don't have to argue about anything, why join a club?

 

 

I visited a local club with the thought of possibly joining it. They had a modular layout. Some of the modules were extremely well done but others look like they were thrown together. The layout was less than half the size of my home layout. After giving it some thought, I thought why spend my time and money on that layout when I still have my home layout to complete. When I get my own layout completed (as opposed to finished) I might give thought to joining that club but until then all my time and money is going to go to my layout. I hope to have the final phase built, scenicked, and operating within a year. Then I'll consider joining a club.

[wdcrvr]

When I moved to Columbia, illinois, 8 years ago, I found a listing in a City Publication for a Model RR Club.  I called the phone number repeatedly for  months and it just rang and rang.  No answer, no message.  During a conversation with someone at the library they told me about someone they knew that belonged to the club (he happened to be a member of my church).  So I talked to him and found out that the club had closed down right before I moved to town.  Also, he could not tell me what happened to the layout (HO) or the club owned equipment, etc.

Then I found out (don't remember how)about a club that is about 30 miles away in St. Louis.  I dropped by to check them out (HO).  The ten or so guys that were there just completely ignored me.  I walked completely around their large layout (in progress) without anybody saying anything to me.  I felt like I had some contagious disease.  I finally just walked out.

A couple of YEARS later Iwent back to try again.  Same lack of interest on their part, but I pushed the issue and went up to a guy who wasn't afraid to make eye contact with me!  I asked some questions about the club and got very basic answers.  I came back about 5 or 6 times to this weekly work session  over the next two months and managed to get some conversation from the same guy and a little from one other guy.  Eventually the first guy asked me if I would be interested in joining the club.  He gave me an application form which said that I would have to pay a $10 application fee to be considered,  I would have to show up for at least 6 meetings/events within a 90 day period starting from the day my application was received and at the end of the 90 days the current members would vote on whether or not I would be allowed to join.  It also talked about monthly dues, etc.  I received nothing telling me about what I would be receiving for my for money, time and efforts.  I guess they like their club just the way it is.  I decided that I was not ready to put myself thru their membership ordeal.  And, by the way, I have belonged to a woodcarving club for twenty five years and we go out of our way to welcome possible new members to our club.

I have also joined the NMRA 2 years ago and have attended some of the local NMRA meetings.  I received the same treatment there.  The people were all in their little groups having a good old time.  The only person who spoke to me was the guy running the meeting who asked me "Are you a member of NMRA"  I said "Yes".  Conversation closed.

So, call me a lone wolf (not by choice) with a nice basement HO layout in progress.

So, I really appreciate all the people on this forum who give their knowledge and experience to those of us who are new to this terrific hobby.

Thanks

wdcrvr

[pajrr]

We had a nice club in Northern NJ. It was located in a VFW hall that was leased. VFW membership is rising again and the VFW wanted their hall back. A court battle ensued over the lease and the VFW won. The club layout had to go.