NMRA

[Anonymous]

Yes, they serve a purpose, and I am a member. That purpose should be more directed towards promoting the hobby in a frirendly, helpful manner. Of course, the standards in the smaller scales are a blessing in terms of equipment interoperability.

However, the NMRA needs to stay out of where it is not welcome. This clearly is in the large scale community. This community, in my observation does not desire to have its varied scales regulated or catagorized, and the attempt to do so, I think, will only serve to alienate that part of the hobby. Let those folks come to the NMRA if and when they want such 'guidence'.

[Anonymous]

My one and only year as a member of NMRA, was not what you would classify as a landmark year with that organization. It started off as any membership year does, you're wondering what they have to offer and you can hardly wait to get some access to the library. So I had a question about a locomotive and was wondering if they had some info, I called, explained what I was after, and was promptly informed that there was no one there that could get this info for me. I asked when there would be. The answer, yep you got it, they didn't have the time to do that, and likely wouldn't in the near future. Soooooo, with that I got to wondering, what good is an organization like the NMRA, if they don't have time to help their membership with their modeling questions???[?]

[IRONROOSTER]

I have been a member for over 30 years. While it has changed over time, it still is the one organization trying to establish standards in all the scales, although they have have defered part of that to the NASG (to which I also belong) in S scale. Frankly, looking at the mess the manufacturers have made of large scale what with 1:20.3, 1:22.5, 1:24, 1:29, 1:32 all running on the same track and all called G gauge or Large scale, I think their efforts are needed. If they concentrate on HO, well that's where most of the modelers are. I'm sure they would love to have someone join and work on the other scales.
Enjoy
Paul

[DSchmitt]

The NMRA is what the members make it. If they offer little for your scale its because not many people in your scale joined and work to develope standards and information.

My above remark will probably bring out a lot of critisism of the NMRA. I've been in N scale over 30 years and an NMRA member most of that time, and have often heard it called the "HO Model Railroad Association"

I know that the organization sometimes gets bogged down in politics and personality conflicts and that there have been people in positions of power who look with distain on anyone who does not model their way and have treated others badly. But, overall I have found good fellowship in the organization and I believe that the organization has been a benefit to the hobby.

The majority of the people running the organization are trying to determine the members wants and needs and make the organzation relevant. They can't do it if you are not amember or even as a member do not participate.

[vsmith]

I am doing 1/2" large scale, so I dont think NMRA has anything to offer me, or to anyone working outside on the mainstream of HO, or N.

If you are working in these scales then they have a long history with the manufacturers and hobbiest. This history allowed NMRA to work with makers to produce a fairly universal set of "standards" for new products right from inception to production. Todays model trains reflect that almost universal standardization in almost all product, especially in HO or N. But that was 30 years ago and their lack of connectedness to the average model RRer can be demonstrated by what has happen in large scale.

Large scale has been around now for over 20 years seriously in the US, Longer in Europe. However, the NMRA seam to view large scale for all these years as the orange haired *** child that no one wants to acknowledge. They have been downright belligerent to large scalers in the past, and have shunned us for the longest time as not being "serious" enough for them. Someone there wakes up and realizes that Garden RR's is a booming part of the hobby and that the train has left the station without them.

Now they decide that we are doing things all wrong and have tried to imposed thier new "standards" on large scale and in doing so are trying to break up large scale into 4 or 5 different scales (G,H,F, and Gauge I). It makes me laugh, do think manufacturers will just hop into line behind their new "standards"? Where were they 20 years ago or even 10 years ago when large scale became more popular? To come into an established hobby and impose "standards" when the cat is already way to long out of the bag is ridiculous to me. If they had shown interest in working with large scale makers from the beginning, they might have had an influence on a standardization process. But now its far too late to try imposing thier viewpoint.

Manufacturers in large scale are already doing pretty much what ever they want and I doubt whether the NMRA will hold any sway over them. I can just see an NMRA member trying to tell the LGB Company that they are not in "compliance" with NMRA standards and to please change the way they have been doing things for over 30 years to bring their trains into "compliance". He'd be shot out of that building as if by a cannon.

I recall reading a comment that stated that according to NMRA new large scale standards, LGB 45mm track was not in accordance with their "standard" as it was a few millimeters off to be "true" 3' gauge at 1:20.3 scale, and a few Millimeters off for standard gauge at 1:32 scale. The implication being that ALL 45mm track was "wrong" for any "true scale" and that everything should be redone for "accurate" modeling. Are they insane? No manufacturer is going to produce 3 slightly different track products for 3 differnet scales. Its the NMRA that now needs to show some flexiblity which I doubt they are capable of doing.

NMRA is to me too rigid for its own good. That is why they are not having much influence over the majority of modelers at any scales, at least to me. I would like to see better standardization in large sclae but I feel its far too late for NMRA to have an influence. They were too self focused for far too many years and they still are. those mew standards were met with a hugely hostile reation from the majority of large scalers, many who resented the blunt way in which the "standards" were presented.

[dknelson]

Well any modeler who does not have an NMRA standards guage is missing out (of course they do not make them in all scales that is true).
I belong to the NMRA because it is still the only national organization devoted to a hobby which means quite a bit to me. Most of my closest friends are model railroad friends; my most enjoyable evenings out are model railroad operating sessions, my most enjoyable spare time moments are spent with model railroading. While I could do all those things I suppose without being an NMRA member, to me it makes sense that if the hobby means that much to you, you join and support its one national organization. Obiously only a minority of us feel that way. Where I live, Milwaukee, the local division is very active and involved and sponsors free monthly meets. Our region by contrast is not that active. Others I have talked to tell me their divisions are almost defunct but their regions are active.
That is also why I belong (and am a contributing member) to the Chicago & North Western Historical Society -- that is the prototype railroad that means the most to me so it seems almost automatic that I would support the one organziation devoted to that cause exclusively. But again many others disagree.
The old saying is "all politics is local" and I think the same is true of the NMRA. It almost does not matter how active the national or the regions are -- the local divisions have to be active and create benefits for members for people to feel motivated to join the NMRA. Sometimes I think the NMRA leadership thinks the secret to declining members is to make the national ever more large and elaborate but I think you have to pu***he organization down to the Division and make people grateful for it.
Dave Nelson

[santfenobby]

Do you think that the NMRA is still in touch with todays modelers