Model Railway Clubs

[Pete Mc]

How do all,just read a contribution from another member on the thread on 'getting the young involved' and was interested in other peoples opinions on this subject.
I,along with another member on this forum am a member of Doncaster and District Model Railway Club,and from the first time I attended,I was made to feel completely at home.I got to know the other members really well and look forward to club nights where we have a laugh and sometimes we do a bit of railway modelling.During an outbreak of railway modelling we do seem to still have a laugh even when it gets serious.
I have learnt far more than I would of,due in no small part to the advice and encouagement of others.Our club,until my arrival,had only one other n gauge modeller who was delighted with my decision to do n gauge as all the others are oo and o gauge enthusiasts.As it stands now,there are 4 of us doing n gauge and we hope to make a fifth one a convert,maybe.
So,on the whole,my experience is a good one,where we all get on really well,there are no stuffy,smelly rivet countery types who verbally try to destroy what may have taken hours to complete and on top of this,we go out on jollies to model railway exhibitions such as Wigan this weekend.Nine of us are going tomorrow so I'm sure we'll have a good day and a few laughs along the way,although I suspect all eyes will be on me and my wallet cos I spent a fortune last year at wigan.
Just wondering what your thoughts and experiences are no this subject.
Pete

[longbridge]

I know a lot of great blokes that belong to Model Railway Clubs but I have to say I myself avoid them like the Plague, just a personal thing as I have been a member of all types of clubs over the years.

A new MR Club started up just down the road from us and SWMBO as given her blessing for me to join, every Saturday morning for about 3 hours I meet  at my mates second hand model railway shop and have a yarn, a few cups of tea with a few like minded mates, that will do me fine.

[4x2]

I have to agree with oldrailbug, my veiw on clubs is basically 'no thanks'. I've had a few bad expieriences with clubs and there always seems to be that one person that everybody bows down to and follows like a religous cult !
This can mean a club following a path that some of the members aren't interested in, which creates a bad atmosphere and some members leaving (like me !).

I don't think clubs are a bad idea, i'm just used to doing things my way - even if it's wrong !

[Alex]

Hi,

Like Dave I've been a member of various clubs over the years with various hobbies. I usually leave after a short time due to the club 'know it alls' who turn their noses up at you when you don't conform to their way of doing things. There are a couple of MR clubs near me, and I'm sure they're a great bunch, but I just don't have the time to go.

I simply potter about doing my own thing and get all the help I need from this forum. I'm my own worst critic so I don't really need anyone telling where I went wrong 'cause I usually know myself.

Alex

[Pete Mc]

I have also learned a lot from this forum and others as well,as for the club night,for me it is the only thing I have to go to every week due to the fact that our drink and drugs policy at work is so strict that I simply don't bother to go out socially unless I am off work the next day,this is not a problem as far as I'm concerned as I hate feeling c**p the next day anyway.Its just that as they have become my mates,I look forward to tuesday nights and the occasional friday and sundays as well that we get together.
Having just had a look at Southernboys rather excellent Frankland thread,this has inspired me to have a crack at building a maisonette style block of flats for my layout as it is set in an urban environment.It probably won't be anything like his standard,but in my defence,it is a maisonette block and there's nothing glam about them as set in the seventies/eighties run down town/city scape.
Pete

[Fratton]

sadly i avoid the local model railway club as hanging around the local model shop i found out that there was rivet counting galore going on and also some internal politics which i hate
(as anyone who dares involve me in at work finds out)
But it was this turn off to my local club that lead me join new railway modellers and then the NGF so it's not all bad,,,,,,,,

[Reuben]

May i be permitted to give my experience of "model railway clubs".

About 8 years ago i joined a local club as i was hoping to build my own layout and thought i could get help and advice from the club. How wrong could i have been!

First off the club demanded that i had to be a member of the "n gauge society", then there was the 30.00 club membership, 2.50 for every club meeting (to cover hire of hall), 2.50 for lunch / tea or coffee.

Due to the design of the layout (modular), each module was 4ft x 2ft with bolt on legs, when the layout was set-up the trackbed was about 5ft off the ground. Add to this a 1ft high backscene behind which all the controls were then attached.

This meant that to operate the layout, you had to stand and look over the backscene, i mentioned that this was not particularly suitable for a "disabled person" such as myself. the reply i got was "when the club was set-up we did not have any disabled members".

I never went there again.

[Sprintex]

The only MR 'club' I've ever belonged to is the local N Gauge Group, and I must say they are a great bunch 

Most club nights involve more chat than modelling, but that's what it's about for me, it's a social thing. I can do my modelling at home. The only fee is £3 to cover hall hire and the obligatory cup of tea and a biccie, and everyone gets along fine without anyone trying to dominate or rivet-count. At present I think there's only two or three of us out of 20 or so that dabble in DCC, but again the DC devotees show an interest and ask questions and vice versa. All in all a friendly group of N Gauge enthusiasts 


Paul

[Mustermark]

May i be permitted to give my experience of "model railway clubs".

Of course! That's what this forum is all about.

I never went there again.

Good for you! 

[Mustermark]

All in all a friendly group of N Gauge enthusiasts

That sounds like the way it should be.  It seems like it's hit and miss whether your local club is like that. 

I probably wouldn't join just in case it turned out to be a bad experience.  And besides, I'm a bit too like Groucho Marx - I wouldn't want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member! 

[Pete Mc]

Yesterday I went to Wigan MRE with seven of the members of our club and have to say what a great day out we had,a lot of laughs and mucking about.In a car where there was five of us squeezed in,it felt right.
I don't very often go out in a group with this many others cooped up for the amount of time we had to endure,but it was absolutely fine.I am a little sorry to hear some of the experiences of you,however,I'm sure that for every club that has an overbearing rivet counter or counters,there are others that welcome complete novices like me with open arms.
Our club secretary tells me of the times when the club was called something else prior to it splitting up,and the current one being formed being full of stuffy old chaps that looked down on those not as skilled as them.I'm happy to report this is not the case here and as a newish member it has also given me experience of operating at three exhibitions we have exhibited at.Even though at all three of them,I'd had very little or no previous time operating the layouts before the shows.This just added to the enjoyment of it for me and wiil continue to enjoy it for the foreseeable future.
Pete

[Mustermark]

That's great stuff Pete, I'm glad a MR club can be that much fun.  It might be good for other clubs to read how good it came be just to have fun with it. 

It's a shame it's so dependent on the people involved and the politics.

[Reuben]

I would just like to add an update to my earlier posting about "model railway clubs".

In September i went to a small exhibition held in a village hall near me. This exhibition was organised by another "model railway club" in the area which i did not know about.

After spending most of the day there, mainly watching the two "n  gauge" layouts being operated, i decided to try and find out more about the club.

I was introduced to the club secretary and we had a good discussion about the club and their meetings, he was concerned that i may have difficulty in attending the meetings, as they meet in a room above a local church. I said "i would come along to the next meeting and have a look".

This i did and although there is a steep narrow staircase to negotiate, i decided to continue. It was the best thing i every did. In fact on my 3rd visit i was handed a section of the scenery for the "n gauge" layout (all scenery is drop-in sections) and was told "build anything you would like to on this". as the layout is sort of based in the 1980's i am going to build a diesel refuelling depot.

They are a small friendly club, meeting for 3 hours on a thursday evening, the club membership is only 20.00 a year and we pay 1.00 per meeting for tea coffee etc.

Reuben.

[Newportnobby]

Sounds like the sort of club we could do with around these parts

[Mustermark]

Great to hear you found a good club!