Our club fees were raised last year to £52 a year, and there are mumerings that another rise will be proposed at the AGM this year.
Of those of you that are a member of a club, how much do you pay per year, and what do you get in return for your money ?
We get :
A cup of Tea or Coffee at every meeting + max two biscuits, ( One Choc, One Plain)*
Free entry to the annual show (most of the members are there in one role or another anyway)
errrr...... nothing else.
Quote from: Graham Walters on November 01, 2015, 07:07:51 PM
Our club fees were raised last year to £52 a year, and there are mumerings that another rise will be proposed at the AGM this year.
Of those of you that are a member of a club, how much do you pay per year, and what do you get in return for your money ?
We get :
A cup of Tea or Coffee at every meeting + max two biscuits, ( One Choc, One Plain)*
Free entry to the annual show (most of the members are there in one role or another anyway)
errrr...... nothing else.
The Berkshire area N gauge group have very similar subs but we pay 10p for unlimited tea and the odd biscuit.
What we do get is the companionship of fellow N gaugers, plenty of expertise and advice and a jolly good time.
I'm sure your club must provide the same Graham??
:beers:
Hmmm. Seems a bit steep. I'm a member of Tonbridge MRC http://www.tonbridgemrc.com/8.html (http://www.tonbridgemrc.com/8.html) refers.
Membership is £27 per annum. We meet in a Scout hut which means we have to get everything out and put it back each night. The normal meeting night is Thursdays but working meets happen on some Tuesdays and Sundays. During the winter we have guest speakers a few times. Tea and coffee with biscuits is available at 10p per cup although most people chuck in a bit more than that.
Club layouts include N, OO, O, O-16.5.
Then there is the annual exhibition, annual meal (Extra cost) and trips out (extra cost).
Our club's annual fees are quite a bit more, but we are a small club with only about 14 members, so paying the rent (for the committee room beside the village hall) is not a cheap activity. For the money we meet every Friday with a roof over our heads, talk trains for a couple of hours and get a contribution to the club layouts. It also pays for the hire of the main hall for about 5 days in a year for work days.
Quote from: Graham Walters on November 01, 2015, 07:07:51 PM
Our club fees were raised last year to £52 a year, and there are mumerings that another rise will be proposed at the AGM this year.
Of those of you that are a member of a club, how much do you pay per year, and what do you get in return for your money ?
We get :
A cup of Tea or Coffee at every meeting + max two biscuits, ( One Choc, One Plain)*
Free entry to the annual show (most of the members are there in one role or another anyway)
errrr...... nothing else.
That works about at about £4.33 per month. That is less than a wagon. It's all relative I know, but I see club membership is a benefit, that goes hand-in-hand with modelling - worth the price of a couple of carriages.
Ours is £110 per annum for which we have access to a permanent warm dry clubroom, contribution to building layouts, modelling and learning from one another. The opportunity to take our layouts to shows on occasion and play trains. Plus as has been said elsewhere the privilege of many friendships grown over the years of membership.
Just over £2 a week - less than the price of a pint (even in Weatherspoons) for those who struggle to find it all at once can be paid quarterly or monthly. It's an absolute bargain in my view and to be very honest I get slightly irritated by those who think it is a lot in the context of other non essential things or activities they happily pay more for in relative terms.
Roy
Stevenage and District charge £25 per year and £2.50 a week if you choose to come. Permanent club rooms, layout participation in 3 scales and if you can go Monday night and Wednesday morning you only pay for the week once and get two cups of tea plus biscuits! :thumbsup: My son Callum is covered by the subs too.
Im not now a member of any club ( too busy at the mo) but I have been and no doubt will be so again in the near future.
Assuming that I actually want to be a member, and like the other people in the club ( I do) then I reckon up to a fiver a week is acceptable; maybe a little less, say £3 p/w if the club is financially ok etc
As is mentioned above, even "simple pleasures" like having a few pints with ya mates on a Saturday night make a big hole in £30 or so.
We moved club rooms at the end of last year and can now leave the layouts permanently erected rather than putting them away at the end of each meeting. There are presently 14 members and we pay an annual fee of £10 and then £15 per month. For that we can access the club room at any time (as long as there are 2 of us present) and have a regular club night on a Friday night. There are 2 OO gauge layouts - one analogue and one DCC- and an N gauge layout which will be able to operate as either DC or DCC. Tea/Coffee is 20p per mug.
In the past some of the fees have gone towards the costs of building the layouts but we run our own stock. Now the rent and electric bill take most of the income so layout funding is strictly limited until we get some more members. A couple of the local model shops also give a 10% discount on their prices on production of a Club Membership Card.
Six hours company and comradeship, plus 'expert' help from other members for £4 is good value as far as I am concerned.
Ours is £84 per year.
The club rooms are open three nights a week plus during the day if a few people want to. We have loads of books to borrow from the library and have all the main magazines going back many many years. Free drinks 2 working n layouts plus 2 under construction, 2 running OO layouts plus 2 in store plus 1 or 2 being planned plus a TTE, 1 US based HO , 1 7mm narrow gauge and 4 7mm standard gauge. We did have G scale layout we we donated this to another club.
I reckon this is not bad value for money.
Seems some pay more and some pay less.
I'd love to know how a club with so few members can afford it's own hut, we hire a village hall.
The heating is next to useless, so not that many turn up in the winter, and we only meet once a week, club nights barely last 2 1/2 hours, so by the time we have set the layouts up, there is very little time for anything else.
I would be happy to pay an annual fee, plus monthly subs, that might generate enough cash for us to consider our own clubhouse somewhere.
Quote from: Graham Walters on November 01, 2015, 10:34:57 PM
Seems some pay more and some pay less.
I'd love to know how a club with so few members can afford it's own hut, we hire a village hall.
The heating is next to useless, so not that many turn up in the winter, and we only meet once a week, club nights barely last 2 1/2 hours, so by the time we have set the layouts up, there is very little time for anything else.
I would be happy to pay an annual fee, plus monthly subs, that might generate enough cash for us to consider our own clubhouse somewhere.
Graham
We previously hired another village hall for 3 hours on a Friday evening and had to put the layouts up before starting modelling and then put them down at the end of the night. As you say does not leave a lot of time for working on the layouts and the risk of accidental damage is greatly increased. Storage was a problem and as the layouts developed room became extremely limited. The main storage area was also shared with an Art Group and we found ourselves competing for space.
After growing problems with the Hall management committee we started looking for alternative accommodation even though we knew it would probably mean an increase in fees and less money for the layouts. We now rent part of another village hall but this is a two storey building of extreme vintage and was originally a couple of cottages. We have part of the upper floor with its own toilet facilities and electric meter for lighting and storage heaters and our own entrance to the building. There is a sink unit used for washing the tea cups etc. To keep costs down the heating is not put on that often and it did get chilly in there last year. Members use the clubroom three times a week, Tuesday pm for the analogue OO, Wednesday pm for the N gauge and Friday nights for 3 hours for general. Space is limited and there is not a lot of spare room around the layout boards. In order to encourage new members to join we contacted the local press and got a photo feature in a recent edition and we are planning an Open Weekend in Feb next year so may use the room even more to get the layouts ready for that.
The N gauge layout is 4ft x 9ft and is being constructed by 5 members (4 of whom are NGS members and the other is a 009 group member) and we have formed the NGS West Norfolk and Fenland Group. Info on the NGS site re the group is out of date at the moment as we meet at Pott Row and not Watlington. If anyone is in the area and would like to come along and see if they would like to join us send me a PM and I will let you have further details. We have one member who regularly makes an hours journey each way to attend so we must be doing something right.
Our subs are £100 per year, payable annually or quarterly. We also pay £1.00 per month for unlimited tea/coffee and biscuits. We currently have about 20 members and our clubnights are Tuesday & Thursday, but after 6 months attendance members get their own set of keys to our Clubroom, which we rent from Network Rail. In fact our Clubroom is the old Mortimers Coal yard buildings behind Chippenham station, so we can also watch the 12" to 1' railway as well, we don't charge any extra for that facility ;) ;)
The subs go into the general funds to keep the roof over our heads as our rent is huge at circa £8000 per annum, which is also why we run 3 shows per year. But we have 4 4mm layouts finished and exhibitable & 3 4mm layouts that are work in progress. 1 N gauge complete, Hedges Hill Cutting and 1 more being renovated which is 20' long.
Regards
Neal
Chairman
BMRG
Whar is surprising me is the vast range of fees that people are wiling to pay in order to meet other people interested in the hobby, and the variety of club rooms and cost thereof.
I'm not sure of the cost of hiring the village hall for the year is, but at last years AGM we were told that membership fees barely covered the cost, so simple math means it comes to aroound £1500 a year, which considering what some are getting for rent, seems to me a bit expensive for 3hrs per week.
£8000 sounds very expensive, but at least you have 24/7 access, and you don't have to spend one hour of your 3 setting up and putting down.
Quote from: Graham Walters on November 02, 2015, 09:07:01 AM
which considering what some are getting for rent, seems to me a bit expensive for 3hrs per week.
You
aren't getting "3 hours per week", you're getting permanent (and hopefully safe) storage of the layouts (albeit by the sounds of things, in an unassembled form), with exclusive access to the rooms for an agreed time period; this is what you're paying for. You could always look around for a better deal ...
Quote from: MikeDunn on November 02, 2015, 09:17:24 AM
Quote from: Graham Walters on November 02, 2015, 09:07:01 AM
which considering what some are getting for rent, seems to me a bit expensive for 3hrs per week.
You aren't getting "3 hours per week", you're getting permanent (and hopefully safe) storage of the layouts (albeit by the sounds of things, in an unassembled form), with exclusive access to the rooms for an agreed time period; this is what you're paying for. You could always look around for a better deal ...
Welll actually no, we have had buy our own storage as the hall hasn't got enough of it's own, the club seems to throw money around like confetti, the last shed we bought they paid £2000 for and it's just a garden shed 10 x 8.
One would hope it's far better than a 10x8 shed from B&Q then !
Located on the Hall's premises ? Covered by their insurance ?
Quote from: MikeDunn on November 02, 2015, 09:32:41 AM
One would hope it's far better than a 10x8 shed from B&Q then !
Located on the Hall's premises ? Covered by their insurance ?
Not covered by the halls insurance, thats an extra cost.
So the only thing you get from them is - you get in for 3 hours a week ? Nothing else at all ?
I'd look for better premises, myself !
Hull MRS is currently £48 per year + £2 per week payable only for the weeks you attend (£15+£1 for under 18s). Of approx 60 members, around 35-40 per week attend so on average members put in around £120 per year.
I personally think that is good value for what we get out of it and compares well with other clubs who provide a lot less...
For that we have exclusive occupancy of large clubrooms with 24/7 access. Facilities include a kitchen/canteen area, workshop and library. The Club also funds the construction costs of layouts (but not supply of rolling stock) which in some cases can run to £1000s. Currently there are 8 operational layouts in N, TT, 009, 00, EM & O scales of which typically 3-4 will be set up in the clubrooms at any time plus another 4 under construction.
Members may also use the facilities for their own personal layouts (subject to club layouts having priority for space)
Excuse the pun but from what I see/hear Hull MRS really is a paragon of what a club should be.
Quote from: MikeDunn on November 02, 2015, 10:01:03 AM
So the only thing you get from them is - you get in for 3 hours a week ? Nothing else at all ?
I'd look for better premises, myself !
Talking to people in the model shops and the sales people, where we are, the cost getting there, and the limited time, could be a reason why we struggle to get new members.
On the books we have 30 members, around half of that turn up each week, and it's always the same people.
The group I'm in charge £144 per year to be a full member.
For that you get 24/7 access to the clubroom, library and fully fitted workshop. There's also a small kitchen and a seating area where the chairman holds court each week. All layouts are permanently erected which is just as well as one takes 2 to 3 hours to assemble or disassemble.
In addition to the club layouts members can rent some space, at a price agreeable to the treasurer, for their own layout if they don't have enough room at home. One chap pays an extra £100 per year for this facility.
The group also offers an associate membership rate, £20 per year and £5 per visit, but that only gets them access on club evenings.
In total there are between 25 and 30 members and a good majority attend on club afternoon / evenings.
Given the amount of the full membership fee and the facilities on offer I think less than £3 per week is an absolute bargain. Personally I don't know how the group can charge so little for the clubroom rent alone not to mention buying upwards of 30 O gauge wagon kits for "the big" layout and also planning to build a new OO gauge layout.
I'd always be wary of any club which charges for membership which includes buying stock for layouts as who exactly then owns said stock? :uneasy:
Quote from: newportnobby on November 04, 2015, 10:04:33 AM
I'd always be wary of any club which charges for membership which includes buying stock for layouts as who exactly then owns said stock? :uneasy:
In my experience club owned stock tends to become very poor over the years due to lack of maintenance. It is probably best avoided unless the layout being built has some specialist requirements that you wouldn't expect members to buy/make for themselves.
We have a policy of letting any stock be run at the club but try very hard to run stock which fits together and fits the layout at exhibitions. I think this is fair for everyone -members deserve to be able to run their stock on club layouts but paying visitors to exhibitions have deserve to see reasonably accurate trains.
Quote from: newportnobby on November 04, 2015, 10:04:33 AM
I'd always be wary of any club which charges for membership which includes buying stock for layouts as who exactly then owns said stock? :uneasy:
I'm not sure why there would be any confusion - it would be the club.
Some exhibition layouts could definitely do with club stock rather than getting random stock from members that doesn't fit the layout (or relying on one member's stock if that person can't come and understandably doesn't want to lend out his stock when he isn't there).
One thing that would (potentially) annoy me would be using "my" subs to buy stock for a layout scale I had no interest in ...
£65pa - we meet in a room above a couple of units in the local craft centre, a couple of 00 layouts, one more and an N gauge under constructon. Test tracks for N gauge up to G scale. No additional costs, tea/coffee and biscuits thrown in (not literally) and a couple of local model shops give a discount on production of membership card. Free entry to annual exhibition as long as you are prepared to help - stewarding, door, etc.
at our club we pay £18.00 a month we are based in a commercial unit of 3800 sq ft. there are currently 11 layouts with 5 of them being N gauge. teas, coffees and biscuits are purchased separately on each visit at 20p for a drink and 50p for choc bars. we have access to the club room 24/7 but the main nights are Tuesday and Thursday. but like I said you can go in any time during the day to work or all weekend if you like. I think there is 30+ members at present with 7 layouts on he show circuit.
Quote from: MikeDunn on November 04, 2015, 10:36:48 AM
One thing that would (potentially) annoy me would be using "my" subs to buy stock for a layout scale I had no interest in ...
Is that any different to funding the construction costs of a layout of no interest to you??
In a club of any size, the chances of a single layout being of interest to every member are extremely small, so as long is there is something of interest to you funded on an agreed equitable basis does it matter??
Quote from: PLD on November 04, 2015, 01:17:43 PM
as long is there is something of interest to you funded on an agreed equitable basis does it matter??
Aye, that's the rub, innit ? Will there be ... ?
Personally, I'd prefer it if the subs went on the facilities, and the layouts were funded by those interested + things like Open Days & 2nd-hand sales. How practical that is, I have no idea, not being a member of a local group ...
Aren't you rather missing the point of being part of a club! To continue PLD's point you are paying for storage etc of layouts you are not interested in etc.
The point is that if you want to model by yourself then that is fine and you can do it at home. If you want to join a club then there are compromises etc that are necessary!
Quote from: red_death on November 04, 2015, 10:33:56 AM
Quote from: newportnobby on November 04, 2015, 10:04:33 AM
I'd always be wary of any club which charges for membership which includes buying stock for layouts as who exactly then owns said stock? :uneasy:
I'm not sure why there would be any confusion - it would be the club.
And if the club folds, Mike??
Quote from: MikeDunn on November 04, 2015, 01:37:15 PM
Quote from: PLD on November 04, 2015, 01:17:43 PM
as long is there is something of interest to you funded on an agreed equitable basis does it matter??
Aye, that's the rub, innit ? Will there be ... ?
Agreed on both points, though I still think this is a potentially big contention within a club :hmmm:
Quote from: newportnobby on November 04, 2015, 03:11:05 PM
And if the club folds, Mike??
Same as any other club assets ie whatever it states in the constitution ie hopefully split amongst the members or donated to charity or a club with similar aims.
Cheers, Mike
With the various costs/arrangements, I've started to wonder how far people travel to attend "their" club. Getting to and from mine involves a 52 mile return trip. As I attend fortnightly, that means around 1,000 miles per annum. I'd never considered that cost before.
Quote from: GrahamB on November 04, 2015, 06:34:01 PM
With the various costs/arrangements, I've started to wonder how far people travel to attend "their" club. Getting to and from mine involves a 52 mile return trip. As I attend fortnightly, that means around 1,000 miles per annum. I'd never considered that cost before.
But that is probably nothing compared to distances necessary for some other hobbys for example what mileage will some football fans clock up travelling to away games (or the average Manchester United fan travelling from London or Dubai for home games!)
Quote from: PLD on November 04, 2015, 07:15:24 PM
or the average Manchester United fan travelling from London or Dubai for home games!
:-X
I have a 36 mile round trip to my club...about a third of which is negotiating single track country lanes? Why? Because there are not too many clubs whose interests cover UK, Japanese, German (East and West), Italian, American and Swiss (with lots of others beside...I have just listed the member's and club's layouts); Steam, diesel and electric; 1900s to present day; DC, DCC, Computer control; heavy rail, light rail and tram. The list goes on...it is one of the most interesting and eclectic groups you'll come across!
Quote from: PLD on November 04, 2015, 07:15:24 PM
Quote from: GrahamB on November 04, 2015, 06:34:01 PM
With the various costs/arrangements, I've started to wonder how far people travel to attend "their" club. Getting to and from mine involves a 52 mile return trip. As I attend fortnightly, that means around 1,000 miles per annum. I'd never considered that cost before.
But that is probably nothing compared to distances necessary for some other hobbys for example what mileage will some football fans clock up travelling to away games (or the average Manchester United fan travelling from London or Dubai for home games!)
It used to cost me around £4k a year to follow United, home and away.... then I got married
Quote from: Graham Walters on November 04, 2015, 10:08:01 PM
It used to cost me around £4k a year to follow United, home and away.... then I got married
Fortunately my wife was also into motorbikes so when we got married I bought a Goldwing soon after (Well, the 750 needed a new exhaust). We used to travel many hundreds of miles to events across Europe. Mind you, getting there was part of the event. Driving in the dark on Kent's pothole ridden dirt tracks doesn't have the same appeal somehow.
Quote from: red_death on November 04, 2015, 01:56:33 PM
If you want to join a club then there are compromises etc that are necessary!
Agreed. The group I'm a member of doesn't have an N gauge layout but I'm hoping to do something about that.
Since joining I've helped to prepare two layouts, checking stock, fabricating a backscene etc ready for recent exhibitions at Telford and Taunton. Last night I learned how to chemically blacken brass which was something I knew could be done but hadn't needed to do before now.
Returning to the subject of the group buying wagon kits that I mentioned in an earlier posting I should like to add the following.
At the Telford exhibition the need for an empty coal train was identified. A number of kits were purchased from Parkside Dundas but instead of one member making them all a competition is being held whereby all of the members are making 1 or 2 each and the winner, as judged by an independent modeller, will receive the Chairman's Cup.
So now I'm building 2 O gauge 16t coal wagons :goggleeyes:
Having a group wide project is to my way of thinking a good idea as it gets everyone out of their silos which, from what I've seen elsewhere in the hobby, has to be a good thing for the group long term. All the members have a common goal for a while and when the competition ends a completely train will be available for exhibitions, a win-win all around.
Quote from: Graham Walters on November 04, 2015, 10:08:01 PM
It used to cost me around £4k a year to follow United, home and away.... then I got married
As someone once said:
"marriage - the most expensive hobby known to man..."
Quote from: Buzzard on November 05, 2015, 08:37:14 AM
Quote from: red_death on November 04, 2015, 01:56:33 PM
If you want to join a club then there are compromises etc that are necessary!
Agreed. The group I'm a member of doesn't have an N gauge layout but I'm hoping to do something about that.
Since joining I've helped to prepare two layouts, checking stock, fabricating a backscene etc ready for recent exhibitions at Telford and Taunton. Last night I learned how to chemically blacken brass which was something I knew could be done but hadn't needed to do before now.
Exactly... Being a member of a club doesn't have to be just doing more of what you do for yourself at home. It can offer the perfect opportunity to learn new skills and broaden your horizons at little of no direct personal cost.
Personally my main interest is still with the N gauge group, but over the last few years I've probably done as much for the 009 layouts, as well as occasional exhibitions with 00, EM and 0-16.5 layouts...