Model Railway Clubs

[Lawrence]

Reuben - really glad you found a good club, the attitude of the first one you mention is absolutely disgusting and possibly illegal (if UK based), as a (relatively) able bodied modeller I fail to understand their views, there can be no excuses in this day and age 

[Portpatrick]

I joined my first club in 1972, as a late teenager after getting my own "wheels".  I was certainly made very welcome and was treasuer from 1974 to 1977.  After moving in 1975 I carried on with them until the 12 mile commute proved irksome when I transferred to a local club in 1982.  I have been there ever since, and am now the 2nd longest serving member.

We have certain;ly had our share of characters, not to mention internal politics.  But show me an area of life where that is not the case.  However I may be fortunate in generally being able to let that pass over me and plod along.

I certainly recommend being in a club if that is practical.  I have learnt quite a lot, and passed on some of what is now 35 years in N guage.  I do notice however that we are all getting older.  No longer do we have a strong proportion of later 20s to 30s.And certainly no youngsters, though modern legislation makes that tiresome.

[davieb]

hi all

i am not a member of any model railway clubs as most of the local clubs either don't cater for N gauge or are just way too expensive 

but i am a member of a couple of fishkeeping clubs (my other hobby) and being on the committee of both these clubs i am well aware of the internal politics that goes on when trying to run any sort of club 

and Portpatrick i know where you are coming from when you say that "we are all getting older" as one of the clubs i attend i am the youngest person that attends meetings on a regular basis and i'm 43 and in the other there are only a handful that are younger

guess it's not "cool" to be a member of a club anymore

dave 

[Ollie3440]

I joined my first (and to this day only) club just over 4 years ago. I became a member of the N Gauge society and within days of my membership coming through i had been in touch with the local area group (Shropshire).

Being 15 at the time i was the youngest member in the group and joined just after the club had 'finished' the majority of the work on the club layout - Bewdley. Although i was the youngest, and also had no input in the design of the layout, i somehow became the 'chief' operator. Designed for three operators i could operate it by myself!

We had a total of 7 or 8 members (one of which was disabled so we had one meeting a year at his around Christmas) meeting every other Tuesday evening at the leaders house (Until recently he was also the area group co-ordinator for the NGS). We all paid a sub of £5 a month to keep a fund up for if we had to get something for Bewdley.

Sadly the only place we could set the layout up was in the Garage (not very pleasant in winter!) so we had several meetings to talk about finding somewhere with more space. We quickly decided that in order to attract enough members to fund a building we would have to branch out to other scales and gauges (although the Shropshire Area Group would still exist within the club). Hence Telford Railway Modellers was born.

Just under 2 years ago we moved into the building we are based in now and in the first year our club went from 8 to over 30 members. Bewdley still remains our club layout although there are plans to replace this with something new. Being in the new premises we had to introduce a membership fee to cover rent, bills etc. We settled on a fee of £50 (roughly £1 a week) which covers entry to all meetings throughout the year.

Although i had to leave the club while i'm based in Sheffield i'm still in regular touch with the club and occasionally assist with the layout at shows.

Myself and JC92 are thinking of joining a club up here to which we would be the only N Gauge Members so will keep you informed if/how it turns out


Ollie

[Newportnobby]

I've seen the layout "Bewdley" - very neat layout, especially as I worked in Bridgnorth for 13 years

[longbridge]

They say women can gossip but by crikey blokes can be pretty good at it as well, once a week I have a cuppa and chat with a few blokes that are members of a model railway club, some of the gossip that goes on about other club members is very funny and quite typical of life in the club scene. the very reason I wont join any more clubs.

[Newportnobby]

Just shows how observant I am, ORB. I like the 'new' avatar

[longbridge]

Well done Mike, any avatar depicting an F or E series EMD Diesel has gotta be good 

[thomasash]

Hey!  I am returning from my holiday in Finland in around 10 days and will have most of my track and first train to get started when I return, however, not only will I be starting a new hobby (or at least a new gauge) but also moving to a new area (Hatfield) and I was hoping you could suggest a good club within an hour or so travels. I know there is at least one (De Havilland) nearby, but I was hoping someone could suggest one that caters well for Diesel/Electric and/or modern n gauge and also tell me what they do there (as some seem more focused on building, others on running etc). I am quite happy to travel, if it means meeting like minded people!

[swisstony]

There is a Stevenage branch of the NGS, you need to join the NGS though, first and last monday of each month.

PM Sprintex for more info.

oh and it's a mixed bag of steamies and Dirty Diesel Enthusiasts 

Two club layouts and a couple of tothers bring theirs along, a DCC one too..

[longbridge]

I may for the first time in 27 years be joining a model railway club, there is a club just a stones throw from where I live and they are having their first show this weekend, a couple of mates and myself will be  visiting  with the intentions of maybe joining the club, would be kinda nice to associate with other like minded lads but without getting caught up with party politics 

[Kipper]

I find the best way to steer clear of the politics is to not volunteer (or be volunteered) for any committee, sub-group or official capacity. That way you can enjoy your hobby, attend club nights - and not have to meet up every other day for some pointless meeting - and have a life outside of railway modelling (if there is such a thing ).

[bbdave]

I went to my local club in Exeter a year or so ago on my first visit a couple of members spoke to me one spent a very long time telling me how important he was in the NGS and how there wasn't any diesel locos in the club and if i vsit again i'll have to join, the others all stood in there little groups counting they're rivets.

I did visit again giving it the benefit of the doubt i walked round the layout and around the various little groups still counting rivets not one member spoke to or even acknowledged me so i made my way out and never returned.

I realise  i was younger than most in there but how on earth will they ever get or keep new members it seemed a boast that they had no diesels i at the time didn't think i would be interested in them but as it turned out i am. It's a shame because this club will probably slowly die.

Dave

[Trainfish]

If you hadn't mentioned the 'no diesels' part I would have guessed you were talking about RMWeb there for a moment.

[swisstony]

I have to say the Stevenage / North Herts branch were great, a big mixture  of motive power and ages and made me feel very welcome, only downside for me is that it's on a Monday and I play in a pool league on Monday's

Still I've now become a member of the NgS do on spare ones I'll be popping over