# Club model railroading



## SoCalRailfan (Feb 23, 2014)

Has anyone been a member of a club?

What was the experience like? I was hoping to get a better understanding of how clubs generally operate. Are you still a member?

I was hoping to get some more in-depth feedback on club model railroading vs. basement model railroading. 

Do you bring your own trains or do you use club locomotives and rolling stock?


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## SoCalRailfan (Feb 23, 2014)

Wow! My very first post on the forum and I botched it up a bit.

As you can imagine, I've been contemplating building a layout; however, the kinds of features I'd like to have on a personal layout, are both extensive construction wise, as well as money wise. Among others, I was hoping to have a hump yard. 

I've gotten some track and have been playing around with it, trying to get a feel for how much area is needed to do what I want, as well as the correct grading of the track to get the cars moving across to classification tracks, etc.

The next thing, is I am clueless when it comes to power--how I'm going to wire everything. I'm still very much in the experimentation phase and am wondering if I might be better served if I do a less elaborate layout and maybe join a club. (One of the clubs near me, if I'm not mistaken, has a hump yard. 

Also, I know that most clubs have open house events every so often, and I will, at some point, attend. But I was hoping to get a back story on the club experience and see if maybe scrapping some of my plans and doing both, might be a better option.


Thanks,
SoCalRailfan


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## pookybear (Feb 3, 2011)

First off Welcome to the forum.

Second, as far as clubs go, around me they all stink. But that is not always the
case and there are some really good clubs around the country. So it is more of
a case by case thing. If you are lucky you will have a nice club close to you.

Yes clubs give you a pre-made layout or at least one under construction to use
which is a good thing if on a budget. But get a group of people together and somehow
things turn into politics of how the group should be. And that can really suck the
fun right out of the room.

Personal layouts give the feeling of being God, it is your world playing by your rules. 
However it is costly.

The third route is one you did not mention, as you are doing HO and N, maybe one of
the modular groups would be the way the go. In this case you build small parts of a
layout (module) and hook these up to other member's units to make a full layout. There
are certain rules of track placement at the ends and style of wiring. However, most 
everything else is left up to you. Also if you build say two or three modules you can 
still have a nice switching layout at your home without needing other member's sections. 

Just some stuff to think about here,

Pookybear


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## SoCalRailfan (Feb 23, 2014)

Thank you! It's a pleasure to be here.


Wow! I didn't know about modular layouts. I would LOVE that. 

I'm definitely centering a lot of my energy on a yard in a personal layout. Also, although I mentioned the cub thing, I agree with what you're saying about it and have been very worried about getting into that group dynamic dilemma. And, it's difficult, too, because you're basically paying to be there.


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

The major thing is the politics and clics within the club. As a new guy, expect to be looked down on unless you can "offer" over the top skills and time. The leadership of a club has to be attentive to new members to ensure they aren't left out of the club and eventually leave.
Modular clubs have more of a problem with maintaining standards than an established layout. Members tend to neglect their modules and when the show date arrives, time is spent trying to fix the problems instead of running trains. That was one of my main beefs with a modular club when I was a member. Derailments, poor track alignment, collisions etc. I offered to help make repairs and was snubbed and the leadership didn't want to offend the long time members by asking them to fix it.
I run my own 2000 square foot club layout now. Anyone is welcome to bring their stuff and run. Only thing I ask is that ya don't smoke in the house, don't throw stuff and don't play the knock out game on other operators. Other than that, nit pic all ya want. I'll probably agree with ya but probably won't get around to applying the fixes.


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## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

Belonging has many benefits. First, it's a great place to learn. Most members love to talk about their trains and skills. You will likely learn many does, and don'ts, about model railroading. That will save you lots of money and frustration. Another benefit is being around guys (and gals) with similar interests. Our club has a lot of great guys who have been patient and helpful to a newbie like myself. Everyone brings some type of skillset to the club. Mine is electrical, so I am a "wire weasel". It also gives me a chance to run my fleet of locos and rolling stock on a large layout.


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## Locodub (Nov 18, 2013)

I have been a member of a club for 6 or 7 years now. Overall, it has been a good experience. There is a bit of politics, but nothing too out of hand. A club is only as strong as its members, and we are really working as a team to make improvements to the layout, as well as the way the club works. I like having the shared knowledge the other members can provide, and I add my two cents when I can. 
We have just started operating sessions, thanks to an upgrade to DCC on the HO layout, and have been having fun doing that. And if I ever start on my home layout, a few guys have offered to help. For now, I will keep planning my home layout and keep having fun on the club layouts.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

We started a club two years ago, it's been a great experience. All of us bring different levels of experience and areas of expertise to the club.

Highly recommended, the worst that can happen is you don't like it and you leave.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Socalrailfan

A railroad hump classification yard is a fascinating thing to behold.
Rail cars, one or two at a time, pushed over the hump and, using gravity,
find their way to a specific track, albeit, very slowly because of the
track speed retarders. 

A model hump yard, though, is difficult. The weight of the cars and their rolling
capabilities don't lend themselves well to smooth operations. There
are those on the Forum who have tried and perhaps you'll hear from them here.

Wiring your layout is greatly simplified if you go with a DCC system. Basically,
you have 2 wires from the controller connected to the track. That is it. When
your layout grows, you would have a buss from the controller with drops every
few feet to insure good electrical pickup around the layout. Unless you have
a very large layout you need no complicated isolated block wiring and switches 
between power packs as required for DC.

I'm a big fan of modular construction of the layout even if you are not part of
a club. You can easily expand or change your layout without wasting materials
and effort already done.

You would serve yourself well to visit one or more of the clubs in your
area. You may find a 'home' for your ideas.

Don


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## SoCalRailfan (Feb 23, 2014)

Thanks all for the input.


As far as the club membership goes, I had always been worried about the group aspect and the politicking that would inevitably go along with it. Moreover, I don't have any expertise to lend to the club, other than being a guy who wants to run trains and have fun with everyone else. 

Also, in terms of the hump yard, I had been playing around with some flex track and propping it up at varying grades to see how best to get the cars to move and it took a really odd and drastic angle to get the cars all the way to where I wanted them to end up. So, I may scrap that part of my plan.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

You might be surprised at what you can offer. Don't let your lack of expertise be the barrier to joining a club. We have all skill levels at our club, and not all the members are skilled at every task.


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## Locodub (Nov 18, 2013)

I don't have the knowledge some of my fellow club members have, skills with scenery like others, but I've found a place where I can gain that knowledge, practice the skills, and hopefully provide something to them. I inherited, or more likely "railroaded" into our clubs sales room. We receive donations of train items quite often, and if we can't use it at the club, we try to sell it at shows or during our open houses. I've taken on the role of salesman just because I stepped in to help the gentleman who used to do it. He has sadly passed away, and now I try to keep track of what we have, pack it up for shows and display it for sale at the club. I get a lot of help from other members to do it though, because I couldn't do it alone.
Yes, there will be politics in a club, people will disagree, new members will join, people will leave, but if everyone is at least willing to try to work together, you'll have a good time.


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## briangcc (Oct 11, 2012)

Clubs have their good points and bad. 

Good - exchange of information

Bad - blasted politics


I was a member of a HO & N modular group from '86 to '02. Politics got the better of me and I left...well that and a run in with a rather obnoxious member that should be on meds.


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## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

briangcc said:


> Clubs have their good points and bad.
> 
> Good - exchange of information
> 
> ...


Too old to let that bother me anymore. I can politely ignore almost anyone. Just smile, shake my head, then walk away and do what I was going to do anyway.


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Im a "due paying" member of one club in my area. But I operate on a private club ("non-due paying) as well. 

If you get 10 men together for anything, there will always be a butt-head in the group. With a formalized (due paying), you really dont have any control over who wants to join, thus the butt-head usually sticks around. On a private club, its more by "invitation only". Thus the butt-heads are not invited...

But clubs of any kind are a great way to make contacts and learn from those that have been doing this longer than you have. Go to the NMRA's website and search for clubs in your area. There may even be a list of clubs by area on this site. Find them, go to them and have fun!


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## vwgolfer187 (Apr 4, 2014)

*Clubs*

I live 10 mins south of Baltimore in Maryland and im def looking for a club/Group to join. Im new to this and i would love to be part of a club/group to learn as much as i can and also meet some new friends that share the same passion. Even if its just a couple guys who meet up to work on each others layout and such. But its hard to find them


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## Locodub (Nov 18, 2013)

vwgolfer187, there are a few clubs in the Baltimore area. Check out railserve.com, that site has lists of all kinds of railroad related links, including a listing of model railroad clubs and museums. You may have to dig a little, but they are out there.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

I enjoyed my 3 years in one...my abilities were respected, seeing my tweaked lokeys pulling 35+ car trains up 1.75% grades was ego inflating and running my large steam on 36" curves was awesome. When I found out two members _"wished I would stop playing with toy junk and get a real job and buy real trains"_ i.e. BLI and Kato models, I felt it necessary to move on, before I ruined my testimony "tweaking" their models...









Some of my toy junk on their layout...




























Yes...it still hurts after 8 years...but I've moved on.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

I assume some of the "politics" some have mentioned in clubs include differing ideas on scenery, level of detail, type of ops, quality and type of rolling stock, modular vs permanent, etc???


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## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

Some yes, some no. It's not only railroading, it's the social aspects as well. The true answer to it all is: it depends on the members. Since each club is made up of individual people, the psychological makeup contribute to the group dynamics. Gunner said it right, go and check them out. Either you'll find one to your liking or you won't. Our group has a few "rivet counters" but, for the most part, most are not. Good luck in your quest.


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## vwgolfer187 (Apr 4, 2014)

Def not junk. Beautiful stuff man


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

shaygetz said:


> I enjoyed my 3 years in one...my abilities were respected, seeing my tweaked lokeys pulling 35+ car trains up 1.75% grades was ego inflating and running my large steam on 36" curves was awesome. When I found out two members _"wished I would stop playing with toy junk and get a real job and buy real trains"_ i.e. BLI and Kato models, I felt it necessary to move on, before I ruined my testimony "tweaking" their models...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


All I can say is........I wish I could be so unfortunate as to own that "junk"......

Obviously, the word "junk" has more than one meaning.......


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Very true Golf. I know operate on three layouts on a regular monthly basis. One guy who owns one of the two private layouts does not allow "foreign power", but that is cool and I respect his decision. His primary reason for this, is that his layout is under construction. He is adding powering, rolling stock and scenery. He wants to make sure it will run with his equipment. The other private operator and the club allow me to bring my own "foreign power" to use when I work a yard. When I work a through freight, I have to use the owner's power. My stuff doesn't have the weight to pull their trains up some of their grades. Since I don't have a layout, this allows me to test run my own locos. 

Going in expecting some attitudes, will allow you to better understand the workings of the group. Head in open minded and with a good attitude. Be respectful to others, their equipment and show a good attitude. I bet that within in a few operating sessions you will get pulled aside and invited to a private group away from the attitudes...


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## Kwikster (Feb 22, 2012)

Shay, I love you knack for turning "junk" into some awesome pieces. I love seeing many items you post, I'm somewhat jealous my skill level lacks in comparison. Perhaps if I took them time to fail and learn from it, as you have I'd get there. Perhaps someday I shall, but for now I enjoy other peoples works.

Carl


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

Brand snobs suck. Doesn't matter if you're talking about trains, clothes, cars, or coffee.

BTW, Gorgeous locos. :smilie_daumenpos:


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