If you could design a new Model Railroading Group, it would do...

RGW Jun 5, 2015

  1. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I wonder how that compares to pass similar events? Quite a decline?
     
  2. J911

    J911 TrainBoard Member

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    Count me in. The NMRA never really did anything for me sadly. If you need a Los Angeles person im your man lol. Currently at my club were working on opening up to the scouts as well as starting up a beginners guide to model railroading once a month. A few clinics and guest speakers such as historians etc. As the youngest member a few have said I have been the saving grace they have been looking for due to my PR skills.

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  3. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

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    Love the direction you're heading and thanks for the enthusiasm.
     
  4. badlandnp

    badlandnp TrainBoard Member

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    Have finally had a few to read this thread. Wow. The NMRA had a well stated purpose and fulfilled it in setting the standards years ago. Admittedly, some of them were questionable, (the HO horn hook comes to mind....) Sad to see that it has deteriorated. That being said, it has probably gone the way of all other human organizations and stagnated, hence needing replaced or shook up a LOT.

    All of the ideas posted so far are good, but the one loss that I have missed. There used to be a lot of support at colleges in engineering departments for model railroading. Why? Because, as we know, the hobby incorporates so many disciplines and active interfaces between them. Where else can a high school or college student work with both the virtual and reality and the interface between them better than model trains???

    So, marketing it all to these schools for this reason would be helpful. Just my nickels worth.
     
  5. HOexplorer

    HOexplorer TrainBoard Supporter

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    Just caught up with this thread after my previous irreverent post. I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm observing that the thread has now targeted apathy. This is all probably correct. May we just look around and 'see' where our hobby is today for a moment? Dealing with just model railroaders ourselves are we not, for the most part, just a bunch of old farts? Old guys generally turn into apathetic folks. Not on purpose, but at 70, I must say that I'm quite worn out. If that makes me apathetic then such is my lot in life. I don't believe I'm alone.

    If anyone starts a club or organization where the average age of membership is 67 years old they are only asking for trouble. I've been in clubs, websites, groups, played the publishing game, and so on and so forth. Basically guys in clubs are simply a bunch of cranky old SOB's used to having or getting their way. It is human nature I guess. When I said that a good club, 'wouldn't want me for a member,' I meant it, and I consider myself one of the 'good' guys.

    Above RGW made a summary of a 'good club.' It is the same 4 or 5 items that was talked about in 1960 model railroading. Nothing really changes and many of us are too tired to make change happen. So, best wishes on trying to change the 'club' culture. I fear you have your work cut out for you. Jim
     
  6. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I certainly agree! When I was in high school, the model railroad club supervisor was also a drafting and woodworking/carpentry teacher. He was a well known HO logging and narrow gauge modeler, authored a book and was published in model RR magazines. We had a real jewel in his presence.
     
  7. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

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    Jim, good thoughts. I look at it this way, the best part of the nmra experience is getting together once a month with fellow modelers to swap stories, check out what's new in the hobby, be entertained/educated by a well thought out modeling clinic and just good old fashioned fellowship of people with like minded interests. If we can replicate that in places all over the country, while at the same time exploring any means possible to get young people involved and keep them involved, that's a home run in my book.
     
  8. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

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    I hear the standards issue raised many times and many places. Truth is though, that the manufacturers care little what the nmra is doing about standards and conformance. The head of conformance and I had a long chat this past weekend. I asked what type of dialogue was there? Were standards discussed equally among nmra and the mfrs? The answer I received floored me, "Virtually non-existent". He said it was pretty much a one way street, the nmra suggests, mfrs listen and then do what they will. Some comply, most do not. I applaud the effort and believe in many of the standards. It is a shame the mfrs care so little. But the truth is, if this is your #1 selling point, you need more than that.
     
  9. J911

    J911 TrainBoard Member

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    As somebody who graduated High School 11 years ago, we had a model railroading club on campus. It was HUGE. When the budget cuts came, we lost wood, metal, and automotive classes. The teachers that sponsored the club were the same guys that taught those classes. As soon as they got their pink slips which was a year before I graduated, the club desolved and the hobby died on campus. There was a club at the JR high as well. When they cut the wood program down there, same thing happened. Than I noticed the hobby just take a nose dive. Tried joining clubs after high school but was surrounded by grumpy old men. So I abandoned the hobby for a few years and came back. Now it's easier with the internet to interact with guys my age in the hobby.

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  10. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    As long as the kiddies can text, mumble semi-illiterately, skateboard, party and get tattoos, why would they need to learn any real skill?

    Our club, 45+ years ago was not large, but it was popular. We did not have a layout, but we did talk, sharing ideas and what we were doing. Showing some models, learning a few techniques. It was fun.
     
  11. TwinDad

    TwinDad TrainBoard Member

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    I must live in Lake Wobegon or something. At least at the local level, the NMRA club I am a member of really doesn't show any of what I see described here. I am significantly younger (at just over 40) than most of the active members, but there is at least one other guy my age, another just joined up, and there's a young guy just out of high school as well. In a relatively small group. These guys are energetic and eager to have us participate. Both myself and the other not-new 40-something are committee chairs, for example, and the N-scale sub group jumped at the chance to invite and include the high school grad. They welcome (and bug the heck out of me for) my insights and information on the hobby, they are actively looking for ways to promote the hobby and to reach the younger crowd -- we are actively reaching out to both the local University and to the Scouts, for example.

    My local Division at least appears to be an example of the very sort of club you are seeking to start. Or at least is trying to be. And having met at least some of the more active folks at the recent Regional convention, I don't think we are a huge anomaly.

    On the other hand, what I'm hearing hear is that the problems are at the National (and perhaps Regional) level, and I've had almost no interaction with them beyond reading their magazine and attending one Regional convention. So I can't really speak to that. Things may very well be quite rotten (or just fine) at the top. I just don't know.

    My knee jerk reaction to starting a new national organization because we don't like the way the current one is working, is to say "why not get active and change the existing organization?" After all, splitting the membership and having competing organizations is only going to divide the available pool of resources, create an "us vs them" culture (even more so than may already exist), and give the Manufacturers even LESS reason to listen to EITHER organization.

    But having said THAT, I understand that it can be very difficult and frustrating to try to change an organization -- particularly a large and long-established one -- from within. Sometimes you just have to raze the old building and start over from the ground up.

    I wish you the best of luck in your efforts here. It is heartening that your dissatisfaction with the current state of things is driving you to create something new, rather than just take your ball and go home. That is indeed a very good thing.
     
  12. Doug A.

    Doug A. TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well, for starters my dream organization would...
    -Learn from the mistakes of other groups. Such as the NMRA's very public disdain for anything not HO. (and O to some extent)
    -Focus on utilizing technology to create a better class of modeler. If NMRA's legacy is its creation of standards, my organizations legacy would be creating and maintaining a modelers database. A modeler would have access to inventory tracking, project/layout progress tracking, and knowledge base including databases cataloging things like paint formulas, paint stripping techniques, etc. There would be tight integration with social media, and extensive offerings for photo and video storage and sharing.
    -An additional technology initiative would be to have a member management offering for smaller organizations such as specific historical societies, niche modeling groups, etc. This would help them organize and maintain membership while leveraging their technology infrastructure and gaining additional advertising revenue.
    -Be collaborative and operate with low overhead. While there would likely still be a physical location, it would be very "light on its feet" and able to relocate to keep costs under control. No massive archive of memorabilia....full digital operation. That's not to say there wouldn't be a segment that would curate items, but it would be separate organizationally from the mother ship.
    -I would have sub-organizations to create a truly custom member experience. They would be driven by like-minded volunteers so that truly there would be a passionate champion for every segment of the hobby driving that sub-organization. Again, this would depend on technology.

    Regarding the argument about "who wants to belong to an organization when we have the Internet", well I am very intune to this argument in my profession and I can say that there will always be advocates for a cause that support an organization that will advance that cause. Not everyone will participate--there are always gonna be those that suck on the hind teet and reap the benefits without putting forth the effort--but the value is still there to have a mechanism for promoting the hobby, providing means to meet up with fellow modelers, improve the modelers abilities to create good work, and generally just try to create a positive vibe.
     
  13. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

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    Here, here Doug and thank you. M
     
  14. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

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    Twin dad, excellent post. I did exactly what you suggest, get involved and make a difference. I just resigned bcz I realized that hq didn't want to provide the membership with the benefit of things it was buying with dues. I couldn't abide such a thing.
     
  15. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well, to make available technology whereby the individual modeler can improve- If or as desired. We each have our own level of satisfaction.
     
  16. Doug A.

    Doug A. TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yes, I didn't intend for that to sound "elitist", but rather (a) I assume that the majority of folks that join an organization do so to increase their skills or at least enjoyment of the hobby and (b) that might not mean you want to increase your level of satisfaction in your modeling, but maybe that you simply want to be more efficient at it. Same results in less time by either learning ways to work faster, or better managing products and materials, etc.
     
  17. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    OK. This sounds good.

    If I join something, which is rare, it is often purely for the camaraderie.
     
  18. Shifty1

    Shifty1 TrainBoard Member

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    Man... being 47, I get you more seasoned guys... I get the fact that some of you may be tired of the bs... I get that some of of you love doing things the old scholl ways as it serves a purpose... and I get that some of you fall into the simple resignation of things and just close the door.

    On the flip side of that... in my generation... I understand the frustration of looking up to or that of the older gens closed doors and... shall I say... what we tend to view as stuborness... I also completely understand most of, not only my gens viewpoints, but the older gens viewpoints, on the the younger and youngest gens... trust me... ill openly say that I hold no real high hopes for the younger gens... though to blow holes in that blanket statement... there are a few on this forum, and a few in real life that I know that surprise me...

    If you wish to call that statement pure idiocracy or simply stereotyping... feel free. It's all good.

    That being said... in my opinion of course... is it impossible to get a good portion of the younger gens interseted in the hobby? No, but....

    There are plenty in my gen that could care less about history... how this country was built. Etc... and that trickles down...

    Example... My Uncle... for one... Has no knowledge, nor care on our own family history, much less history itself... he's in his 60's...

    So.. that it one of the many obstacles we face... as far as the younger gens... lol, uh, I'll keep my opinions to myself...
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 12, 2015
  19. Grey One

    Grey One TrainBoard Supporter

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    My ideal organization would be:
    Over All

    • Loose knit
    • Local groups of three to maybe six members - Keep them small
    • No central authority
    • No voiting
    • No one in charge
    Website
    • One website with a modest, $5? $10? a month paid for membership
    • The ability for members to start their own groups
    • An integrated database format
    Sponsor
    • A hands off billionare sponsor who would fund the whole thing
     
  20. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Over many years, all of the bugs have been worked out and everything is working smoothly. But then a younger era, which did not do all the work of building it up, wants to come in, abruptly (impatiently) toss it all out and do things from the start again. That will never sit well. You've got to earn your place first, build mutual respect and trust, which those require some time. The best changes are gradual, smooth and evolve over time.

    This is sad, as it leads to costly, time wasting repetition of past mistakes. Which everyone ends up paying for, all over again.... The reason history is studied is to avoid those errors.
     

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