RMweb Gold sjrixon Posted November 12, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 12, 2014 How many people are involved in a local club? I've just re-joined my local club in Reading, the RSME and I'm slightly disappointed in the numbers and the new faces. I've been away from the hobby for a number of years, but not much has changed.. I'm thinking of starting a little crusade to publish things a little better, but I thought I'd start by finding out people's view on clubs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Part of a small club with our own club rooms. only got space to work on one layout at once so quick progress as all involved It's ok but don't miss a week or someone will finish your project for you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheQ Posted November 12, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 12, 2014 I've just joined a club after a gap of 34 years of not being a member of an MRC, I've moved 8 times in that period ( up to 13000 miles apart) some to areas with clubs some without. By chance the club I've joined I was a founder member of about 35 years ago, partly because it has now moved closer to me! There is 1 member I've met from those days there may be others who attend other days. It helps to be able to talk railways. Although I was sat at a table between races at the sailing club last week and of the 5 at the table, 3 of us had model railways, another had one in the past and the final person works at the North Norfolk Railway none of use knew about each others Model railways before we started chatting that day!! I will certainly get more model railway work done even If at the moment I can only attend 1 evening a week, as I won't be at home to do SWMBOs duties! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold sjrixon Posted November 13, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 13, 2014 Part of a small club with our own club rooms. only got space to work on one layout at once so quick progress as all involved It's ok but don't miss a week or someone will finish your project for you! That's the way it should be!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted November 13, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 13, 2014 Part of a small club with our own club rooms. only got space to work on one layout at once so quick progress as all involved It's ok but don't miss a week or someone will finish your project for you! That's the way it should be!! In my club where space is at a premium if you miss a week you will find your project shoved into a corner rather than finished. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 In my club where space is at a premium if you miss a week you will find your project shoved into a corner rather than finished. Ah, we're all on with the same layout, just different parts of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted November 14, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 14, 2014 Ah, we're all on with the same layout, just different parts of it. Our club has about eight layouts and two 'layout rooms' about the same size as a domestic garage, three of those layouts are made to occupy one of those rooms entirely and one will only fit without its fiddle yard! As most of the layouts attend shows on a regular basis and need to be tested and/or repaired those going to shows have priority. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ColinK Posted November 14, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 14, 2014 I'm in two clubs, both some distance from home, and I only get there occcasionally. But well worth the effort for all the advice, support and ideas recieved. Hopefully I put the same back into the club too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEAMYAKIMA Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I have been a member of the same club for 46 years ... we currently ahve about 55 members (inc quite a high number of country/associate members at £21/£42 per year) ... we consider that number of members to be very low as our rented accomodation is very expensive ... therefore we want to atrract more FULL members at £63 per year. Many of us older members wonder how best to 'sell the club' to prospective members ........... which then begs the question "In the 21st century, with forums like RMweb, what is the purpose of a local club?" Or put another way if local clubs didn't exist, would anyone invent them in 2014? When our club was formed in 1961 the main purpose was to provide a 'generic club layout' in OO that would allow members of all skills and interests to run their trains in the clubroom every week. Layouts were not built for exhibitions ... they were quick builds to allow members to tail-chase on club nights. In the next 53 years there have been extra gauges catered for and the trend has been for new layouts to be much more serious. We have built highly detailed exhibition layouts that rarely get operated in the clubroom. Research and planning times have extended as have layout build times layouts take up to 10 years to be completed. I make no judgement that either view is right or wrong. Many modellers do not join clubs but prefer to form 'private groups' to build specialised layouts and then of course there are the specialist societies ... EM, S4 etc So why would anyone want to join a club in 2014? I feel that many/most clubs are struggling for members ... if YOURS isn't then please tell me their secret..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I've been a member of three clubs in my life, and the current one is the one I like best. It is a very rare evening that we don't end up rolling about the floor in laughter, either at jokes, misfortune or whatever, and we hardly ever have any public displays of angst. That, to me, is what a club should be about - we're all there to enjoy ourselves after sh!t days at work etc. Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WessexEclectic Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Although I was sat at a table between races at the sailing club last week and of the 5 at the table, 3 of us had model railways, another had one in the past and the final person works at the North Norfolk Railway none of use knew about each others Model railways before we started chatting that day!! I've often thought that there are a few dinghy sailing clubs with a railway enthusiast problem... There seems to be a good overlap... As an aside, the smaller dinghy clubs seem to be trending similarly to MRC's - people prefer more ad hoc association (internet fora etc.) and will only occasionally visit a home club but will happily dedicate a weekend to an open event/large exibition. Is this democratisation or disintergration? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Bigcheeseplant Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 The Risborough & District MRC is quite vibrant, I think we have around 50-60 members made up from full members and associate members who only attend a certain number of times a year. I have been a member since 1981 and have seen quite a few changes in that time. At the moment I think we are more active than we have ever been in the clubs 43 year history. It now can be quite had to find a table to do actual modelling on a Friday night due to the amount of people wanting to model. We have many interests among the membership but other than our test track we have not gone for the lowest common denominator, having layouts in 7mm O gauge, 4mm P4 & EM gauges. In fact we have just got rid of our only OO layout, due to the lack of people working on it. We do go for new ideas and last year the club purchased a laser cutter for club projects and members use, which seems to get used quite a bit, and gave a day training on the use of CAD. Other than the railway club itself we normally decamp to a pub for a beer after, and also have social nights going for a curry, Italian or Christmas meal that are always quite fun. What makes the club successful I think it is the people many who are now good friends, plus the ability to have a laugh? David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torn-on-the-platform Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I'm a member of Rusper MRC in Bromley, Kent. We're on an ongoing recruitment drive at the moment, part of which has involved me starting a thread on here! We've also been mentioned in the latest couple of MREmag editions and are in the current issue of Hornby Magazine. I joined in about 2002, as I was starting secondary school and the nature of the club means that it does not get boring! We seem to be unique in that we're about running a functional, timetabled, OO gauge railway network, set in 6 large garden sheds. www.ruspermrc.co.uk for those intrigued! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEAMYAKIMA Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 The Risborough & District MRC is quite vibrant, I think we have around 50-60 members made up from full members and associate members who only attend a certain number of times a year. I have been a member since 1981 and have seen quite a few changes in that time. At the moment I think we are more active than we have ever been in the clubs 43 year history. It now can be quite had to find a table to do actual modelling on a Friday night due to the amount of people wanting to model. We have many interests among the membership but other than our test track we have not gone for the lowest common denominator, having layouts in 7mm O gauge, 4mm P4 & EM gauges. In fact we have just got rid of our only OO layout, due to the lack of people working on it. We do go for new ideas and last year the club purchased a laser cutter for club projects and members use, which seems to get used quite a bit, and gave a day training on the use of CAD. Other than the railway club itself we normally decamp to a pub for a beer after, and also have social nights going for a curry, Italian or Christmas meal that are always quite fun. What makes the club successful I think it is the people many who are now good friends, plus the ability to have a laugh? David Hello David Funnily enough Risborough & District MRC was discussed a week or two ago as being an outstanding success in the area of attracting new members - and good modellers at that! But holding Railex is a great publicity tool. I regret that my club does not hold exhibitions any more....... maybe that is our problem as regards membership numbers. We do support any local railway themed event but that does not get us into the 'serious modeller' market. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Bigcheeseplant Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 We do get around 2-3 new members from Railex each year, although as most of our visitors come from well outside our area, it does not generate as many new members as you may think. We do run a much smaller show in Risborough which is aimed at the local area, although do not known how many new member we get from that show. One of our most successful areas for new club member was that one of our members who was a local GP (now retired) and put Railex posters up in his waiting room and soon patient’s got to chat about railways and came to the show and joined, Apparently he said many people are into railways in one form or another but keep it to themselves. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bike2steam Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I've been a member of a few clubs over the years ( 40+), even started one, and at the birth of another. There's been big clubs with many layouts, there's been small groups with just one main project at a time, these days I know what I prefer - the latter ( as at Blandford), work gets done faster with no conflicting egos competing for their favoured project. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaeson Lego Pryer Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 I have been a member of 3 clubs in 22 years im now 28. In that time i have been exhibition manager and club chairmain when i was 19. As a lorry driver driving all week it is difficult to to find time to go the railway club wich is 30 miles from me so i have made a railway room in my house which is 17ft by 14ft. I have everything i need here with 3 layouts in diffrent scales. I still support the local and national shows so far i have coverd 2800 miles this year going to 16 shows. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jol Wilkinson Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Put simply, clubs vary as much as modellers. All you can do is investigate your local one and see if it worthwhile joining. My local club doesn't offer anything that is of interest to me but if I lived near the Risborough or Warwick & Leamington clubs I would join immediately (if they let me). The S4Society has two reasonably local area groups to me, one doesn't suit me because it meets on a Friday in various locations (different members homes), whereas I regularly attend meetings of the other which are held at the same venue on a more convenient day. In either case, however I find that I enjoy the meetings and can learn a lot from my fellow members. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stock_2007 Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Being the Secretary as well as a member of the Sunderland & District Model Railway Society a major problem I (we) have is trying to bring new members into the club. Sadly due to increased costs we've been unable to run our annual exhibition which had always been a big draw for new members. We have a number of layouts on the go but the problem which I'm sure other clubs have is getting the word out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEAMYAKIMA Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Being the Secretary as well as a member of the Sunderland & District Model Railway Society a major problem I (we) have is trying to bring new members into the club. Sadly due to increased costs we've been unable to run our annual exhibition which had always been a big draw for new members. We have a number of layouts on the go but the problem which I'm sure other clubs have is getting the word out. Absolutely the same problem we have ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel.Richardson Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I'm a member of Swansea railway modellers group, SRMG for short and have been there a year. We have 74 members give or take and have a large premises with 10 rooms on the top floor and a basement of the old Swansea steel head office. We have 8 layouts in N,OO,O,On30 and G and have plans for a new O gauge layout in the basement and a large G scale layout in the large garden area to the back of the building. These are projects for the new year. We have doubled in numbers since a 2 years ago, when I joined in February 2014 I was number 60. We are always looking for new members to join and get involved and hopefully will grow at the same pace that we are ATM. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted December 9, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 9, 2014 I've been a member at Wakefield for over 20 years now after a chance meeting with the then chairman as we leaned over the wall at Holbeck Shed to photograph Kholapur. We own our own clubrooms, that the members built, and have approz 100 members. This includes a thriving junior section which didn't exist a few years ago.. Layouts in O, 00, HO and N are being worked on and there are modellers in other gauges who are club members. There is also an excellent reference library which is very useful for research. Without the club we would would not be able to put on the annual exhibition and each year most of our new members come via the show. For me the range of interests and skills is a huge pool of tlent to be tapped into for advice and help whenever I get stuck on a project, which is often. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel gill Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Related to this as secretary and exhibition organiser to Cleethorpes MRS, weve always struggled to gain and keep members...i know one reason that i wont go into but how do you encourage new members and what would you pay to attend a club, weekly monthly or yearly? Nige Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrysoham Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I'm a member of the Ely and District Model Railway Club. We have been in our new club room for a year now. We are keen to increase our membership numbers (now just under 20 members) and presently we are investigating whether having a junior section would help. What do you think? If you've got a junior section what are your Club's experiences - good or bad? BTW our membership cost is £10.00 per month. Terry Metcalfe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blvrace Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I would love to get involved with a model railway club but I can,t find anyone local to me that are intrested in modern image Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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