Well, here’s a sad sign of the times and a commentary on the hobby’s health. The Milwaukee club, with its layout at Walthers, goes way back and has been linked to some of the hobby’s important moments and highpoints down through the years. Now it’s about to become just a part of the hobby’s history itself.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/39891957.html
CNJ831
Seems like they was down to 2 members and Walthers needed the space for reasons unknown.
See:
I wouldn’t say that it is a commentary on the health of model railroading but rather, if anything, it reflects the fact that fewer people seem interested in joining clubs and organizations of all types. This is a trend that has been going on for years. We are busier with work and family and our own personal pursuits. On the other hand, Trainfest in Milwaukee drew a record crowd in 2008. I would put a lot more stock in that as a measure of the health of the hobby. John Timm
I think I can see the points of view of both major posters to this point. John, you are largely right in that it is a sad passing of an iconic layout and club, and perhaps no one would feel it more acutely than you. I think it is a sign of the times, and sadness is a subjective attribution that one must accord to himself as he understands the meaning of it.
At the same time, as correctly pointed out by desertdog, times change. Kids of our kids are a different breed of fish. They spend time glued to a tiny virtual world of text messaging and keeping tabs on each other through facebook and other social netwoking sites. Having to organize and contribute time and effort for a group’s benefit is as close to anathema for the people under the age of 30 right now that it isn’t even funny. We have schooled assiduously the last two generations to be highly mistrustful of organizations and to be almost pathologically individualistic. Young folks don’t like being told to arrange themselves in a class-like setting where one person gets to run the show and direct the assignment of work, even if it is by consent of the group assembled…which is the dynamic of (some) clubs.
In that respect, I would guess that the long-standing organizations like the Elks, Shriners, and such will slowly lose currency as the various generations alive pass on. Or, they will have to reinvent themselves so that they can achieve their aims and still have the support of willing and vital human brains and bodies.
Indeed, you have both said exactly the same thing. One laments this concrete sign of things slipping from what they were, while another shrugs and says it just seems like natural flow to him. It is what it is.
-Crandell
Or, one could say that this is good news for the hobby as Walthers needing more room can only be positive, especially in these lovely economic times. Somehow, I think model railroaders are going to be more positively impacted from an expanding Walthers than the death of an old club that reportedly has just two members. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always sad when a club goes under, but most times it’s self-inflicted (infighting, politics, etc.). Sure, there’s many instances where some external factor triggers the collapse of a club (runious rent, fire, flood, sale of building, etc.), but from what I’ve seen both in person and on the 'net, most times the club members just no longer can get along. For any club to be strong, there has to be the sense among most members of doing what’s right for the club, even if they don’t like it. Nobody likes cleaning toilets, doing corporate paperwork, or cleaning track, but without those willing to sacrafice for the common good, it’s all going to go right in the dumpster before too long.
As for membership in clubs, I don’t know what’s happening nationally, but my club is seeing a spike in new members in the past year, and it’s been going up steadily for the last 30 years. Back in the mid-1970’s, our club only had around 25 members, and we were in a 25’ x 50’ basement. In 1978, we expanded into the next basement and doubled the size of the club. By 1990, the club was around 45 members. In 1998, we moved out of the basement into a 10,000 sq. ft. building. Since then, the membership was around 55-60. In the past year or so, we have had 6 or 7 new members join, and we have another 3-4 applicants in the process (and all appear to be locks for joining). By Autumn, we will probably have 70 members. We’re running out of seats in the member’s room even now, and I don’t know where we’d all sit if everyone showed up at one ti
This may have something to do with Walthers becoming the U.S. distributor of the G-scale LGB product line, which is now owned by Marklin of Germany. Importing and stocking the LGB product line will require a considerable amount of warehousing.
I was a member of a club located in the UP depot in Topeka KS during the 60’s while I was working for the Santa Fe. Seemed like there were never ending squabbles about how things were done, or what things were done. I had been placed in charge of the scenery. I had a section I hardshelled one night, when I returned the next meeting, someone had torn it out. Seems an Air Force Sarg who belonged to the club and thought the club belonged to him, tore it out on his own with no one else approving, just because he didn’t like it.
That was my first and last formal club. Since then I have (1) lone wolfed, (2) belonged to an informal group who modeled the same era/tastes and we rotated between layouts, and (3) belonging to sig groups for operations, etc.
I prefer the informal group most of all, no more formal clubs.
Bob
And here I sit, looking at another channel that was used,through open houses and the like, as a means of ‘recruiting’ people into the hobby in the first place. With all the SIG groups, informal ‘clubs’ etc is there any space for active recruitment? Or better yet, is there an avenue wherein someone who is interested in getting information or joining, available in their local area?
In a way I can see why CNJ would feel the way he does. It is the same situation in the Veterans societies as well. The question becomes one of what to do. Even though there is a kind of expansion–being more rumour at this point–there is the social element of the hobby that is impacted here. There were only(Why?) 2 members left–where’d everyone go? You’d think that if you worked in the place—ah but there is the issue—maybe the reason is precisely that people just look at it as ‘just a job’. This can bring up barrels of questions in my little head[sigh][%-)]
Looking at the reasons behind the layout demise, it still is a shame that warehouse space will destroy this layout instead of Walthers using it for demo’s and then write the cost off on an advertising budget. It does not set well with me to know that a company that wants my money and offers me great things to build a layout is closing down this one instead of using it. This would be a great testing station for the Walthers HO products. Yes it would require maintenance, but what better way to test the latest complete passenger trains than to test them for real layout conditions. They are selling to many of us here on the forum and this could be used to validate the products. Sort of like a final test Quality Control department before new items are released to the market.
CZ
On a similar note I had a chance today to take a last look at a local clubs layout which stood in the same basement for 35 years in Asbury Park, NJ It was a sad day for them but as I mentioned to one member if things go right for them like their hoping and they get to relocate to another building it will be a good thing. A chance to start all over again, new and fresh. It doesn’t quell the pain these guys are going to be experiencing tearing out 35 years of history. I heard one guy out in the line waiting to get in that stretched down the block say well it’s their own fault they should have bought the place then this wouldn’t have happened. Yeah good luck with that, even in this economy the price of real estate in this area is obscene at best and then you have all the joys of property ownership to deal with.
One can say it’s a sign of the times or a change in our culture as a whole but if what I read on one of the other posts here about the club occupying Walthers back room was that they lost membership do in part because they weren’t willing to move up to DCC which made operations and layout tours nearly impossible. If this is true then maybe a real sign of the times is that if we want new blood to enter into the hobby then clubs like that one need to step up and employ of the hobby’s new technology and not be so unwilling to except change.
Whatever the case it’s a sad day non-the less.
Walthers owns the space. Although it doesn’t say so in the article, I doubt the club has been charged for the use of the space especially since the club got down to 2 members. There’s no way 2 members could sustain anything thing more than a token rent on the space (not to mention lights, heating and air conditioning). Remember, the club’s been there courtesy of Walthers for over 60 years. Walthers doesn’t owe anyone either an explanation or an apology.
Andre
Ya I’m sure in the past many Walthers employees (maybe old Bill himself) were members, I’ll bet they’ve never paid rent or as noted maybe a token amt. If the club has two members left and Walthers needs the space, I can’t blame Walthers. Phil Walthers is the third generation of his family to run the business, and I’m sure his primary concern is keeping the company strong for it’s employees and so it can be handed off to the next generations of Walthers.
I know the Twin City Model RR club is getting kicked out of Bandana Square - the old NP Como Shops (BTW, wouldn’t “Como Shops” have been a better name for a shopping mall than “Bandana Square”) after having been forced out of St.Paul Union Depot decades ago. O well, with the old depot possibly coming back into use in the future, maybe they can move back there someday.