For several months now I’ve been considering a visit to the local MRR club in town. There are several of them, but I came to know about this one from the owners of the LHS I go to. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on this subject. I’m not even sure what I’m asking here, I guess maybe what should I expect? Friday nights are their normal meeting open nights and I’ve been invited more than once to “stop up”, so tonight I think I will. Heck, maybe I’ll even make a few friends, it gets boring sometimes doing all this alone. I’m looking at it from the point of view that I’m still a rookie in this hobby and I think it would be a great learning experience for me, but I can’t be like some people I know that devote ALL of their time and efforts to the club or modelling in general, I just don’t have that much time but I’d still like to be a part of something like this, maybe.
Sorry to be so wishy washy, chalk it up to nervousness. Thanks everyone and have a great holiday weekend if you’re in the States.
Go and check them out, I bet you will be glad you did. I can’t spend a lot of time at my club either and my model railroading time is during the winter months. Working shift work means I can’t go to every meeting. Besides I have to much other things to do in the spring, summer and fall months to be couped up in the basement so when I do go to a meeting I still get my MRR fix. The only advice I would give is ask lots of questions and don’t touch anything unless your invited to. Good luck and report back on your experience.
Thx for the reply TA, other than the shift work, our situations are almost the same. I do stuff outside when the weather is nice and north east winters give me plenty of time to work on my model too. I’ll be sure to report how it goes tomorrow.
You will certainly meet a group of interesting people. You will inherit a layout if you join. If that is what you want, you will get it. You will also inherit a point of view. I chose to get involved with the local division of the NMRA. It is a group without a layout. It puts me in touch with a group of home layouts that we visit in layout tours and allows me to meet accomplished modelers in many parts of the hobby.
Both approaches put you in touch with good people. The main difference in my mind was whether I wanted a club layout or access to a large group of home layouts. Let us know what your experience is.
I would pay several visits before joining. Do this in order to get a good look at how things operate but also to observe as many of the members as possible in order to see if there is good chemistry and also how you might fit in to the equation. This should also give you a good feel on whether your stated goal of learning while talking to the members.
Here are some things to check out:
[list]
[]Ask see the operating rules or member handbook.
[]Ask whether or not NMRA standards and recommended practices are enforced.
[]Find out how if the club strives for prototypical operations or not.
[]Ask era does the club model.
[]DC or DCC?
[]Ask what would be expected from you as a potential member as far as attendance.
[/list]
Don’t worry about the nerves. Anybody who has been on a blind date knows about getting the butterflys.
I’ve been a paying member of my club for 15 years, and I was a youth member from 1990-93 (my father is a member). I’ve seen a lot of new people come into the club over the years, so I have some advice for new people going into a club for the first time:
1). Be friendly. Smile. Shake hands with folks and introduce yourself. You’d be surprised how many new people don’t.
2). Look neat and tidy. If you’re going after a hard day’s work, take a shower. It’s a time for first impressions, and you want that impression to be good. I’m not saying to wear a tux, but at least wear clothes without holes or stains.
3). Don’t try to impress the members with your modeling knowledge. Let that come about naturally. For example, don’t go on about how many locos you own, or that XYZ railroad was the best/worst, or that back in your day things were better/worse. But do let it be known that you have some skills (if indeed you have any). As in asking a member, “While I’ve done some trackwork/electrical/scenery on my own layout, what do you guys do here?” And when they tell you, then you can come back with either that you have or haven’t done that. You want the members to know what they are getting in you, without coming off as a know-it-all or a complete rube.
4). Ask questions. I’ve seen many new folks just sit around waiting for something to happen to them. In my experience, if you start asking questions then you start to learn what it takes to be a member of a club. You need to be a self starter if you want to fully enjoy the club experience. Some folks don’t want to, and that’s fine. But if you want to make some life-long friends, you need to be at least a little out-going.
5). Keep in mind you are there to join a club, the club is not joining you. Ch
When I visit a club for the first time I start a conservation of " hello" and state my name and where I am from and I thought I would stop by and have a look see.I find this puts everybody to ease and a member will respond in kind with their first name.
Be cordial after all you are a visitor in their club.
Paul has excellent advice.You will do well to heed it.
I wouldn’t ask any of that till my 5th or 6th visit.That way they know me a little better.
Now,should a person ask those questions at one of the HO clubs or at the N Scale club on the first or second visit we would throw up a red flag as a possible trouble maker.Sorry,but,that’s how it works and that protect clubs from undesirable members.
Be friendly, as others have suggested, but also observe how the meetings are run, what sorts of things are discussed, and how they are accomplished. This should probably give you a good feel for how the club operates.
I think that most of the questions that Dave (Left Coast Rail) has posed will probably be answered during the meeting. Even so - with all due respect to Brakie - after the meeting has concluded, I don’t think it would be out of place to talk to any members and ask them about points #3-#6. I would, however, agree with Brakie that someone pressing to know points #1 & #2 right off the bat might send up a red flag in their mind.
“How” you pose your questions is more important than what questions you ask. Do so in a pleasant and respectful manner and show interest in what the other person has to say.
AJ, go to the train club meeting tonight and have a good time getting to know the folks at the club. Keep us posted on how it goes.
Some of that stuff is good to know though before you join. That way you know if they suit your style or what you are after. Some clubs don’t let you run if your road and era don’t match. Having all DCC and everybody in the club against it is hard to live with as well. Knowing what is expected of your membership is also good to know. I really think these things are good to know in advance and any good member of a club would offer that info or it will come up in passing during an initial visit.
Thank you everyone, I feel much better going into this now. I’m a biker also and have a good amount of experience with going to new places like that and how to show respect to people and their organization so that shouldn’t be a hard part.
I’m going to go tonight and feel it out. Thank you all very much for the information, wish me luck!!! [:)]
There’s a 9 our 10 chance that I’ll meet someone that I know, that I didn’t know was into MRR, or I’ll meet someone that knows my father from somewhere or sometime, man, that guys seems to know everyone. THAT, would make hanging around a lot easier. LOL
I’ll post tomorrow to let you know the whats and hows of how it went.
All advice given so far is good. A few things from my perspective:
Don’t be touchy-feely. They won’t like it right away.
Don’t try to impress anyone. Keep a low profile for awhile.
Don’t commit to anything on your first two or three visits.
Don’t criticize the work being done. You will get a rep as a complainer right away.
Don’t join on the first visit. See if you and the club are compatible.
When and if you join, most clubs will want to take advantage of any skills that you may have in Model Railroading. Be prepared to work on some projects with little or no supervision, but also be prepared to work on projects with several members looking over your shoulder until they are comfortable with you and your work.
I quit one club because all the members (4) were green Model Railroaders and they didn’t want to learn and expand their knowledge. They basically wanted to play toy trains.
I joined another club because they needed electrical help and had members who were what I consider true Model Railroaders even though some were inexperienced.
Some clubs have structured classes or apprentice programs so you can gain knowledge, and some don’t. However, the friendship with new people of like interests is great, and you always seem to learn something and give something in return.
All of the suggestions submitted are good. Let me tell you about the club I belong to. It is 3 years old, and has 12 members. We have a good size layout that is operational right now. We are working on scenery at this time.
Members - 3 or 4 have previous club/home layout experience. The rest have been accumulating trains for a number of years. Age range is 19 - 72 years of age. Most of the members are in their 40’s.
Standards - All DCC, metal wheels, & Kadee compatible coupler are mandatory.
Work Crew - This has been an enjoyable learning experience for everyone. I have been in several club over the years, and have a home layout. This is my first time using ‘foam’ scenery and latex caulk for track laying. This was also the first ‘DCC from Day One’ layout I have wired.
At this point I do not think I will ever get the group interested in ‘hard core’ operation(they think operation is running ‘their’ train around the layout and keeping out of each others way). There is nothing ‘wrong’ with that, the guys are doing something enjoyable. Maybe some of them will get interested in operation in a home layout enviroment in the future.
The problems I have seen at some clubs have been:
Lack of standards(and enforcement)
Folks just bring down their latest purchase and BS all night.
Junior member(or lack of junior member rules) - I was one of those underage junior members many years ago. Our current club has a Junior member program, but an Adult ‘sponsor’ must be there with the junior member. Like Cub Scouts - we are not a ‘baby sitting’ service.
A good model railroad club brings folks together, and can be a learning experience(even for seasoned modelers).
Hi guys, I ended up not being able to make the meeting last night after all. I was beat when I got home from work and I needed to babysit my daughter for a few hours while my wife ran out. I may run over to the shop today and maybe pick their brains about it a little, need to see if they’ll put a coupler on an old RS-11 I have.
Thanks so much for the advice, maybe next week I’ll make more time.