Don’t know about your area but I have noticed in California the gradual decline in the number of train clubs esspecialy ones located on fair property. Just learned of Napa’s imminent demise.
Just like home town hobby shops, becoming a thing of the past.
I’m sure in large part it involves the issues in the book “Bowlng Alone”. People of recent generations don’t join groups or organizations the way prior generations did.
Keep in mind too that back at the start of the hobby O scale was the most popular size, so even a simple layout was too large for many houses (let alone apartments). Banding together to buy or rent a large space for a layout made sense. Also, clubs often pooled money to buy expensive machine tools like drill presses that were needed to build railroad models (especially locomotives) back then.
There is something to that people no longer congregate idea. Kids spend their lives with their nose in their smart phones. I maintain it is “hanging out at the mall” without going to the mall. Restaurants are suffering, sit-down ones anyway. My generation saw dining out as a social event, today, four young people sit at a restaurant table and look at their phones, they don’t interact. The restaurant is no longer a destination, just a place to sit.
I can believe this same effect leaks into model railroading. You have to commit your time to others in advance, you have to go someplace and not be instantly accessible to your electronic friends.
I think there are other factors at work as well. One is that clubs that rent their space are seeing rents go up, or the sorts of older buildings with low rent are being torn down for other development.
Second, as club layouts age (even if the membership refreshes and does not age too) sometimes the older era of electronics and signaling does them in. I know at least one club that basically shut down because it was DC, the members were DCC for their home layouts, and nobody wanted (or knew how) to maintain the rather intricate progressive cab control and signaling that a long ago member had installed, nor convert the old layout to DCC.
A corollary - many older club layouts do not have walk around control but a central panel, sometimes elevated in an “overlook.” This has an impact on what kind of operations take place, too.
Third and here I want to tread lightly, the growing influence of prototype modeling is not always compatible with putting together a diverse group into a club, since so many club layouts tend or tended to be “generic Western” or “generic Midwestern.”
Dave Nelson
And here in the east clubs tend to be generic “Eastern”. Interesting that the op mentioned clubs on fair grounds. Seems like the worst place for club to me, no common in this part of tbe world.
But yes, clubs seem to be on the decline, sometimes in favor of round robin groups that don’t require buildings, rent, power bills, etc.
But, around here, in the land of basements, medium to large home layouts are common, and formal or informal, guys get together to help build these basement empires.
Sheldon
I’m president of the local RR club. We started the club in 1981. I’m the last founding member of the club left. We have lost at least 10 to death, and probably twice that many that moved away, or just quit for whatever reason.
Right now we only have one member that is under 60. There are 2 of us that do most of the construction and repairs, if either one of us leaves, I don’t expect the club to last very long. It’s sad that there aren’t more young ones interested. [:(]
Joe
When John Allen built his Gorre and Daphetid at around 800 square feet, it was considered a very large home layout.
Basements and home layouts have gotten bigger. I personally know a number of modelers with home layouts over 1000 square feet. When you can build as big a railroad as you like, exactly as you like, often with the help of friends, but don’t have to argue about anything, why join a club?
Other major issues that I didn’t see mentioned are:
Insurance costs for the club. Most “public” places now need, at minimum, a $1million (most places higher) insurance policy, for injuries, accidents, etc… This is very pricey. (Thank all the ambulance chasers and the legal system of “it’s someone else’s fault” for this.)
Time. Clubs take lots of time, and most of us are busy, with jobs, family, home responsibility, etc…
Cost. Most clubs charge a annual fee, due to rent, insurance mentioned above, and other associated costs. A lot of us are on tight budgets.
Location. A lot of us, myself included, don’t have that close of a club. (And, some that are close enough, are located in a poor location otherwise. My area, we have a single club, but it’s meeting location is in a {more than I would like} dangerous {read “not as safe”} area, so I would not be going there. Especially after dark, which is when the club meets.)
These issues, plus the ones mentioned in other posts above, are the reasons that most clubs are having issues.
There is a club in my area that I choose not to join because the President was talking about testing new member skill levels and another reason I prefer not to mention.
@josephbw, what part of Ohio are you from? (I’ve been looking for a club in the Akron area for a good long while )
I never wanted to join a club. I’ve spent most of my life living in the country, or very small communities, and the time and effort spent on getting to a club and getting back doesn’t seem worth it. My time is my time, and my hobbies are something I do for my satisfaction, and sharing experiences with others interested in the same hobbies, or interest, is now easily done with social media, such as this forum.
I have never been an “operating sessions” type modeler, except operating my own trains.
Actually, the forums I participate in are my “club”, and that’s as close to joining a club that I will ever get.
I remember some family friends we visited every once and a while, I was the same age as their two boys, and they joined a huge slot car club. I’d go there with them and hang out. Once the current/founding generation of the clubs members had real cars, and a life, the club quickly closed down.
Mike.
I don’t like to talk about the local club.
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However… they are going strong and their layouts are beautiful. No problems with any of the clubs on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
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Maybe you just need a steady stream of new retirees that no longer have basements.
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-Kevin
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I was looking into joining a local club. I visited it and found that it had a layout about half of what my home layout is and ran DC only. When I went to fill out an application, just to see if they would accept me, I found out that they wanted to do abckground check on me. Not a problem, but I was not going back to work for the US Government and they had no business doing a background check. Kiss off that club.
A little off subject but…I was watching a Sienfeld rerun and my wife pointed out that this program, Happy Days, and ones like it could not be produced today becauce todays youth don’t talk to each other as in the past.
Bob
In my area it is because fairgrounds changed their name to expo centers and are trying to attract major events but most have failed at that. The Napa one is caused because of a master plan for the grounds that will only happen if silicon valley moves up there. In fact because of the fires (which didn’t touch Napa directly) people are staying away in droves, add the earthquake a few years ago and a few other factors and they are begging for visitors.
The club is in Greenville. West central OH, Darke Co., close to the IN line.
Joe
Rick, are you speaking of the MSMRC? That’s my club and we have hit on hard times due to a ownership change in the building the club is in and the new owners have upped the rent that we are going to have to do open houses and up the dues to say afloat… I am a member of two clubs right now the first I joined is the Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders which is in Jackson, LA and they have scales G, O, HO, and N so space is limited… operations there is more laid back with a continuous running oval layout in HO so it’s nice to go and watch the trains go round… my second club is the Midsouth Model Railroad Club in Baton Rouge, LA and is strictly HO, the layout is partially double decked and operations there are more structured… one thing the GBRMRC is that they meet every other Saturday in the morning and the area is a rural town so it’s pretty safe… MSMRC is in the “not so great” part of town and they meet every Tuesday in the evening but luckily the club is on a side street way in the back so noone really knows we’re back there…
Either way younger members like myself are few and far between…
Not sure I understand what sort of places these are that you are calling fair grounds or expo centers? And how/why would they be a good home for a model railroard club?
Here in the east, counties and states own fair grounds that are a combination of open fields/lots for outdoor events, large buildings for indoor events, and farm/live stock facilities for farm/agriculture events.
Most state/county fairs here in the east are agriculture centered, with 4H, live stock competitions, as well as crafts, and carnival rides and midways.
Many fairgrounds also have horse racing tracks.
These events typically last ten days to two weeks every year.
The rest of the year the property is rented out, like for train shows, craft shows, home improvement shows, RV or boat shows, Christmas tree festival, etc, etc, etc.
Few if any have the kinds of spaces that they would want, or that would be suitable, to lease long term to a model railroad club?
And then there is access and security - these places are staffed, but locked up with fences and gates at night?
But what do I know, I’ve never been that far “out west”?
Many of the longest lasting clubs here in the east own the property and building they are in, or have secured very long term leases.
Again, for many the expense and politics of clubs has out lived its usefulness.
I once belonged to a well know club who has been on
Out in the west many a club is or was located on fair grounds, the Napa club has been there for almost 50 years in an old qunset hut. Yes the county owns them but they have a board of directors.