My friends and I are wanting to start a club but need to know the basics first. Can anyone help us.
first do you have some place to hang out
A club is a big responsibility. The members just want to come when they feel like it, but the leader has to organize and then run it. I have done it and you need to want to do it real bad. It is easier to join a club. If you want to go ahead, there are some of us who can give good advice as you go along, but only someone real close by can really help.
Do you have local hobby shops in your area? If so, ask them if you can post a card with your name, address, phone, e-mail, etc., explaining that you’re interested in starting a club, and see if any other modelers in your area are interested. Don’t forget to specify a scale. If you get no feedback from interested parties, you’re going to have a tough row to hoe.
cacole,
The closest hobby shops are about 50 miles away but one of my friends found a club that is close by right after i posted the topic so that will help. We are modeling HO scale. We were thinking about going to each others houses for our meetings since we all have layouts and live by the tracks.
Be sure to know the purpose of the club. Different people may have different purposes but assume everybody else is the same as them. If you don’t talk that good people can have bad disagreements. Also be sure you know what to do with common property and joint purchases. Clubs can work and do, but they can also make enemies out of friends. I would hope that you have a very good time.
Depends on how formal you want to be.
For example, on my Siskiyou Line, we formed an informal working group. No dues, no bylaws, just agreeing to meet regularly and work on the layout. Since it was my layout, the rule in case of disagreement was my preference ruled, but I wasn’t heavy handed about it. I always wanted to hear out the other viewpoints just in case I had missed something.
And other "members’ of the working group were welcome as well. All pretty informal, but it worked quite well.
Make sure that it is in a sleazy part of town where there is a bountiful supply of willing female participants. Also I would recomend that the building has an upstairs so that you can have a vip lounge. A good DJ is also a bonus for providing music that fits the various themes of the female employees. You may also want to have an excellent selection of imported and domestic beverages. Planning various events for each night of the week will also keep the patrons returning. Finally it would be advantageous to have at least two brass poles up on the stage so that neither side of the audience feels neglected.
Whoops… My bad… I guess im in the wrong forum.[8D]
I’d say one of the most basic things to consider is the people. Be careful about letting troublemakers in. I think a “club” that rotates it’s meetings at each other’s layouts for running/eating/socializing would be great. No overhead, leases, etc. Just my 02.
A rotating round robin group is likely your best starting point. Once you get a too big a group to handle in your home layouts then is the time to start activly looking for a permenant home. If you go with the fixed in a building route, it’s been my experience that clubs that own the building they are in tend to fair better in the long run. Money will always be an issue but in a lease or rent situation you can be at the whim of the landlord. Too many clubs have been booted out of their buildings just when the layout was progressing. Your other option would be a modular club . You could meet monthly or weekly whatever in a church hall for instance and do the train show circut . this way no one member is footing a larger chunck of the bills as each member would have a module(s) stred in their houses. Food for thought. good luck with your planning and keep us posted. Rob
Dang!!! You just described my old HOOD which is the reason I now live in Amish country!!! I’d be happy with someone that wanted to go to Dennys’ and TALK trains!
Thank you everybody. I got some good ideas and a good laugh from you. I think my friends will like what you had to say. If you think of anything else please tell me. Thanks again.
Being part of a club with our own permanent layout here’s my two cents. Model Railroading from what I’ve seen seems to be for the kinder at heart. Sure you’re going to have bad apples (and when you find one, run like hell or give them the boot) but overall it’s a good experience. Our club has been around for many years and there has been the odd angry spats and a couple people out the door but the main problem for our club (and I imagine most) is money. If you plan to set up a club with a permanent layout it goes from a hobby to a non-profit organization that’s going to require dues, codes of conduct, and proper leadership (at least for the first leg of the trip [:p]).
For future reference, when we get a permanent home and layout, how would we set the club’s code of conduct and bylaws?
Right now there are just three of us. I am modeling ILLINOIS CENTRAL in 1997-1998 (pre-merger) and have an 8’x16’ layout, another of us is modeling NS and CN in 1997, and the other is modeling NS, CONRAIL, and CSX and he has a 4’x16’ layout.
We are planning to help another modeler set up his layout.
If you need any more information feel free to ask.
Well, to figure out how to build up your bylaws, you have to decide what kind of club you are. If it’s just a couple of friends going from layout to layout, written bylaws might not even be needed. However, if you plan to start a club with a proper building and regular meetings, your bylaws become quite serious. Some topics to cover are admission to the club (what it takes, how long), dues, meeting general rules, and of course what it takes to get kicked out. [B)] You don’t want to have some guy who’s been paying dues regularly to come back with a lawyer after you’ve kicked him out.