Is This a Loaded Question ? Or What ?

Sooo .. I'll post the same reply here that I did when I saw this topic elsewhere ...

I am a life long model railroader...well, since I was 13 and am now 50.  That is a lot of years and I have never considered joining the NMRA.  It is not that I have a problem with the organization, but to me Model Railroading is an in the home personal activity with some close friends.  I don't need to be part of an organization in order to enjoy myself.  Now, for sure some of the standardization, promotion and such have really helped me,  but I have never felt the urge to join.  I don't think I am alone in this.  Is the NMRA relevant today?  I could not evaluate that that as I have not studied exactly what they do.     I am also a model RC pilot and DID join the AMA.  They provide insurance and other items that are a direct benefit to me.  Perhaps if I were into competitive modeling I might join the NMRA, but I am more interested in doing my own thing and making myself happy and not competing with anyone.

I see a lot of kids coming through the school system. There are train nuts, aircraft nuts, car nuts, etc.  A few things I have seen change through the years are:

1. There are more cool things to get involved in. Trains, rockets, R/C cars, planes, etc.  Most kids in my days belonged to one of four or five active clubs in the school. There are now over 60 different clubs and organizations in the school, with more outside of it. Kids are hard pressed to do everything they want. Technology has made much of what used to be unreachably expensive to only very expensive. Good? Bad?  Hard to say.  I have one kid who wanted to start a RR club at school. The only thing holding him back was time to meet with others that didn't interfere with his OTHER activities.

2.  Most kids (think about yourself at that age) prefer to RUN equipment instead of making and detailing stock and scenery. But as time rolls by, their interests can change.  We won't keep everyone, but some will come, some will go. The hobby skills will not die out. With digital info at our fingertips, we will have the data they need when they decide they want it.

3. NMRA.  Wow.  They offer so much that is intangible, even to the non members of our Modeling society. They have been a force for good, and so I think my membership bringing me a monthly magazine (pretty good sometimes) and the support for the issues we face (recent DCC battle over patents) are well worth the dues.  Rivet counting and competitions are optional, but I enjoy attending conventions and seeing what others have to share.  I am curious about the number of NMRA to Non-NMRA members on this web.  Think I will start a poll just for giggles.

A lot of things have changed in the past 75 years.  It is no longer necessary to be a craftsman to build a model railroad.  We can buy ready made track, very nicely detailed locomotives and rolling stock at a reasonable price, and a variety of snap together structures that the "Old Guys" in the 1930's would not have dreamed as possible. 

I still however consider my self to be a craftsman. I have a variety of hard won skills that allow me (given a little bit of time) to scratch build what I chose not to buy.

 Even in this day of "Shake the Box" model railroading there is still a challenge. How do we take those ready made items and assemble them into a coherent Model OF A Railroad, rather than just a display of moving toys?

We are now railroad modelers rather than builders of models of railroads.

As far as the NMRA is concerned. In the early days they were instrumental in coordinating manufacturing of equipment so that we today have a very good level of standardisation..... Even today, I understand, they have standardized DCC specifications..... This is a very good service.

Promotion to younger modelers? A complete waste of time and money. On one side you have a grass-roots association promoting a pleasant pastime, on the other you have countless multi-billion entertainment corporations targeting the same demographic with slick marketing and slicker product. Concentrate on making the hobby less frustrating (DCC standardization a Very Good Thing, for instance) and the attraction and "good times" generate their own following.

Railroad modeling. There is room for everybody. You can model a railroad, or build an exacting model of a specific bit of equipment. Personally, I'm an "ambience" modeler and like to run trains - 60-75+ cars behind 3, 4 or even 5 on the point. None of this silly faux-branchline stuff. ;-) If the standard of the hobby was modeling every bit of it... well, none of us live long enough. However, I also like odd diesels and reasonably realistic appearance, so that means that sometimes the trains have to stop every so often while I put whatever touches on a specific loco or car that satisifies my aesthete.

Our hobby's success was made entirely by Kato's leadership in model quality and consistency, and Atlas' foresight to abandon the European approach to N/OOO and follow Kato's example. NMRA was a no-show for us, and I still get the feeling we are dragging them kicking and screaming into defining "model railroading" as something beyond the O/HO paradigm.

I am a current member of the NMRA and I find it isn't bad being one as I have access to stuff I wouldn't have any other way. These include books containing the workshops of the conventions as well.

AS for being a craftsman, well, I am not one because I don't have certain skills that seem to be required to be one. I also don't intend to become an MMR either. It's interesting to read about it in Scale Rails but I don't want to do that much work especially if it won't add anything to my model railroading activities at home or at the N-Trak club I belong to. That's the way I see it at this point.

As for bringing youngsters into the hobby, the only way to do that is thru club shows and talking to the kids and their parents about what it is that railroads do. Many kids have never seen a real train especially if they live in a big city where the trains are banished to the nether regions as being noisy and smelly things. And it's up to us to let them know excatly how our modern lifestyles ae tied to the rails whether we realize it or not. And, if you are concerned for the environment, trains make a alot more sense in bringing stuff to where you live than long-distance trucking ever could.

Irv

 I have been building and running model railroad equipment since I was 14. Now I am closing in on 60, I haven't lost any zest for the hobby. When I was younger I got to participate in the building of the 4449 (SP GS-4). I just love trains and probably will until the day I die. I used to belong to a club that REQUIRED you to be an NMRA member. I sorta resented that idea of having it forced on me. The NMRA does a good job in setting the standards. Where would we be with couplers and DCC without them.

Jacko

The standards setting of the NMRA is really critical from my perspective.  But then a lot of my life as an engineer deals with standards.
 
Perhaps the NMRA needs to reevaluate their outreach and the value they can provide to new modeling recruits (so to speak)?
 
I do find it a bit discouraging when looking through the standards for N scale and find deficiencies that don't exist in the other scales.  Try to find standards and some of the details about N scale streetcar overhead wiring and electrical pickup trolley poles.
 
I believe if the NMRA went away the hobby would suffer, the standards are really important stuff.  I am not a member, but would like to join some time.
 
I suspect I am not the model railroader, maybe just a so-so railroader, of N scale railroads, and some other stuff...  

Charles

As I mentioned earlier, there are many worthwhile organizations that I'd like to join.  But like everything else, I find I must discriminate between them all.  The NER/NMRA hosted a meeting right here in my home last month and only about 7-8 percent of the layouts were in n scale.  Although I enjoy looking at G, O and HO scale, my specific interest is n-scale (the very reason I'm on this website).  So the question I asked myself is would I benefit from attending that convention as much as simply attending the annual north east train show that comes to town in November?  The answer was no.  That does not mean that the organization does not have merits for its members, its just that the merits for this n-scale model railroader appear to be rather miniscule comparatively speaking.  That is why I subscribe to N Scale Magazine and not the other model railroading magazines that cover all scales.  That is also why satellite and cable TV offer hundreds of channels so that viewers can focus their viewing time.  I just do not see in this tough economy the rationale to fork out another annual membership fee no matter how good they are for the industry as a whole when only 7-8 percent is directed my way.  I would see far greater benefit to enhance my model railroading skills by joining a local n-scale model railroaders club.

The simple fact is that N was not yet then a viable scale. The NMRA didn't want to waste its time on something that may not even be around in another three years. Look at TT scale. They established standards very early but nothing ever became of it. Arguing for the establishment of standards for N scale in the '60s is like arguing for standards for Lego trains now: some people see it as a viable modeling option but the majority in the hobby view it as a just a new toy set. Some day with enough members and time standards will be established where they are needed.

That's a bad example. Rapido couplers are still the standard specified by the NMRA. Manufacturers that don't use them are using their own proprietary products which is exactly what the NMRA is trying to avoid. The  proprietary couplers don't work well together, especially those from Bachmann and Kato, and will eventually need to be replaced with a uniform standard on a given layout. For as much flack as it receives the Rapido coupler works well, even if it doesn't look right. Everything I buy gets Micro-Trains couplers added before it goes on the layout. Those can't be the standard, however, because they are a proprietary product and would need to be licensed for other manufacturers to make.

To this point it's received 17 votes and 77 reads.

I can respect your opinion and agree that you have the right to one as does everybody else. What I object to is thinking that the NMRA is only interested in HO Scale because that is not true. However, given the fact that few artickes about non HO Scale make it into Scale Rails is certainly not going to disprove the notion that they only care about HO.

I think those of us who belong to the NMRA and are into N-Scale should let the powers that be know that we both exist and that we would like to see more articles about N-Scale layouts and more reviews of N-Scale products. I know I will.

Irv