vanda32547
Member
Thanks for all of your suggestions and help guys. We are well on our way here and it has developed into more than I could have ever imagined!!! WOW
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I could really use some major help folks...
- Thread starter vanda32547
- Start date
Larry
Long Winded Old Fart
Bob, If you have a bunch of guys that are wanting to start a club, then you can contact the NMRA on line & they will send you a set of Bylaws for starting a club.
I've been trying to start one here in Arcadia for about 10 years, but all of the people that are involved in trains don't want to start a club, just have get togethers. The reason is, the amount of money involved to start a club & getting a building big enough to build a nice layout. I live in a small town & the rent to have a club is out of reach.
Even if you get a donor of a building you have to have a lawyer to draw up all the legal stuff. You will have to be incorporated, have insurance, utilities, bonding & a host of other things. There are some big clubs w/in 100 miles from me that have lost donor buildings in the past year because of the economy & the high cost of insurance.
I've been trying to start one here in Arcadia for about 10 years, but all of the people that are involved in trains don't want to start a club, just have get togethers. The reason is, the amount of money involved to start a club & getting a building big enough to build a nice layout. I live in a small town & the rent to have a club is out of reach.
Even if you get a donor of a building you have to have a lawyer to draw up all the legal stuff. You will have to be incorporated, have insurance, utilities, bonding & a host of other things. There are some big clubs w/in 100 miles from me that have lost donor buildings in the past year because of the economy & the high cost of insurance.
In general, dues are based on expenses and number of members. Our club is an NTRAK club, and we meet in a members church (no charge) and our setups are in public venues (museums, malls, libraries, ect) so no expense there either. The club owns 5 corner modules and one standard 4 ft module, which were built from the first years dues. The second years dues went to buy radio throttles..... so we decided on $5 a month, and we have money left every year. On the other hand if you have a clubhouse ( with rent/payments) and a club owned layout you could get into more per month than our club spends in a year. I'd recommend an organizational meeting.....put up flyers, ads, ect to get the word out about the meeting and see how much interest there is. If there's enough interest to support the probable expenses, you can go from there. If you need $1000 per month for the location you want and you only have 5 potential mrmbers, you obviously have a problem (or need rich members). You'll need some sort of "board of directors" to make decisions if you move ahead and form a club......Our board handles "normal" business, but most major decisions are voted on by all members (with a 3/4 attendance required).
stationmaster
Crusty Old Geezer
Many have"traveling clubs", meeting at a different member's home each month.
Organizational meetings, to adopt bylaws, elect officers, ect, will take time and more than one meeting for sure.
The NMRA is a good start, and was a great suggestion for getting started.
Try to find a local train/hobby shop to help "sponsor" you. A great example would be to offer club member discounts on purchases. A local shop had a"punch card' program here. You spend $250, as an example, and you would get a discount of 20-25% off on the next single item purchase. Great deal when you want an expensive item, like a new Digitrax system.
Our layout was also at the local train shop. They furnished the material, we supplied the labor. They got a display and we got a layout.
Bob
Organizational meetings, to adopt bylaws, elect officers, ect, will take time and more than one meeting for sure.
The NMRA is a good start, and was a great suggestion for getting started.
Try to find a local train/hobby shop to help "sponsor" you. A great example would be to offer club member discounts on purchases. A local shop had a"punch card' program here. You spend $250, as an example, and you would get a discount of 20-25% off on the next single item purchase. Great deal when you want an expensive item, like a new Digitrax system.
Our layout was also at the local train shop. They furnished the material, we supplied the labor. They got a display and we got a layout.
Bob
CP9302
Member
The club I belong to (Windsor Modular Railroad Club) started out as a modular group that met twice a week in a church basement. The club owned the corner modules, staging yard, a filler module and the power supplies. Members brought their own modules. This lasted for a few years, but we quickly tired of setting modules up every other week to run for a few hours. We moved to a permanent location 6 or so years ago and are now building a permanent layout using club funds.
We started off by posting flyers at the local clubs and had couple gatherings at the public library to gauge interest and set things in motion. Having an open gathering like that is a great way to find out what people would expect from a club, what they'd be willing to pay, does someone know of a cheap place to meet, etc.
Our club runs with a small executive committee, President, Vice-president, secretary, treasurer and two directors. All positions, except President, are elected each year with the vice-president moving up to President to maintain some continuity between years. Our dues are currently set at $20/month (CND) and that covers our rent and expenses and slowly building our new layout. We have over 30 members, but with having expenses there is a threshold where dues have to increase if membership drops, but we have not had any problems with that and dues have been constant since we moved to our current location. We also do fund raising through pop/coffee sales and 50/50 draws as well as the occasional train show.
We have also just added an N scale layout to the original HO one to expand our appeal and attract more talent and members.
Good luck starting your club, it is a worth while endeavor.
We started off by posting flyers at the local clubs and had couple gatherings at the public library to gauge interest and set things in motion. Having an open gathering like that is a great way to find out what people would expect from a club, what they'd be willing to pay, does someone know of a cheap place to meet, etc.
Our club runs with a small executive committee, President, Vice-president, secretary, treasurer and two directors. All positions, except President, are elected each year with the vice-president moving up to President to maintain some continuity between years. Our dues are currently set at $20/month (CND) and that covers our rent and expenses and slowly building our new layout. We have over 30 members, but with having expenses there is a threshold where dues have to increase if membership drops, but we have not had any problems with that and dues have been constant since we moved to our current location. We also do fund raising through pop/coffee sales and 50/50 draws as well as the occasional train show.
We have also just added an N scale layout to the original HO one to expand our appeal and attract more talent and members.
Good luck starting your club, it is a worth while endeavor.
