Clubs, good or bad?

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P

pikogfisse

Member
I live in Arizona, and as I lost my layout room in my basement due to a divorce, I figured a club would be nice, so I contact the guy listed and he tells me, great, come on over and meet the guys. Well, I did, only to find out the group had split up over politics in the club, a bunch of the older members walked out, and the newer guys now have things under their control. In visiting with one young guy I was told that as I couldn't make the evening meetings I could not be a member of the club.(I work Nights) I was then told that the club had members from several countries, different states, and cities around AZ that are several hours away. So I told this guy that if they could be members and not come to meetings I ought to have the same rights. It went right over the kid's head, never caught on. It was a huge disappointment, this Ntrak club has a wonderful layout, and not far from me, yet I can't be a member.
Am I the only one who's had this kind of problems? What do you guys n gals think about clubs?
 
back when i was younger i was a member of hot-tracks
that lasted for 3 show's and i bounced. turns out the same thing happened
to me as it did with you...

1) you don't run the right equipment.. (diesel NOT steam)
2) you don't side with the powers that be (see below)
3) you really don't care about there Petty problems (see above)

Now that i'm older :rolleyes: i thought about joining a club near me.
they meet evert tuesday night, BUT i still feel the same way as i did
before
 
IMHO there are two kinds of members in the clubs, those who do the planning and work, and those who come up with the bright ideas that don't fit into the planning or may not be feasible. This second group only show up at shows etc, contributing only their august presence to any effort on the clubs behalf. Have to be hog tied or held down to get the club dues out of them.

Clubs can be a great thing, promoting friendship and knowledge. Having said that, I'll add this " a club can only be as good as its membership"

Willy has spoken :D
Seen two clubs start in this area, and each failed because of the above reasons. Should another start I wont be wasting my valuable time. :rolleyes:

Cheers
Willis
 


Wow, I figured I was the only one who felt this way. Well, i tried to talk to em, and it was a total failure, and huge disappointment, so I'll remain with my own layout I guess.
Thanks for the input, at least I don't feel guilty an;ymore.
 
I guess that I'm lucky that our club gets along pretty well.
We've weeded out a few that fit Willis's description and we do see the odd bit of bickering, but we're now in our fifteenth year and have four operating layouts on the go.
As for your experience, wow I don't know what to say, how moronic is that!
We have a member who pays his dues but rarely shows up, no problem at all.
We have members who only show up for the meeting nights, again no big deal.
There's a few of us that are starting another group, just a round robin sort of thing to meet informally and run or talk trains. Maybe that's what you have to do?
 
I belong to a few clubs. I can see some members that want to just injoy the hobby running trains of all diffrent eras and then others that want to see a very high set standard set in a 10 year period. There is nothing wrong with people wanting a standard but they cant expect others not to have their own opinions. I have also noticed that the ones that seam to want to have strict standards are also the ones that do most of the talking and unlikely work on the layout.(rivit counters) I feel that small standards such as all cars having nuckle couplers and metal wheels are good for the better of running trains. but to say one has to attend all mettings is not something you should be forced to do. I think the worst thing for members to do to potential new members is to try and mold them into their own class. It never works and people will just walk away.
IMO talk to another member and you may get a completly diffrent story.

good luck
 
Whats with the Mack trucks logo? I used to drive em, and they're great trucks did the heavy haul thing.
Glad you've had a positive experience in a club. At least someone has a good thing going. I'm two for two at the moment, and doubt I'll try again.
 
Hi Rico, yes most clubs are like yours, and that isn't a problem because it's working and each does what they want without infringing on others enjoyment. In the second club here we started with about 15 members, were building modules for shows then the interest seemed to wayne, some childish bickering and hurt feelings because the majority didn't agree with them, then at the last there were three of us, everyone else had more important things to do so it just wasn't going to work. It was agreed that the Club money left would be donated to a charity and that was the finish.

An informal group, less structure is probably a better idea when the membership is a smaller number.

Cheers
Willis
 
pikogfisse said:
Whats with the Mack trucks logo? I used to drive em, and they're great trucks did the heavy haul thing.
Glad you've had a positive experience in a club. At least someone has a good thing going. I'm two for two at the moment, and doubt I'll try again.
Click to expand...

I own a 1965 B61(resto project) and a 1977 RS700L that I still work from time to time pulling lowboys and end dumps (when the economy is good) Just a truck driver and old truck junkie!
 
mack trucks

My first truck in the mack dept was an old B-61 with an end dump on it, man that was years ago. I drove it for several years, then I got a dm 600 side cab on a ten yard mixer, I loved that truck, drove it for several years, then a 700 L on a cozad low boy with a jeep and tag axels for the heavy stuff. I pulled crushers weighing over 200,000 with that one time to time. Last I had a Pete with a long hood and a cat 3408 for the heavy haul.:rolleyes:
 


sounds like you know what real trucks are. my B61 has a 2 stick quad with the non turbo 711 mack, the RS700L has a 285 with the 2 stick 6 speed. mothing real flashy just alot of grunt.

I really hope you do find a better club or at least a diffrent opinion at the one you visited. I would think AZ has alot of clubs being a larger city. Ask around at some of the hobby shops. If you find a larger group you may have a better chance of finding a club with diverse opinions.

here are some pics of my trucks

RS700andKW.jpg

DCAM0334.jpg

DCAM0429.jpg

celli2.jpg
 
Love them two stick knuckle busters!
I agree with talking to another member, maybe someone older.
Willis, maybe we should start our own club, no meetings, no dues, no rivets?
Kind of like this forum! :D
 
Trent, I love those two big, chrome diesel tanks. :) Thay just don't make 'em like that anymore.

I think I've belonged to five clubs over the years. They are about as diverse as the human race. Some of them have a constitution, by-laws, officer, and self-appointed enforcers to make sure you follow all the rules. Others are just a bunch of people that like to run trains and seem to get along. It's a matter of the right mix, kind of like this forum. I'm pretty certain we'd have a great club with 90% of the people I've met here. No emperors or presidents and even disagreements are handled in a civil manner. Check out the area for other clubbs and try to visit them on a work night. If people are in a good mood and look like they are having fun, it's probably a good club.
 
Getting back to the matter at hand there is good and not so good in any discussion on clubs.
That being said as the man said look around,I belong to one of the larger and more diverse clubs in the valley and though we are quite a hike from Tempe must say we have members in our N,HO and Gscale Divisions from all over the valley. And if you have ever gone to one of the Sahuraro Central Swapmeets
You've seen us lol.
If not checkout our website www.azmodelrr.com
 
Saturday I went to Phoenix, AZ and found the Sun and Sand Ntrak club only twenty minutes from my home. Met a bunch of really nice guys, and they let me as a guest run my own trains on their great club layout of Ntrak modules. I think I've found a home with these guys. Spent six hours with them and enjoyed every minute of it.
 
my local club dont seem to have the problem you faced, howhever you can't join like that, to be a full member, you have a 6 month probation where you need to have a resonnable presence at club activity and to show that you can be handy. This do not mean you have to be good at building the layout, there is a website to maintain, track must be cleaned often, burned LED have to be replaced and so on...
You don't have to be a member to participate in Live OP session
 
Those are some great photo's of those ol Macks, thanks for sharing those. I spent a lot of time talking to the Sun and Sand guys, stayed an hour after running was over to visit with a board member, and he was really nice and fun to visit with. Now I just have to meet the club qualifications so they can vote on my membership.
 


pikogfisse said:
I live in Arizona, and as I lost my layout room in my basement due to a divorce, I figured a club would be nice, so I contact the guy listed and he tells me, great, come on over and meet the guys. Well, I did, only to find out the group had split up over politics in the club, a bunch of the older members walked out, and the newer guys now have things under their control. In visiting with one young guy I was told that as I couldn't make the evening meetings I could not be a member of the club.(I work Nights) I was then told that the club had members from several countries, different states, and cities around AZ that are several hours away. So I told this guy that if they could be members and not come to meetings I ought to have the same rights. It went right over the kid's head, never caught on. It was a huge disappointment, this Ntrak club has a wonderful layout, and not far from me, yet I can't be a member.
Am I the only one who's had this kind of problems? What do you guys n gals think about clubs?
Click to expand...
They're great if you can find a good one. There was a really good one only about an hour away from me, but unfortunately they folded.
 
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