10-27-2010, 11:14 AM
I have never eblonged to a layout-based club, so I don't know if that's a good deal or not. Seems steep, but presumably there is a lease or mortgage to pay, as well as a share of whatever work/materials are needed.
My modular club (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.hotrak.ca">http://www.hotrak.ca</a><!-- m -->) is $80 for the year, which includes the "right" to attend any and all set-ups (usually 6 - 8 per year in a space rented for the weekends in question), the AGM, any clinics put on by the club, insurance, and so on. Members each own sections of the layout in the form of modules - although this is not a requirement to join.
New members now must go through an apprenticeship program to become familiar with the workings of the club as well as train operations.
Interesting (or maybe not) to note, but Ottawa does not seem to have any layout-based clubs. There are lots of round-robin groups that take turns operating each others' home layouts, but I am not aware of any that have a dedicated building with a communally-built layout. Not for lack of model railroaders either - we have an NMRA chapter, a CARM chapter, one of the oldest "dinner clubs" (<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ovar.ca">www.ovar.ca</a><!-- w -->) as well as HOTrak, NTrak, and other modelling and operating groups in virtually every scale in eastern Ontario. I guess the one layout-based group is the live steamers who have permanent trackage at one of the museums.
Andrew
My modular club (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.hotrak.ca">http://www.hotrak.ca</a><!-- m -->) is $80 for the year, which includes the "right" to attend any and all set-ups (usually 6 - 8 per year in a space rented for the weekends in question), the AGM, any clinics put on by the club, insurance, and so on. Members each own sections of the layout in the form of modules - although this is not a requirement to join.
New members now must go through an apprenticeship program to become familiar with the workings of the club as well as train operations.
Interesting (or maybe not) to note, but Ottawa does not seem to have any layout-based clubs. There are lots of round-robin groups that take turns operating each others' home layouts, but I am not aware of any that have a dedicated building with a communally-built layout. Not for lack of model railroaders either - we have an NMRA chapter, a CARM chapter, one of the oldest "dinner clubs" (<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ovar.ca">www.ovar.ca</a><!-- w -->) as well as HOTrak, NTrak, and other modelling and operating groups in virtually every scale in eastern Ontario. I guess the one layout-based group is the live steamers who have permanent trackage at one of the museums.
Andrew