I wanted to see if any one now if there is a o gauge club in the trenton nj area. I know ther is a lot of ho clubs around me but doesnt seem to many people around me into o scale.
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I'm pretty sure there will be. Do you have a local hobby shop or two that you like? The next time you are in, you could also ask them. If you aren't close to one, you could try calling them. Good luck.
yea there is nothing in my area. I have train stores but no clubs unless i want to go ho. Maybe i will start one
Are the New Jersey Hi Railers that far away from you?
They have a magnificent layout.
yes Patterson is really far for me i think they boarder ny i am 1 1/2 to 2 hours away. i live on the Pennsylvania boarder.
If you join TCA or LCCA, they list members by cities & TCA has around 30K members from all over the country.
If I was anywhere within 2-3 hours from either of these fine clubs I'b be asking to join!
Would even be willing to share my New Orleans 'Bar B Que' Shrimp recipe with Vinnie...
what is the deal with vinnie and food.
i thought we where talking trains
OCSMR.com is the club's website. I'm a member there at this clubn Lakewood, N.J. Maybe we don't have Vinnie's cooking but we do get free Nabisco cookies!
I'll see your Nabisco cookies and raise you beer on tap
NJ Hi-Railers is an interesting club. Its kind of being in the Fire House except they have trains and no Fire engines !
Its hard to tell if its about the trains or the food. You'll enjoy it though!!
Did I get that right Ben?
LOL We were thinking of getting a fire engine
Lionel J - By all means stop by. The Ocean County Society of Model Railroaders is located on the north bound side of route 9 between 2nd and 3rd Streets in Lakewood, NJ about 4 miles south of the I-195/Rt 9 exit. We're there Tues and Wed nights from about 7 to 10 pm.
Check out our website at: OCSMR.com
Bud
Vinnie fuels the folks who fuel the trains. Shoveling all that coal is hard calorie soaking work.
To add to LocoBudd:
We are in the basement of the former rectory for All Saints Episcopal Church. Enter through the Bilco doors in the rear.
No beer, (Church rules, not ours), put plenty of almost out-of-date Nabisco prducts, cheap soda, and free coffee.
One more thing, our club is 501 (c) 3 so all dues and club donations are tax deductible
Originally Posted by CSXJOE:
One more thing, our club is 501 (c) 3 so all dues and club donations are tax deductible
You really have to be careful of this. Dues and donations are different animals for one thing and for another whether or not something is deductible depends on other variables and limitations such as the filer's adjusted gross income (AGI), their filing status, what form they are filing and whether or not they are itemizing or taking a standard deduction. A lot of people spend money assuming they can deduct it from their taxes but then they are disappointed when they can't because they are filing the short form or don't have enough deductions to itemize.
Regards,
Eric S.
Saline, MI
Originally Posted by bigdodgetrain:
what is the difference between a 501 c 3 and a 501 c 7?
which would be better and what are the disadvantages of both.
The best person to ask this question to would be an experienced tax professional but... I'd start with going to the source. The IRS does a lot of publishing. Some of it is even understandable by the average person. Here is one document about what constitutes a 501(c)(7): http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopicc96.pdf There are similar docs for a 501 (c)(3). I haven't studied the texts in depth but I think the 501(c)(7) is mainly a social club and the 501 (c)(3) is a charitable organization.
As to "Which is better?" it depends on what your group is trying to do. If you're getting together to socialize and run trains, you'd probably be more likely to be a "social club". If your purpose is to collect and distribute train sets to needy children or restore a 1:1 scale Berkshire, then you'd probably do better as a 501(c)(3). If you want to solicit big donations or get grants from foundations, you need that 501(c)(3).
Regards,
Eric S.
Saline, MI
The reason we had to go 501 (c) 3 was that we are located in the basement of a church . The township of Lakewood in 2008 wanted to charge the church real estate taxes becaouse we were not a tax-exempt organization. We were on the verge of having to leave and disband because the increase in rent due to the tax burden the church would have to pay was beyone our members means to pay. Eventually, for various reasons, the town dropped the taxing effort but we continued to achieve the 501 (c) 3 catagory. You have to prove a legacy of community outreach, which we did, and also to maintain the status, continue with the outreach program. We do this with the setting up of our portable layouts for little or no reimbursement from the organization sponsoring the event.
We are proud of our tax status as it takes a large commitment of time and talent from our membership tohave gained it and maintain it.
Our most recent outreach was the annual exhibit during Presidents weekend at the Ocean County Historical Society. Our only compensation for two days of hard work is a letter of appreciation.
Anyone can check our website for the charitable displays we will be doing.
We also set up and promote thehobby at the Brick and Toms River Train shows, again for no compensation.
Note if Bethlehem and Stockertown, pa is within your reach, there are two great Highrail clubs there! Both just off highways!
