Importance of O scale clubs

Well, you cannot isolate a building.

Taxes to pay, maintenance to do and code enforcement among other things.

I remember when BSME on Saratoga Street ran old fashioned outside rail on the O gauge on the wall with the HO in the other room. It must have been 100 years by now.

Modular may be your best bet. It has matured quite well over the years. The yard and engine area I am working on is actually modular so that when future space opens up it will accommodate the rest of the highland plan.

Also with Clubs you will have Politics and the task of sorting out the pecking order. It can get a bit interesting at times. That is why I prefer to be a lone wolf.

Regarding the best clubs, in my opinion; as in long lasting, really good layout, sufficient membership etc. there are multiple factors on top of the ideal/stable location, it really helps to be in a major metropolitan area with a like pool of potential members. Most of the  best ones always seem to have this. Notoriety and publicity in both hobby and local media helps a lot too. Each club is by nature unique based on personalities too, if the membership continues to roll over and replenish the club, if well organized, will naturally evolve with the times, adapt to the newer technologies etc. If however, the veterans lock into a certain mind set regarding adapting to new technologies, eventually their pool of potential new members drys up and then time does it's thing, likewise if the membership evolves into a hierarchy of ***-hats, well adios. It happens. That said I have met some excellent modelers and people in the 3 clubs I have been a member of. It's a blessing and has added greatly to my enjoyment  and hobby technique. No lasting regrets

Re modular, can be quite viable in the short run but is vulnerable to virtually all of the issues permanent layout clubs experience, on top of the added strain of typically being dependent on shows or the kindness of others for space to assemble and coordinate repair, expansion and improvements, as well as a heightened pressure/tension around your specific contribution.

Good by-laws and realistic dues structures are key regardless.

Pete  

The importance of an O scale/O gauge club is hard to quantify. From my perspective as a past president and founding member, I view the club as providing technical assistance, education, guidance, and entertainment for visitors. We've referred visitors to the local train stores, and in cases of other modeling interests, to other clubs. I know that a large number of visitors to the LA County Fair complained about the loss of the Citrus Empire layout. I've refused to go to the Fair since the layout was evicted. We have a lot of regular visitors who would definitely miss us if we left, with us being the only reason they visit the park. Even some of the artists like having us around. Some have even written thank-you letters to the City.

We've been in our building for 15 years. We were lucky [so far] because of the arrangement by which the City of Los Angeles got the Fort MacArthur property. However, the City of Los Angeles is broke; Recreation and Parks is running short of money; and the Feds are broke too. Those factors are a persistent threat to Angels Gate Park as the property overlooks the Pacific Ocean and would make for a very valuable subdivision for condos. The City has begun charging us rent for the building which we can cover, but we had to raise membership dues.

A few factors that work in the park's (and our) favor are the new high school being built on the grounds, the preschool, the Marine Mammal center, the Military Museum, and the filming that goes on in the park.

Owning your club building is great, but you can't escape taxes and other expenses. I sometimes think that an O scale layout as part of a museum might be more secure, but then again, the California Museum of Science and Industry's O scale layout (maintained by Citrus Empire) has been gone for over 20 years and the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry's O scale layout was removed and replaced with an H.O. layout. San Diego has a building dedicated to model railroads as a stand-alone museum with two H.O., one N scale, an O scale (2-rail) and a 3RS layout (San Diego 3-Railers.) I keep my fingers crossed that they stay put.