OGR Forum Supporting Membership...I would like to tell you a story...

@John C. posted:

OGR Forum Supporting Membership

Today, I'm sharing this story with you in hopes that if you don't sponsor the Forum already, you will join today as I did.  This is a great asset and resource in our O scale community, and we are but a small segment of the hobby.  Let's not lose this Forum!  Don't think that it could never happen, because no one knows what tomorrow may bring.

And for $12 a year is just virtually nothing.  None of us will miss that, but if we keep it there may be no Forum one day.  Going out to lunch once costs as much.  Please consider this as a means to support future hobbyists in O scale.  They will benefit greatly from this Forum as we all have.

Thank you.   Respectfully,

John Robert Coy...........................................John

John Robert Coy,

I couldn't agree with you more. The OGR Forum and my O gauge model railroads are how I spend much of my time as a retiree. The annual cost to be a Supporting Member is inconsequential compared to the value received from the Forum. For me, the cost is less than a penny per hour for the time I spend on the Forum. The OGR Forum greatly enhances my satisfaction with model railroading and my O gauge trains.

MELGAR

Well said, John, and sadly so true. A dollar a month has to be the best bargain in the hobby!!!

As the old song says…

”Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot”.

I agree with both John and MELGAR about this.  Please support the forum!  NH Joe

John, I couldn't agree with you more. I am also a digital and magazine subscriber for the very reason you mention. I don't use either as much as I am on the forum, but they are the base of this operation.

Even in those times (years) when I couldn't enjoy my part of the hobby, I have always come here to see what is going on.  Kept me involved until now. Just starting to work on a home layout (again).

John, your story certainly rings true!  This is the best online forum and magazine for O Gauge trains.  I’m sure all of us have seen some kind of business we liked disappear.  

As you can see, you're with a least some like minded people.

Great minds think alike

I became a supporting member immediately upon joining this forum. I can not imagine why anyone here would not at least do that. $12 a year? Unbelievable deal. The help I have received has been worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Brad

Absolutely the best opportunity to learn and share on the Internet...bar none... I can't tell you how much I value the OGR Forum!

John

Hands down the best train forum on the inter-web.....

$12 bucks is a bargain any day of the week. I added the digital membership as well.

Keep up the good work Alan and the OGR staff.

Bob

Even as far away as Australia, I enjoy checking out what is happening on "the forum" every day.  I will happily continue to support it by paying a "small pittance", even with our dollar as bad as it is against the greenback.

Peter.....Buco Australia

ALL IN!  WINNING!!

And...........Only about 18 blue banners in the first 50 posts on the For Sale Forum, with some lists in the 4 figure $ range. Oh well, I'm in until I can't click "Pay Now" anymore. I don't miss a day reading here. Let's hear it for the whole staff! Thanks.

It would be truly wonderful if everyone who partakes of this forum would become a Supporting Member. These days, I spend over $12 for a couple of kids Happy Meals  and beverages at McDonalds every time I treat the grandsons.

Equally wonderful, and perhaps even more important to OGR's long-term success, would be for the many who are on this forum to subscribe to OGR magazine, which is the foundation for this venue. A print or digital subscription (or both) goes a long way to assuring that this online resource continues to thrive. The cost of producing the magazine has risen significantly in the recent past, along with the cost of virtually everything else in these inflationary times, We need YOU to help us continue to promote and grow the O gauge segment of this great hobby.

Excellent points, Allan!!

I know I’ve told this story before, but I think it bears repeating… When I started building my first permanent layout in 2015, I was browsing the internet for answers to the many questions I was facing. I kept finding links to this forum and found so many answers, not the least of which was using Mianne benchwork. But the one thing I learned here that has more than paid for my digital subscription AND Supporting Membership for many years to come and then some was how to safely use my post-war ZW’s with my modern engines. While I found many answers around the web, they might as well have been written in hieroglyphics Here, I found some info on one of the late, great Jim Barrett’s back shop videos. I bought it (before they were available free with a digital subscription) and it was so clear and understandable. I can’t count the number of times that the quick acting circuit breaker have saved me from an expensive engine repair. I hope everyone who visits this forum will help keep it alive and kickin’ by AT LEAST becoming a supporting member. If you do decide to get a digital subscription, it not only gives you access to all sorts of helpful videos, but also to a digital archive of EVERY issue of OGR!!!

I meant to become a supporting member last time I saw the push to increase the numbers. Thanks for posting this to remind me.  I just upgraded.

I just signed up.  should have done it years ago.  Thanks for shedding some light on the situation, John.

Tom

Very timely & cogent post, in view of the fact that another model train website went TU on 12/31/22.

What a wonderful post by the OP!  His writing is a stark reminder as to why we all should be Supporting Members of this forum.   I click on this forum everyday ... most days multiple times.   The information gleaned here is priceless!   One dollar a month is the best deal on the internet!  Where else in this hobby can one get so much for so little.  Why not consider the dollar a month ( $12. annually ) an investment ... the dividend is HUGE!   We receive this dividend each time we click on the OGR Forum and it costs less than 4 cents a day.  

I consider being a Supporting Member a community responsibility!  I'm also both a digital and print subscriber.

I agree,  Really impressive post.  Convinced me today to support.  Thanks again and for those of you holdouts like I was, please consider his words.

I totally agree. I'm a longstanding Supporting Member, and Print & Digital Subscriber, and this Forum has been, and will continue to be, my one and only on-line forum. Arnold

There are a lot of good ways to support the forum.

Number 1, participate if you can. 

Becoming at minimal a supporting member is a great start as is becoming a Digital Subscriber.  There are also opportunities to support members that have passed away by sponsoring a memorial membership. 

As stated above, $1 a month is a bargain for so many reasons.  Great information but even better friendships.  I've been a supporting member since the beginning and received many times back in value of knowledge and camaraderie.   I've spent more on a train item that gave me less joy than coming here.

Thanks OGR!

Like a lot of folks on here, I can't wait at times to peruse the Forum and see all the news, problems, solutions videos, pictures etc. I really enjoy my trains and enjoy being able to have this vehicle to share with other train people. $12 is not much to pay for that privilege and service.  Bill

I have participated in a number of forums of different types.  This one is hands down my favorite of all time.

Here is what this forum has that many others do not.

1.  People who actually enjoy helping other people.

2.  People who will answer the same questions over and over again for newbies without automatically telling them to "look it up".

3.  People willing to go out of their way to help other forum members in any way they can including giving them things they have.

4.  People of different political persuasions who keep politics out of the hobby, never let it influence their regard for other forum members, and an administrative staff who make sure it stays that way.

5.  An administrative staff who work their butts off (which is obvious to anyone who pays even a little attention.

6.  Always something new and interesting to keep the mind occupied.

A big Thank You

John

Very well said. Hands down the best forum there is and such a wealth of knowledge and information and great friends. Thanks for the story.

The way I look at it, helping keep this forum (and OGRR magazine) going is important enough to be a supporting member, subscriber, etc. It is how I view getting  a ticket to York or other volunteer train shows, if it helps keep it going, even if I can't attend, I am fine with that.  Of course I get benefit from the magazine and this forum, in  more ways than one, but it is also nice because it means others can enjoy it, too.

Along with supporting the forum, let's not forget to click the Sponsor's Links above when looking for train goods.  It shows the value of the forum to the sponsors and encourages them to continue their support as well.

@MartyE posted:

Along with supporting the forum, let's not forget to click the Sponsor's Links above when looking for train goods.  It shows the value of the forum to the sponsors and encourages them to continue their support as well.

And refresh until their ad shows up. I always come here first and then out to the sponsor's page.

Ta-da! All well said.