This is why I'm not a member of any club.  Maybe in a few years I'll try again, but now I'm having a blast running my stuff at home, or meeting up with a friend and running at his place.  I'm more of a one on one person anyway with trains.

Hi Lee,

While they're not in Palm Beach, there is a club in Broward County, see: <FCMTS.org> .

They currently have modules in O 3-rail and G gauge, a couple of N scale layouts, plus they are building modules in HO.

Bill in FtL

I enjoy meeting different people so that is why I belong to a train club

When not to join....

  You walk up to a modular group and ask about joining, the first reply is "what do you drive?" if you say U-Haul panel truck you're in.

I once asked a member of the local large scale modular club if so and so is club president, members reply was "he thinks he is"...Politics...stay away!

One local now dis-banded o gauge modular club members got really upset about a few members using some modules for a small display without informing the rest of the members. Those members got booted out because "we weren't invited"...stay away! Oh and this was probably 15 years ago.

If you have a place to setup a large modular layout year round then why the need to keep it modular?

Reminds me of a guy years ago promoting a new club...in a warehouse that he owned. The real "idea" behind it was join my club, pay my dues and build me a big layout and I may let you use it occasionally.

Hey Bill,

They are an hour or more away by car, as I have checked their site before. I live near the PBIA and they are below I-595 and Hollywood airport.

Thanks for the info.

Lee Fritz

Ours could still be considered "modular" because it incorporated 250 linear feet of 3 track main lines, sidngs, buildings, bridges and assorted scenery.  It no longer travels, has been re-wired to elminate the "connectors" between modules and has a newly completed storage yard with a the capacity to store over 600 freight cars.  And guess what, we can easily expand is we so desire.

FYI - Permanent layouts are often built in a modular fashion.  With sections being added as space and budget allows.  This gives you the chance to"run trains" before the final product is completed.

I am a member of a club that has two permanent layouts.  As with all clubs, we have political issues that need to be worked out.  The benefits of club membership vastly outweigh the downside.  I especially value the friendships that I have made.

There are several fine modular O 3 rail clubs in my area. The only reason that I don't get involved with one of them is that I am not interested spending a day or several days at train shows just running trains.  This is just a personal preference.  

NH Joe

Maybe I could interest some of the guys at the Hillsboro Road Amtrak station into having an O gauge layout. The name of the group is "The South Florida Railway Museum".

Hillsboro Road is not that far for me.

Lee Fritz

Rich, I'm both sorry and totally unsurprised at your experience. Groups of any kind can (and often do) implode easily.

In other scales, the "Free-Mo" type of module design is becoming popular. At the National Train show in Portland recently, there was a massive N scale free-mo module layout, using numerous groups from around the country, working together to build a truly impressive display. A Google search will call up several videos and photos if you're curious.

I have told people who've asked for my opinion on joining (or forming) a module club that they should go with that, as if your group has it's own oddball design and it fizzles out, you're left with a module you won't be able to do anything with elsewhere...

 Perish the thought!

Maybe, in case you lose the space it's in? I'm just guessing, but how many horror stories have we all read about a permanent club layout where one day, the owner cancels the lease with no prior warning and they have the break out the saws to cut it up hours before the cleaning crew arrives to prep the site for a Starbucks?

I know a guy who did exactly that. He had a large house with a basement, founded a 'club' without dues which brought people from all over. They pretty much built a nice layout in his house for him. When a meeting came to a vote to ask the owner for more op sessions, he told them all he was quitting the club.

The guy was a flipping genius, because he put nothing in writing that gave the 'members' access at all. 'Members' were welcome to bring their rolling stock to run, but they had to take them back home when they left. Nobody had anything they owned on his layout.

Looking back, I'm convinced that was his plan all along. I was recently told that the layout still exists where it was built, and though he was threatened with several lawsuits (none which went anywhere) and some death threats, the owner is probably still enjoying a layout he didn't have to lift a finger to build. It's even been in a well-known model RR magazine years ago. He'd be well into his 70s or early 80s by now, so it'll be interesting to see what happens when he croaks...

Ours could still be considered "modular" because it incorporated 250 linear feet of 3 track main lines, sidngs, buildings, bridges and assorted scenery. 

That's your definition of a modular layout?? 

Really?

No that is not my definition of a modular layout.  What I should have said was "Ours could still be considered "modular" because it incorporated 250 linear feet of 3 track main lines, sidngs, buildings, bridges and assorted scenery. all of which were modules on a traveling modular layout".

There are 17,564 members on this forum and you were the only one that couldn't figure it out.

I am pretty sure the group SantaFeJim belongs to started out as a traveling modular group. So it makes sense that their layout would have been built in modules. I don't know why they would have started over just because they found a permanent home (unless there was a design flaw in the modules. They lugged them around for a few years that I know of, so I doubt that was the case)

One of these days I am going to have to see that layout; I'm probably a half hour away and am in Griffith pretty regularly, but haven't been by there yet.

J White

j white,  You are correct, our current layout started out as a traveling modular layout.  I viewed you profile and discovered that you live in Hobart.  According to Mapquest you are only about 23 minutes from Griffith.  Why not try to make iy out to our club next Saturday or Sunday.  We have a FREE open house both days from 10:00 - 5:00.

Here is a link to our website with details on location & schedule.  Hope to see you soon.

http://www.hirailmodulartrainclub.com/

Hey there Mr. TransAm lover 

You wrote:

I'd have HO at home and O at the club.  Least that'd be the plan.

Your wish was pretty much my mode of operation for the better part of 11 years.  Let me sum up my thoughts on my experience with that plan.

• I wouldn't trade the overall modular three rail O experience for anything.  I had more fun, laughs, and positive three rail O scale modeling memories than I ever hoped to have.  I still have friendships that I would not have had if I did not participate in the modular group.  One of those friends is now pursuing his dream of a personal three rail layout.  You can read about NYCJim's plans in this thread. 

  https://ogrforum.com/t...31#44510797892045431 

• That 11 years of three rail modeling came at the expense of moving forward at a faster rate on my basement sized HO railroad.  Six years into my three rail modular experience, the wife and I remodeled our house, which allowed me to expand the train cave under the house. Was the additional five years of modular three rail railroading worth it, compared to where I would have been if I invested that time in my HO railroad?  My answer on that vacillates from yes and no depending on my mood at the moment. 
• In order to participate in three rail scale modular railroading to the degree that I wanted, I had purchased a 20 ft. cargo trailer.  Trailers suck.  Hauling a trailer sucks.  Parking a trailer sucks.  Storing a trailer sucks.  Maintaining a trailer sucks.  See a pattern here? The whole trailer experience sucks!  There is a parallel to the boat adage that the two best days in a modular trailer owner's ownership experience are the day he buys it, and the day he sells it.  
• I needed a vehicle to haul the trailer,so I bought a Chevy Avalanche.   Wife still likes the vehicle.  I would love to see it gone, but the Bohemian in me keeps flogging the thing to lower our total cost of ownership.  And it still has a voracious appetite for fuel.  My point here is I would not have saddled myself with this thing if it wasn't for needing the beast to haul the trailer.  The wife liked the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu that preceded it too.
• Modular railroads take a terrible beating from setup, teardown, and storage.  
• Molex plugs suck.  I'm sure that today there are better options.  I no longer care to learn about them. 
• In my opinion (your mileage may vary), DCS and TMCC / Legacy reliability on a modular railroad (one that actually moves from place to place) are questionable at best, and at their worst totally ruined the modular experience, at least for me. 
• The balance between fun and mental enjoyment vs. cost and physical / mental work tilted too far towards cost and physical / mental work, with control system reliability being the largest reason for the tilt.  It was time to move on.    

Actually, I think I enjoyed that more than I would a club.

I had participated in two HO clubs during my younger years, and that experience led me to want to have my own HO railroad in the basement.  I'm 28 years into building my HO railroad (about 30% of my original railroad made one house move), and the modular railroad experience reaffirms that for me personally, my own basement railroad is the way to go. 

Basement railroading doesn't mean that you have to model in isolation.  I have three other close friends that I have known for over 24 years (one since high school) that have helped me immensely in building my HO railroad.  I help them on their railroads in return.  This continues twice a week when family and work obligations for all of us don't interrupt things.

In addition, I regularly participate in prototypical operating sessions with other layout owners who are building their dreams in their basements.  This is where the fun REALLY ratchets up, as you get to see other people's dreams come alive.  I hope to be back in that mode in about four months.  Suspended operating sessions on my layout in 2009 so I could expand the railroad.  I have a lot of track access to pay back to others whose layouts I have the privilege to operate on over the years.

I discuss last night's operating session experience here:

https://ogrforum.com/t...88#44510799029866688

If I ever do have another bout of insanity, my modular experience will consist of two 4' x 1' N scale Free-MoN modules that I can fit into the back of a Honda Fit. 

Regards,

Jerry

The legendary Groucho Marx said it best..

"I would never join a club that would have someone like me as a member" 

no need to for another nine reasons..

Having owned an enclosed car trailer for years, all your comment hit home.  Glad I wasn't the only one who had similar thoughts!  

You forgot changing a wheel bearing/tire on the side of the interstate, in the rain, in your list.    My wife heard words never used in combination like THAT before!

Then my drag car wouldn't start to put back in the trailer-It got really colorful at that point.  

Pictures like this is why I love model trains.  The scale doesn't matter if it's well thought out, realistic, and well executed.  Nicely done.

Don't forget this big reason:

Room to let that Big Boy stretch its legs!!!

Late, as usual.

P51's comments are pretty much my experience. Lack of support (the same 3 - 4 guys show up) and excuses got so common that we 3 - 4 "Band of Brothers" simply put the layout up for sale one day at a train show, sold it a few weeks later, and divided the money equitably. Most didn't know until the check came in the mail.

No more backaches. Or pains lower down. Or those Questions from the Civilians at a show.

Now, I don't object to the simple display running; show aren't about operating sessions, they are - or should be - about hanging out and being with one's peeps. But some of those peeps are, as P51 said, pretty marginal socially, and that takes a toll.

I miss what the layout should have been; I don't miss messing with the reality of it. 

That is the #1 reason, at least as soon as we get it back together!

We lost a six track yard when a member left. Our response was to build a better 8 track yard. Tomorrow we'll be adding another 9' to the "new" yard. The result is we now have a 21' eight track yard in place of a 12' six track yard.

While we miss any former members, for the health of club we just got back to building. FWIW, our corners are club property. Period.

I have two challenges:

1) If you want a club. Start one. River City 3 Railers was formed with a core of four charter members with two additional members joining the same year. We currently have 18 members.

2) I know this is counter-intuitive. If you have a club, help another to form. River City 3 Railers is eternally grateful to the generosity of  Ron Timma, Bobby Daniel, and their club. They donated switches, full 072 and 081 curves, and cases of 40" straights. This aided us in getting our original layout (4 curves, 8 straights) built.

Mike CT,

Nice Looking Curve! 

What are the radii?

....and make sure someone can cook......Tom (Gilly@N&W) gets very hungry  when he's building modules!

Buttermilk on the left.

Pumpkin on the right.

Peter

 P51,

Sadly I have to agree with you.  Especially reason #10 although the other reasons are very valid.  The corner guys picked up their toys after a meet and that was the end of that.

I'm in the process of constructing another modular layout.  I have two other people whom all get along very well together running trains with me.  You could call it a small modular club.  We're all happy just to run trains.  Corners aren't going anywhere this time.

Erie Bob

Sure do wish that posters would PLEASE read the topic BEFORE posting.

This one reads:

NOT

 10 Reasons To Avoid a Modular Train Club.

If somebody wants to start that topic feel free.

Jim:

A few of points I would like to make here. 

• When you post a topic on any internet forum, you need to expect that not everybody is going to share your view. In my opinion, should offer their experience on the subject, both positive and negative.  That is the only way an individual or group reading this topic can make an informed decision as to whether or not they want to follow your path.  Not everybody's experience is positive. 
• The current group that you participate in functions much more like a traditional club than the structure, or lack thereof, that we had with the IHMD. 
• Indeed, your final #1 point argues against  the concept of what 99% of the people on this forum, and for that matter, the model railroad community as a whole actually associates with a true "Modular" railroad group.  I'm reposting it below to illustrate my point. 

1. If you are lucky enough (like myself and 16 others) to find a permanent home you eliminate the time and expense of traveling, setting up, debugging problems, repairing items damaged during transport and spend a LOT more time just RUNNING TRAINS.

Your point above also illustrates how difficult it can be for a traditional modular group to make the transition from a true modular group to one with a permanent home.  The group that you have joined obviously were able to make that transition (well ahead of four of the former IHMD members joining), but that draws into question why 12 other individuals could NOT fine a way to make that transition, despite a great deal of discussion on the topic.  

Regards, 

Jerry

3rd Shift Laborer

Spokane Southern Railroad

Jerry,

I am not quite sure what point you are trying to make.  But I would be more than happy to talk with you off-forum so that we can both better understand each other.

YES, the GOOD times did indeed outnumber the BAD,  And those memories will be treasured forever on my end.

Thanks,

Jim

I was in a modular group for a little more than 10 years. It served a great purpose in learning how to wire and build things as well as being able to enjoy running the trains with a great group of guys. I'd consider the experience to have been invaluable to me.

I think we just burned out.

I had 28 feet of modules that I carried to shows in a 1990's era Nissan Sentra. I'd remove the back seat back, put three 4 foot modules in the back seat, one in the passenger seat reclined, and four 3 foot modules in the trunk.

Eventually I got my own basement and started building my own layout. I stuck with the group until the end, but I think it was clear to all that I was going to gradually take on less responsibility, and it was probably a relief to everyone that we were winding down. I'm still pretty close with some of the guys in the group and we meet at home layouts often. Those are great bonds that will last forever.

this group has been around since 1969 in san diego and has a modular layout for a great many years.  we have currently have 149 members and are getting ready to set up the modular layout in the san diego model railroad museum for a two week run. 

AGTTA

either we are doing something wrong or??????

Jim,

I have to disagree with you here. As i stated in my post many posts ago, I am a big proponent of model railroad clubs of all kind and encourage all to get involved in a club. That said you can't post an opinion on any forum and expect not to get an opposing opinions. I enjoy reading opposing opinions even though I may not agree with them as long as they are tactfully stated and are not nasty or contain personal attacks on other posters. The variety of opinions is what makes this an interesting thread

One thing about a club whether its modular or not is that you have to have a great core of guys that that really don't care about the politics of a club.  You will always get those guys that just want to come and run trains and don't lift a finger to help. But that core of guys that love the hobby so much and can block out all the nonsense will get things done and make it enjoyable for all.  I find that most people that dislike the club atmosphere are to a point anti-social because they think they know more than everybody else. 

I did read it. This wasn't an accident, I fully intended to post what I did, and feel very good about doing so. The fact that several others agreed, to me, says that I made the right call as it was related to the topic.

The funny thing about discussion in a free society is that sometimes, they don't go exactly where you want them to go. It's actually how new ideas get exchanged.

it's easy to track where a direction got changed online, but in real life, this happens all the time, as well. I can't answer for you (because maybe you tell people to 'stay on the exact topic' when you're talking with a group of people in person) but most group conversations I've ever been in eventually go one direction or another.

It always cracks me up online as it's pretty common where someone who decries that the discussion didn't continue in exactly the direction they wanted...

Man, it's a crying shame we live in a world with free speech, huh?

p51 Do you know and understand the definition of Thread Hijacking?

It is when a person starts a posting on a message board, or forum, or Facebook, that others are able to comment on, that original posting and the comments on it are called a thread. A thread hijacking occurs when one or more individuals commenting on the original posting, go off topic, creating a separate conversation. This is rude, and bad internet etiquette. If people want to discuss a different topic, they should start their own thread.

Just because your comments contain the word "club" does not mean that your post were on topic.  The topic was: The Top 10 Reasons to Join a Modular Club".  It was never intended to list the reasons to avoid a modular club or why a modular club disbands.

YOU and others were Off Topic.

I'm sure you never intended anything other than a smiling discussion of how module clubs were the best thing since slices bread.

The thing is, when a discussion starts, you don't get to demand that only people who think exactly like you get to post.

Again, welcome to a free expression of ideas. If you're not prepared for contrary opinions from time to time, then maybe posting on an internet forum really isn't for you as it's a pretty common thing...

I would love to start a club, and have several people interested, but haven't been able to find a suitable location. 

Don

If it's a module club, do you need a location? Most module clubs I've ever heard of don't have a place to set up (otherwise they'd be a permanent layout club instead). The club I belonged to back in the day only ever met to display and run trains...

Hmmm, since this response questions  elements of my posts in this thread, I'll once again offer my unsolicited opinion, which will cause a pestilence to engulf the earth, the zombie apocalypse to take place, and Donald Trump to win the election.   

I do not view P51s, or my comments as "thread hijacking".  I don't even view it as "topic drift" as defined by Websters Dictionary at this link:

http://www.webster-dictionary....nition/topic%20drift

As I stated earlier, I felt that what was taking place was a healthy discussion on the pros and cons of modular railroading.  

Now, one thing that you and I are in TOTAL agreement on is that the Cubs suck.  I have to take a break from the forum for the rest of the night so that I can feed my billy goat. 

If you and others respond to that last comment, THAT will be thread hijacking.

Regards,

Jerry

Peter:

That photo makes me want to break out singing "St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast", as they look so fine and fluffy brown, they're the finest in the town. 

Jim, this is also an example of thread drift. 

Regards,

Jerry