Train memberships

If the choices were just Lionel or MTH, IMHO the way to go would be the MTHRRC.  The premium you receive is equal in value to the annual membership dues and when you make purchases through the club, you get a 15% discount.  Again, just MHO.  I'm sure that there are some who would disagree with me.  But, you asked for opinions.

I am member of the TCA and LCCA  I have let my membership to LOTS and TTOS expire.  I do belong to a club because love to run long trains and have a great time hanging with the other members.

As for Collectors club I really miss K-Line in that department because they had the best special runs offered  I am a member of the Atlas & MTH collectors club.  All of them give you a perk that you can't get without being a member but I believe the MTH club is the most cost effective as you recieve items that almost pay for the membership

I used to budget for this when work was steadier but, now that times are hard, I only join the manufacturers' clubs when I really need to to get the premium (boards, car, etc.).  Magazine subscriptions are a higher priority.

I belong to the TCA because I view it as the "umbrella organization" for the entire toy train hobby.

I am also a Life Member of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) which I joined many years ago before even getting back into O gauge.

I used to belong to a great many--nearly all--national clubs devoted to toy and model trains (probably nine or ten organizations altogether, including the manufacturer clubs), but dropped all the others when I joined OGR because I did not want there to be an appearance of favoritism toward one group or another.

I gotta tell you, it sure has saved me a LOT of money!

I joined the Lionel LRRC for several reasons.  The main one of which was to show support to my favourite manufacturer. But for the low annual subscription, you get free catalogues mailed directly to you, several magazines a year, special offers and exclusive items, and also the world's biggest membership badge! As an extra bonus, the 10% discount from LionelStore.com purchases is not to be sniffed at. You can easily recoup your membership costs in a single purchase, and still save money. 

At one tme I belonged to a number of clubs but never the TCA which I plan to join for the April '13 York.  Right now I belong to no clubs be it trains, fishing or boating.  I've found I get a lot more satisfaction being part of a few forums.  Guess I'm just not a joiner.  My wife thinks I'm a hermit...maybe so.

I used to belong to the TCA and the Southern Division of the TCA, but with finances getting a little tight I let the memberships expire.

Liked the old K-Line collectors club, you had more choice than the Williams club now offers, however you still get a car being a member.

Don't know about how other clubs do things.

I am not looking to join any model train clubs, because mainly you spend money for annual dues, something that I am not able to do at this time.

Lee F.

Over the years, I've belonged to the TCA, LCCA, TTOS, and the Lionel club. When the first Lionel Century club came into being, I joined, and let my LCCA, TTOS, and Lionel Railroader club lapse.

Currently I belong to the TCA and LCCA. I don't know whether I will renew my LCCA membership.

The TCA is a must. I use the TCA insurance, enjoy the magazine, and attend York.

Like Wild Mary, I'm not a real joiner.  Would rather spend the $ on trains anyway.

-TCA, though, is a must.

-I've belonged to the Williams and Lionel manufacturers' clubs in the past.

-As far as MTH or Lionel club?  Depends entirely on which brand you prefer.

It is the social part of the hobby that I miss the most. TCA membership and treks to York ease the pain.

I let my TCA membership expire...not intentionally. Had a lot going on a renewal time and just never got to it. I will renew soon although I likely won't be going to York again anytime soon!

Also a member of the National Capital Trackers. 

I joined LCCA first, a long time ago, then the TCA, LOTS and TTOS and the Lionel club. I used to buy all the club cars. I also joined the first Lionel Century club then the bubble burst and I realized that I was buying stuff just because it was offered and not because I liked it. 

The only national organizations I'm in now are the TCA & LCCA.  My train club, the NLOE, has a annual car made by Lionel and that's the only "collector" item I buy. 

The annual dues for TCA and LCCA amounts to about the same price as dinner out with the wife, one less dinner a year is a bonus IMHO

I started out with Lionel's LRRC, added LOTS (mainly for their TTUX flatcars but also for their newsletter, which unlike the LCCA was geared toward operators) then K-Line's KCC.

I let LRRC and LOTS expire for reasons mostly clouded by time, but I stuck with KCC till the very end. I then added the TCA (mostly to attend York--it's Bulliten is almost entirely geared to collectors of really old stuff, so I rarely do more than glance through it), and the MTHRRC.

I skipped Weaver's club when I couldn't get an answer to a question I had emailed to them when it was announced, and I didn't see anything of pressing value to the Atlas club. I almost joined the Williams club just to get a piece of rolling stock with 'Williams' as a roadname, but never followed through (and I already had a special-run car with the Williams logo on it). WBB's announcements have been scarce enough that I can't imagine their newsletters have much in the way of compelling content.

I subscribe to OGR and CTT now that I don't have a local dealer (if you can call a 45-minute subway ride "local" ) to buy them from, Barnes and Noble is reachable but not terribly convenient to get to without a car, and I can renew both at York without involving credit cards.

I maintain memberships at both the Railroad Museum of New England and Shoreline Trolley museum, though I'm no longer active at either owing to a lack of transportation (I could get to the trolley museum by commuter train + local bus, but it's a long-winded trip to do on a predictable basis)

I'd join the NJ Hirailers in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the 2 hours and change it takes to get there via subway+bus+?? (assuming I could catch the once-an hour bus from downtown Paterson that actually gets close to the club facility). Without traffic issues it's as little as 20 minutes by car from home.

---PCJ

An example of the changing state (evolution?) of our hobby:

Just yesterday I received a letter from the NMRA that has been sent to all Life Members of the organization.  Life Memberships have not been offered for some years now, and those of us who originally bought into the program are apparently causing a bit of a drain on the budget and resources.  The NMRA is seeking additional voluntary contributions from long-paid-up Life Members to make up for a growing gap.

I will do my part to help out a bit, but receipt of this letter pretty much confirmed my suspicions that most of the national train clubs, from the largest to the smallest, are facing a bit of a challenge these days and that it's more the result of current economic conditions, new technologies, and slowly changing demographics than it is anything else.  It's probably going to take some real outside-the-box ideas and initiatives to get things back on track.  In part, that's why I have been pushing the TCA and its Eastern Division in particular to get with the times, as per my column in the most recent issue of the magazine.

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I will do my part to help out a bit, but receipt of this letter pretty much confirmed my suspicions that most of the national train clubs, from the largest to the smallest, are facing a bit of a challenge these days and that it's more the result of current economic conditions, new technologies, and slowly changing demographics than it is anything else.

This malaise is not limited to train clubs, most organizations are struggling to recruit new members. These days, people just aren't joiners.

Changing the rules at the York train show may encourage a handful of people to join the TCA, but the difference would be negligible.

How many more people have joined the TCA since the elimination of the two-signature rule (as opposed to the average number of people joining during a similar period in previous years)?

I don't know, but I suspect nobody else here knows either.  I think it will take a couple of years to determine if that particular rule change made any difference at all.  My guess is that it ultimately will have a negligible effect.

Part of it is due to internet forums like this. Before, you joined a organization, got a periodical publication, and maybe attended conventions to communicate with self-minded others. I feel the "economy" has very little to do with it.

At the Atlanta Convention it was reported that losing the 2 signature rule and also the $25 initiation fee has stabilized TCA membership. It now costs only $35 to join. Application at
http://www.tcamembers.org/membership/join.htm

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At the Atlanta Convention it was reported that losing the 2 signature rule and also the $25 initiation fee has stabilized TCA membership.

I hope this will be written up so those of us who didn't attend can read about it.

How were the numbers doing with just the dropping the $25 fee?

Is that fee revoked permanently?

Over the years, I've had memberships at several train clubs:  LCCA, TCA, TTOS, LOTS, and LRRC.  At this time, my only membership lies with the LCCA.  I joined LCCA at age 16 and a charter member.  Needless to say, that membership will be carried to the grave.  I rejoined TCA several years ago for the express reason of attending York.  Last renewal, I didn't re-up.  I may change my mind later but at this time looks as if part of my train traveling budget will lean toward the LCCA as the current and future convention sites fit more in our plans.  I dropped out of TTOS as at that time leaned more toward west coast members.

As far as the future is concerned, for me LCCA is here to stay.  LCCA seems to be more family oriented and in my opinion does have a bright future.  I'm sure some of those will be discussed at Norfolk.  I heavily leaning toward rejoining the LOTS as previously mentioned lean toward the operator side. 

I would say that the problem is two-fold.  Because of the internet, prospective new members are less likely to join.  And because of the economy, current members are less likely to renew.

See my signature block for the train related organizations/clubs I belong to.

And the real mistake they make (or made) is in not restricting the Life Member category to an age minimum...say 50 or so...and basing the cost on average life expectancy.

But it's too late for many or most organizations in the toy train arena to do that now.  It's an opportunity lost.

I was just a relative pup when I bought into a Life Membership with the NMRA (some 36 years ago or so).  I have benefitted from that investment many times over since then, even if just based on the fact that I receive their magazine every month.

Hi Folks,  I belong to several model train organizations.  Each of them offers a different experience.  I am a member of the:

San Leandro Historical Railway Society - This is my local train club.  It has a large HO layout and is building G and O gauge garden layouts.   Most of my train friends are members of the SLHRS.  A group of us meet nearly every Saturday morning for breakfast and then go and work on the layouts or run trains.  

Bay Area Garden Railway Society (BAGRS) - This is a very active social club with monthly tours of SF Bay Area garden railroads.  It is fun to go to the open homes and to see many outstanding garden railroads.  The quality of modeling in some backyards rivals that of the best indoor layouts.  Several BAGRS members have achieved Master Model Railroader status through the NMRA.

NMRA - I joined the NMRA when I was into HO and have kept my membership.  I really like the NMRA conventions and the NMRA national magazine.  The NMRA folks are another wonderful group of people.

TCA - I joined TCA last year to meet more people running 3 rail trains.  The local chapter is a great social experience.  I have made many new friends.  I hope to go to York someday.

California State Railroad Museum - This is a wonderful museum.  I usually visit it once a year.

New Haven Railroad Historical Society - I try to model the New Haven.  The historical society is an invaluable source of information about this long gone railroad.

QUESTION...How can anyone report on stabilization of TCA Membership due to conditions NOT IN EFFECT long enough to be measured meaningfully.  Let's be fair guys when we are trying to advance our particular agendas. Jonathan and myself debated this over a beer at the Convention.  I agree with Allan that any membership gains will be negligible.  The rule in question was a convenient excuse not to join TCA.  Any train collector worth his salt, and hellbent on joining, would not let ANYTHING stand in his way. AMEN!!! I will admit, though, that if someone in TCA promoted new product in the way Lou Caponi has done for LCCA, that there would be a more significant upward trend in the TCA Membership.  Maybe, a similar HARDSELL approach would benefit TCA.  If you haven't noticed, LCCA has been heavily promoted on the OGR forum the past several months.  I wonder what kind of numbers they are posting???

I do believe LCCA is the best club and doing a better and more visable job on promoting the hobby and the club.  Having said that many are members of the major clubs.  The day will come soon more than later when the question will arise if all the clubs are needed.  The clubs which change with the times, technology, do the best job at promoting, recruiting, and retaining new members will be the survivors. 

Personally, the Hard Sell approach turns me off, or makes me run in the opposite direction, but your point is well taken.  

The "rule in question" was an easy target for anti-TCA, anti-club, anti-rules, and anti-this/that/whatever forces -- even though it was and continues to be standard practice in hundreds, if not thousands of organizations in this country.

Also, I fail to see why 28,000 is some magic number.  The TCA was thriving in the mid-1970s with a fraction of the current membership.  And the club that wishes to be all things to all members ends up being nothing to everybody.

The removal of the $25 membership fee has been in effect for over a year. Add in the recent dropping of the 2 signature rule and now it's measurable. As a division officer I've signed up many new members at our large train shows and the biggest problem was the extra $25 initiation fee ($60 to join). Signing up members at $35 is much easier. For the 2 years prior our division paid the $25 initiation fee for each new member in our territory. It made a difference.  The 2 signature thing was a pain in the butt but never stopped us from signing up members quickly at our shows. Membership in our RMD division has been stable since 2006. Personally I think the economy is the biggest problem right now.

Me, too!  Kind of like a used car salesman approach or a TV infomercial.  This is a hobby...no hard sells needed.

But as I've noted many times before, the real challenge facing all organizations in our hobby (and probably in select other hobbies as well) is one related to changing demographics, and that is pretty much irreversible.  Any group shooting for membership numbers alone is fighting a very real uphill battle.

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Also, I fail to see why 28,000 is some magic number.  The TCA was thriving in the mid-1970s with a fraction of the current membership.  And the club that wishes to be all things to all members ends up being nothing to everybody.

I agree with the last sentence in this quote.

As for the magic number: I've long suspected the TCA's need for large membership numbers is driven by the overhead of the TCA musuem.

IMHO, rather than trying to balance the books by increasing the membership numbers, the TCA needs to either make the museum self-supporting, or close it.

Maybe the TCA should invite the other major clubs, such as the LCCA and TTOS to become co-sponsors of the museum.

As my signature indicates, I belong to the TCA and the LCCA, as well as the Plasticville Collectors Association. I also belong to the local railroad museum, as my interest in the prototype and its history is at least as great as my interest in model railroading/ toy trains. In that regard, I belong to several of the railroad historical societies (Santa Fe, Milwaukee Road, BN and C&NW). I used to belong to several more, but cut back.

TCA is 58 years old.  Would you measure the success of a 58 year-old man on the basis of what he accomplished in one year???  All I am saying is to revisit this in a few years to see if the Members you signed up are still members, if more have come after them, and if less have left the Membership.  One thing you will have trouble with is digging me up, and reinstating me after collecting back dues!!!  As Allan says, some numbers are pretty much irreversible!!!

Hard sell?  Heavily promoted?

Look at all the postings that go on and on and on about York.  There's so much foaming about York it's hard to get away from, just like the ambulance chasing lawyers on TV.  So many in fact that they had to be segregated to their own separate forum, and it still spills over to this forum occasionally.  I see darn few postings about anything else about the TCA (with the exception of TCA rules about York)

The LCCA posts from Lou offering unique products may be trolling for members, but it's mild by comparison to all the yadda-yadda about that TCA sponsored thing called York.

Rusty

This is a public Forum.  It is open for all to post and reply.  The Forum exists MAINLY because we all read things differently, and interpret what we read in many different ways.  I consider the comments above more relevant than "MY BADGE ARRIVED TODAY"!!!  There is nothing derogatory in my post above...HARDSELL and HEAVILY PROMOTED were meant to be positive words of encouragement to all involved.  I know Lou Caponi, and I know his accomplishments.  By the way, LOU is a member of both TCA and LCCA.  If you reread my original comments, it will be clear to you that I simply await the day someone does something similar for TCA.  As to whether the TCA should be relegated to a Sub Forum, perhaps that is not a bad idea...In closing, eat your heart out...that TCA-sponsored THANG called York is 50 minutes from my driveway...I know, I know, you wouldn't wanna go any way!!!

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The LCCA posts from Lou offering unique products may be trolling for members, but it's mild by comparison to all the yadda-yadda about that TCA sponsored thing called York.

The TCA  "yadda-yadda" post comes from members excited about the show, and folks who aren't members / don't attend  that are trying to marginalize the show. (sour grapes!) They rarely come from TCA officials.

It would be fine with me if OGRR banned all mention of the York show.

As I posted earlier, I currently belong to both the TCA and LCCA.

To my mind, better a 5,000-member TCA WITH museum than a 50,000-member TCA without.