Posted By Dougald on 05/24/2008 11:07 AM
The question of growth is an interesting one. Looking at my own association, the OVGRS (www.ovgrs.org ), I see slearly some trends. . . here is the perfect role for a club. We have hit on the formulation by accident but it has worked well for us in the OVGRS. The two or three true large scalers in the Ottawa area have been joined by a couple of dozen small scalers or newcomers to model railroading who for the most part would never have looked at large scale. The OVGRS offers them an inexpensive place in which to participate in regular operating sessions on a club sized railroad and in return we gain the infectious enthusiasm of many newcomers to the hobby. Once upon a time 15 years ago, the OVGRS participated in shows with a loop of track on a modular setup. The layout was popular with showgoers especially kids but we never got a single new member. That effort was discontinued ... the OVGRS does not participate in any shows and as an organization is simply a bunch of guys playing with large scale trains. But the current approach has yielded and continues to yield new members every year. Regards .. Doug
Interesting concept. It wouldn't work in such remote places as AK, but it sure would in more-populated areas. What are the dimensions of the layout?
The question of growth is an interesting one. Looking at my own association, the OVGRS (www.ovgrs.org ), I see slearly some trends. . . here is the perfect role for a club. We have hit on the formulation by accident but it has worked well for us in the OVGRS. The two or three true large scalers in the Ottawa area have been joined by a couple of dozen small scalers or newcomers to model railroading who for the most part would never have looked at large scale. The OVGRS offers them an inexpensive place in which to participate in regular operating sessions on a club sized railroad and in return we gain the infectious enthusiasm of many newcomers to the hobby. Once upon a time 15 years ago, the OVGRS participated in shows with a loop of track on a modular setup. The layout was popular with showgoers especially kids but we never got a single new member. That effort was discontinued ... the OVGRS does not participate in any shows and as an organization is simply a bunch of guys playing with large scale trains. But the current approach has yielded and continues to yield new members every year. Regards .. Doug
Interesting concept. It wouldn't work in such remote places as AK, but it sure would in more-populated areas. What are the dimensions of the layout?
