| June 16, 2009 |
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| In This Issue |  |
Rick's Writings: World's Greatest Hobby.
What's New: Volunteering at local model railroad museum.
Train Tips: Why you should join a model railroad club.
Featured Project: No featured project in this issue.
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| Rick's Writings | |
I live near Minneapolis, Minnesota and when the Mall Of America first opened in the early 1990's I took my young daughter to check out the mall and ride the indoor amusement rides at Camp Snoopy.One of the businesses that set up shop at the new mall was a model train store with an incredible model railroad exhibit. They charged an admittance fee for the exhibit, which I gladly paid for my daughter and myself, thinking she would enjoy the exhibit as much as I knew I would (what was I thinking?)
I could have spent hours (days?) watching the trains run the enormous and elaborate layout. Of course, my daughter was not nearly as enthused as I was and it wasn't long before I reluctantly left the display behind so we could enjoy the rides at Camp Snoopy.
My daughter is grown and has kids of her own now and I think it is only fitting that, so far, two of my grandsons are fans of Thomas The Train & Friends! Now my daughter has to sit through countless Thomas and Friends videos. She does have an easy time shopping for birthday and Christmas gifts, however.Now that my kids are grown and have lives of their own, and, now that my career allows me a little more time at home I can pursue the World’s Greatest Hobby. Although, I have had exposure to the hobby from time to time over the years, I still consider myself a beginner.
Since I am a beginner, I know I need to seek out experts who are willing to share their knowledge with a beginner. Since I am also a website designer, I thought, “why not build a website that will allow me to share with others that want to learn about model railroading like I do.” We could all independently search for this information, or we could pool our efforts and learn together.
I’ll use the website and newsletter to share what I learn and where I learn it from. You can take advantage of this silently or you can share what you learn with the group. Just want to read the free information that’ll be available? No problem. Like to write and share what you know? Great! You’ll have an opportunity to do that here, also.
I plan to publish the Model Train Tips newsletter weekly. In the newsletter, I’ll share personal experiences with model railroading as well as tips and tricks I dig up during my research. I hope you’ll share your personal experiences with me as well; I think there is great value in this within a group. We will all get more out of this when more of us share.
I’ll also share products that I find along the way that I think you might find useful. I’d also like to get input from you on products you’ve tried and whether you found them useful or not; help me steer the group in the right direction.
Together, we can make this site extremely useful for other beginners. I look forward to a bright future.
Rick Brock
| What's New? | |
I signed up right away and I’ll be starting Tuesday, June 16th (today if I got this out on time.) Almost all of the other volunteers are retired and have been model railroaders for decades. Many of them are not computer savvy and would rather be working on the trains anyway, so I’ll be spending some of my volunteer time learning and operating the point of sale system for admissions and the retail area.
I explained that I was a beginner and that I had put up this website for other beginners and that I plan to share what I learned. While no one has offered to yet, I hope to get some input for future articles from other volunteers. I did get an offer to review the website, though.
I can only put in time one or two days a week, but I have to say, I am very excited to have this opportunity. I’ll blog about my experiences so you can follow along if you wish.
| Train Tips | |
Author: David Faulkner
More people enjoy the hobby of building their own model railroads today than they ever have before. It is no surprise considering that the model railroads that collectors in the 1960s built are really primitive in comparison with the railroads that enthusiasts can build today. They are so life like and appealing that you cannot help falling in love with them and buying the equipment to get you started on your own. As a result of the popularity of modern railroads, individuals are starting to want to communicate with each other. Although technological advances have made this possible in recent years, you first need a forum to meet. Enter the model railroad club!
The model railroad club is extremely popular amongst new and old model railroad fans alike. Not only can you get in contact with people with the same hobby via model railroad club, you can also swap hints and tips as well as advice. You can also learn more about the modern railroad, which is especially important if you are looking to learn owing to novice status! You can chat, read articles and also find out about live events and news via a model railroad club. Model railroad clubs are actually all over the place. You will usually find one in every town and city so there are definitely model railroad clubs that are accessible to you regardless of where you live and work.
Amtrak Employees Model Railroad Club is one particular club that you can join. It is based in Los Angeles, California and is extremely possible. Amtrak is a well known transport company in its own right so it does tend to attract a lot of members. There are no requirements either. As long as you are a model railroading fan then you can join this modern railroad club. Although it is only five years old, it is one of the best around by a long way!
There are other large model railroad clubs around too, as well as a number of small individual ones that are usually formed by friends with shared interests. Of the larger ones, Tech Model Railroad Club is one of the most renowned and is known all over the world. It is this particular model railroad club that actually uses telephone relays to automatically switch tracks. Of course this was the most advanced technology available in the 1950s and can actually be done on your own model railroad now.
There are of course other clubs available to you, regardless of what country you actually live in! You can check out a list of model railroad clubs on the Internet and narrow them by region, state or even country. They are the perfect places to meet like minded individuals and ask advice. You can supplement your knowledge and then one day actually use it to help someone else out!
Model railroad scenery can be used to complete the picture, although you can keep adding accessories and locomotives at your will and change it as many times as you like. This is a healthy and highly challenging hobby so why not explore the stores that see the items to see what can really be done?
About the Author:
You can also find more info on Model Railroad Supplies and Model Railroad Track.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Why You Should Join A Model Railroad Club
| Featured Project | |
If you would like to contribute an article about your project, let me know.
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