I don't know if the NMRA has changed, but as of 2008 when I went to the Hartford convention, I had to take a $9.00/six month membership to participate in clinics and other events besides the train show.
This may have changed since, in the interest of drawing more people to the hobby. More generally, you can get a good debate going on just about any model railroad list about the value of NMRA. Or the merits of Model Railroader. Some take one side or the other for good reasons, some for reasons that don't really hold a lot of water. These are "opinions", with all that entails. I'm not currently a member of NMRA, but there are certainly many benefits to being one. I would never discourage anyone from joining. Pieter E. Roos --- On Mon, 1/9/12, Bill Lane <[email protected]> wrote: Rich, I don’t recall anyone ever being able to go on a tour at an NASG convention without being an NASG member unless you went to a joint NMRA convention and registered with them. It is as close to a private event as you can get. Depending on the venue and management there have been a certain portion of the train show that was open to the public. I remember some of them being on a Sunday when the convention was officially over. Thank You, Bill Lane
