I can only speak of my tenure as NASG President (2001-2005). I bent over backwards to be fair to all segments of S. I therefore experienced first hand the disparity that exists within our relatively small number. My attempts to reach out to the Sn3 community failed although I was duly warned by others of the futility of doing so. You do have to separate highrailers from pure AF collectors. Yes there are quite a few of the latter and many of them only join the NASG to acquire the special runs of AF equipment. However, many AF folks are into having nicely sceniced layouts and take an interest in model railroading at the same level as pure scale modelers. Modern highrail is getting so good that we're actually having discussions here on this list about Lionel and MTH. What I'm saying is that anyone who thinks that the NASG exists only for a particular segment of S is grossly mistaken.
The NMRA is a different animal. It exists for ALL segments of model railroading. Yes the scale modeler gravitates to the NMRA rather than collectors. However, when I joined the local NMRA division, one of the prominent members was an O gauge 3-railer. As far as I know, everyone is welcomed. I can see where it would be to ones advantage as an S scaler to belong to both, but hjghrailers and serious AF'ers could do the same to their advantage as model railroaders. We're all in the same boat, but won't get anywhere unless we're all rowing together. Roy Hoffman http://royhoffman.com/pwrr/Herald --- In [email protected], Christopher Borgmeyer <cborgmeyer@...> wrote: > > This is a pretty self explanatory issue in my mind. Most NASG members are > American Flyer toy train collector/operators. The NASG primarily serves to > represent or promote that segment of the hobby. Most NMRA members are scale > modelers. The NMRA almost exclusively promotes scale model railroading. > They don't really have much in common or much to offer one another. Not that > they should. > > I would think most NASG members would feel more comfortable with and find > collaboration easier with the TCA, for example, then the NMRA. More of the > same mindset, target audience and goals. I suspect we would find better > participation in TCA events by S Gaugers then NMRA events and scale train > shows. > > I think we get stuck in this mindset that just because we're talking about > trains we must all have something in common, similar ideals, similar goals, > etc. but that's just not the case. Ultimately, one needs to align him or > herself with the organization where they feel most comfortable, find > individuals with like interest and goals and find the resources to accomplish > what they want to accomplish in this hobby. For some that will be the NASG. > For others, the NMRA. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive but will > probably rarely mix. > > Chris Borgmeyer > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
