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Membership Rates/Fees Senior $20.00 Second Family $10.00 Student $15.00 Locker $10.00 Life $3,500.00

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YOU are invited to join The Model Railroad Club.   The only prerequisite is a love of railroading and a willingness to actively support the organization.  Experience in model railroading is not necessary; membership in the Club is the best way of learning.  Members are encouraged to actively participate in Club activities and support the organization in whatever way is individually possible.  Especially during the Annual Show.  Copies of our current Constitution and By-Laws are available in PDF format by pressing the above buttons.  Membership application forms as well as Club standards and more are located on our Club Documents page.  Dues and application fees (if any) are detailed in the Dues Rates document on this same Club Documents page.

Senior memberships are always open to those 18 and over. Junior memberships for those 15 through 17 are available on a limited basis.   Friends are encouraged to join as well - see the bottom of this page for more information.  A Family membership plan is available that reduces the cost per person when more then one immediate member participates. Please stop by and discuss this unique reduced rate plan – customized for your exact circumstances.

  Annual General Membership meetings are held, usually near the end of January.  The next annual general membership meeting is detailed on the (Club-wide) Calendar page.  The rain date is also posted there.  The meeting will be held in the Club and is generally closed to the public except by special arrangement.  Contact a member of the Board of Directors, or the Chairperson of the HO, N or G departments to request attendance.  Additionally, each of the operating railroads have more periodic meetings where issues germane to the department are handled.  See the Department Chairperson for a timetable and topics.  Meeting dates are usually printed in the Clearboard, our membership newsletter.  An online version of the Clearboard is available here.  Also check our Calendar / BOD button on the menu at the left edge of your screen.

Besides the active membership categories described above, there are several other classes of membership. Members who cannot attend regularly enough to justify maintaining an active membership but wishes to remain a member, an "inactive membership" is available. Another class of membership is Sustaining Membership. This is available to individuals or organizations wishing to financially support the Club but do not plan to take any active part in Club activities. Honorary Memberships may be awarded by the Club for outstanding service to the Club. This class of membership may be awarded to any individual or organization that the membership believes deserves recognition for services to The Club.  In 2007 we updated our Friends of The Model Railroad Club program. See below for more information on this. 

It is necessary to come to the Club to apply for a membership.  It is strongly recommended for applicants to attend operating sessions and/or be present at the Club on Saturdays. This is to help the applicant to get familiar with the members and improve their chances of being approved for membership.  It also provides the applicant an opportunity to determine the Scale in which they are most interested. We have several and it is necessary to select one during the application process.

Active members get the opportunity to operate the on the Garden, HO and N scale layouts during operating sessions. Those who have been members for a year or more get to attend the workshops for free (only paying for any material costs). We also got to work on the construction of the building structure addition when we did some 1:1 scale construction.  Now, the ability to work on the newer portions of the layouts is available.  And is there work to do!  N and HO work is presently in process and the Garden railroad could really use many more hands for this department.  Garden even runs trains in the snow.   Check out their pages for video posted plowing the track.

Members get the opportunity to help promote the Club at local train shows.   Members who help usually get to attend the show for free, assuming a fair amount of time is put in at our table.  Our displays are used to advertise the Club and to attract new members as well as helping the hobby in general grow and become more popular.  We also give clinics during these shows ranging from building layouts to maintaining equipment, DCC installation, and scale tree construction. We find these shows enjoyable as it lets us share our knowledge with others who are interested in learning more about the hobby.

Often a group of members will visit other clubs or personal layouts.  At other times members of other clubs will visit us.  We use these opportunities to exchange ideas and develop lifelong relationships with other clubs.  We also attend railfan excursions.  These have included trips behind the 614 between Hoboken, NJ and Port Jervis, NY.  Recent trips by individuals include both roadside photo opportunities as well as museums such as the Hagley in Wilmington DE.

After operating sessions on Tuesday nights and for supper on Saturdays members go out and take a meal at the local diner. The Union Plaza Diner located in the median of U.S. 22 in Union, NJ which serves great food with fabulous service. So, if you get lost trying to find our Club, please stop off at the Union Plaza for directions and a bite to eat. While you are there, take the time to look at the Pennsylvania Diner car that we donated during the Fall of 1995.

Nearby is the Roselle Park train station where the high-level passenger platform is located between the two tracks of Conrail's Lehigh Line. The placement of the platform allows viewing of freight trains even when there is a NJ Transit commuter train at the platform. An added bonus is that there is also a 7-11 near the station. As most rail-fans know, a source of snack food and drink is a necessity at any good rail-fanning site.   Fuel for your car is nearby also.

Become a "Friend" of the Model Railroad Club! 

We are now offering a new special status called “Friend”.  This status is available for those not able to become a full member of the Club yet who would like to support the Club’s activities.  Friends are available at various levels from Private Car level at $215 to Individual Friend level at $30, with varying levels of benefits which are defined in this brochure.   Enrollment form is available for download here.   Please bring the form with you when you visit the Club during our normal hours.

To become a Friend of The Model Railroad Club, Inc., please download this form and bring it to us, or call and leave a message for our Membership Chairperson at 1-908-964-8808 to arrange a meeting time, or stop by the Club on any Saturday - see hours we're open listed on our home page - typically Saturdays from 1pm to 4pm.

For more information about membership in The Model Railroad Club,
please e-mail the Membership Department using the link on our Contacts page.