What Is SNS ?

   The Club is a group of railroad/railway modelers with an interest in N Scale trains. Members' interests in N Scale trains can cover many countries and many eras. In order to display their trains, at functions and at home, the club uses the NTRAK Australia standard as NTRAK modules allow flexibility when building a layout to suit the space available. The large layouts at shows are made possible when members' modules are combined with club modules.

   The large layouts allow members to enjoy showing others their trains and to assemble trains much longer than they could on their own. The scenery on large layouts should not be viewed as a continuous scene but as a series of mini-scenes reflecting the interest of individual members.

How Does SNS Operate?

   The Club operates informally with regular meetings scheduled for the first Friday (7:30pm) of the month (excluding January) at the current location of the club's NTRAK modules & layout (37 Karen Street, Camira, 4300, Queensland, Australia). However at each meeting the available members decide the time, date and location for the next meeting. Visitors are always welcome but it is worth phoning the Club President (61-(07) 3288 1633) or contacting the club by email before making plans.

   The flexible schedule endeavours to fit meetings around members' other activities and to enable additional meetings/workshops prior to shows etc. This approach is part of the club's attitude towards keeping camaraderie in and regimentation out.  This was not always the case,  there was a time when anything unprototypical and non-USA railroading was out; members had to attend a number of scheduled meetings/workshops; access to the club layout was strictly controlled; girls and junior members (kids) were not welcome.  With the passage of time and members the club has been able to adopt an atmosphere that extends the enjoyment of the hobby to current and wan-a-be N scale modellers - whether their interest is British/USA/other; their trains/modules/layouts are top/middle/bottom shelf in good/poor condition or their modelling skills strong/weak.

    Reflecting changes in the club's philosophy is "Girl On Board" it reveals an impact in the hobby community from the club's open policy.  The Club does not try to control the way members use the layout.  The club relies on members to ensure that all have fun at shows etc and to provide reasonable access to the tracks (NTRAK's outer-main, inner-main & branch) and the yard.  At the clubs' major NTRAK activities the yard is the focal point of the layout and is where trains are assembled and laid over between runs.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The photo above of the clubs' NTRAK yard tries to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the club but since they are not all obvious they are listed below. The reader is left to judge as to which are which.

History

The Club has a long history and McTaggart Yard above is named in honour of Clive McTaggart who was instrumental in establishing the Club and local N Scale fraternity.

Open Membership

The Club welcomes junior & novice members and although they may appear and interrupt at inopportune moments they are good for the future of the hobby.

International Theme

The local hobby fraternity is small and restricting the trains to a single nationality leaves some modellers without access to experienced modellers & the fellowship a club can offer.

Non Prototypical

Allowing bullet trains to travel at subsonic speeds and Thomas the Tank engine to run along side finely detailed models may put some off, they delight show patrons both large & small.

NTRAK

The Club promotes the NTRAK system since it can create large layouts that provide enjoyment to a large group of modellers. The 5.4 meter (3x1800mm modules) McTaggart yard enables trains the lengths of which few private layouts can accommodate.

Structure

The Club is an extension of the member's individual hobby interests and it survives on what resources members can contribute.  Although club modules are continually in need of replacement/upgrade they are maintained sufficiently for members & the public so that shows are successful and enjoyable.