From the Dome Car: Train 13 Track 1 (Jan.-Feb. 2004)

 

Are you a member of the Canadian Association of Railway Modellers? It was created after the SARS-impacted Maple Leaf convention in Toronto—the one the NMRA pulled out of at the last moment. While organizers maintained that wasn’t the reason for the creation of CARM, they acknowledge it did play a role. A more substantive reason was the felt need for something uniquely Canadian that served Canadian modellers better—the same rationale used by Morgan to create Canadian Railway Modeller. In this Dome Car, I write about the start of CARM and express the hope it will succeed. Which it has! It’s still around, 23 years later.   

Does Canada need its own national model railroad association? So far, over 200 people think so; they are among the first to join the new Canadian Association of Railway Modellers (CARM). 

CARM was founded last October by four model railroaders in Ontario who believed the time was right for an organization that would serve the needs of Canadian model railroaders. 

It’s goals are to foster fellowship among model railroaders throughout Canada; provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and skills between model railroaders; and promote the hobby of model railroading in Canada. They intend to do this through their web site (www.caorm.org), a bi-monthly newsletter (called The Canadian) and by holding annual national conventions across the country—the first is planned for St. Catharines, Ontario in May, this year. 

Some might wonder if CARM is simply an angry response to the way the NMRA pulled out of the Maple Leaf, 2003 Train Show last July. CARM organizers emphatically say this is not the case, although they acknowledge that the pull-out certainly helped spark discussion about the need for a new Canadian organization. 

But what really motivated them to create CARM, they say, was the realization that there was "discomfort with current model railroad associations, particularly as it applied to Canadian members." Specifically, they say they heard concerns about the need for an organization that minimized administration and politics, and reduced costs. 

Others might hope that CARM succeeds, but worry that it may simply end up being an Ontario centred organization, that if all the or activity takes place in one province, CARM will not be attractive to people in other parts of the country. CARM organizers recognize this, and want to hold subsequent conventions in other provinces. (The second convention is tentatively planned for Winnipeg in 2005.) 

So: Is there a need for a Canadian model railroad organization? Here at Canadian Railway Modeller, we applaud this effort to promote and support the model railroading hobby in Canada. We recognize the very important contributions made by the NMRA and we want to encourage this effort, too, believing that it can offer an important Canadian dimension to our hobby. We think it would be great if modellers from across Canada had a chance to meet each other regularly, visit some of the great home and club layouts in other provinces, railfan Canadian hotspots and enjoy clinics on Canadian railway themes led by expert Canadian clinicians. 

Will CARM succeed? It depends on people like you; if enough Canadians join, it will thrive and become a positive influence for the hobby in Canada. And that can only be a good thing. It's all in the interest of promoting the world's greatest hobby.



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