What Is The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA)?
Enjoying model railroading and prototyping is a hobby you can do alone-but the enjoyment of watching others reactions or being able to ask questions on specifications or historical references with friends may cause them to find other enthusiasts.
There are hundreds of clubs in the USA alone that have surfaced for model railroading, one of the largest being the NMRA, the National Model Railroad Association, a non-profit , educational association that promotes model railroading and impacts standards within the industry.
The NMRA sets its focus on its members all across the globe with over 150 divisions or groups of members spread out in 18 regions across the globe. With their yearly convention and the “National Train Show” the NMRA manages to continue building excitement in the industry for model train hobbyists to enjoy. A leading group for the advancement of train hobbyists for over 70 years the NMRA has been there for its members and will continue to be there for many years to come.
Founded in 1935 the NMRA helped to set many of the standards that exist today and still maintains a list of Standards and Recommended Practices available to manufacturers and hobbyists. The NMRA also helps maintain the Kalmbach Memorial Library which is one of the larger railroad reference centers in the world. Holding more then 100,000 prototype photos, more than 50,000 modeling, prototype and historical society magazines and more then 5,000 books the Kalmbach Library is a great resource for hobbyists of prototype railroading.
Available resources for members by the NMRA include:
- Access to the Kalmbach Memorial Library, perhaps the best resource available on railroads and model railroads
-Association with other modelers and a monthly magazine
-Availability to the Members Aid Program forum where you can discuss information of model trains and also access information sheets for existing train specs
