Minnesota Friends
of Garden Railroad
and G Scale

Membership

Membership

Minnesota Friends of Garden Railroad and G Scale is a group of hobbyists who all have on thing in common: A love of model railroads, and G Scale in particular. Some of us have our own layout at our home, some support museum layouts, and some do both. Some of us simply collect model trains, too.

The core of our member group consists of model railroad operators, either private layout owners, or volunteers operating museum layouts open to the public. Members also include model railroad collectors, and anybody with a general interest in garden railroads and G Scale. Many hobbyists model more than one scale, but our common bond in this group is G Scale.

Supporting garden railroad and G scale includes helping people new to the hobby as they build their first layout. Anybody with an existing layout did not dream it up all on their own. They started by learning from others already established in the hobby. When it comes to building a G scale layout, especially an outdoor layout, there is no one exactly right way to do it. Various factors can impact how one approaches their own layout. Members with existing layouts are encouraged to simply share what worked for them.

FAQ about Membership in Minnesota Friends of Garden Railroad and G Scale

This is an all volunteer membership group. There are currently no dues planned as there is nothing to really spend money on as a group. Having a group picnic in a park does not require money. Having Garden Railroad Parties at an individual's residence does not require money. Group visits to a museum will only involve paying your own ticket at the museum. If we decide to have a catered party at a banquet style venue, we will sell tickets at that time. The only thing we will require is registration so that we know who our members are.

Your contact info is primarily used to email newsletters and meeting announcements to you. If we have a specific question that we think you might be able to answer, somebody in our group might call or text you. Your information will never be shared outside of our group. 

Be respectful, never be disparaging or judgmental of other members, and have fun. Lots of fun!

There are two types of membership in our club: Active and associate. As an active member, you are regularly engaged in building and operating a layout, either your own or a museum layout. As an associate member, you are interested in just being an observer.  

Why does it matter? If somebody building a new layout wants to talk to somebody who's already built one, we need to know who to put them in touch with. 

Garden railroad parties or private layout showings (often called "open houses" in some clubs), and group events at various train museums in the area. Check out the Events page for more about events. 

Please email any questions you may have to info@minnesotafriends.org. 

Sign up for membership

You will receive a confirmation email, and be added to our mailing list. Confirmation is not automated so anticipate a delay of a couple of days. But if you don't get a confirmation within a few days, meaning the form submission didn't quite finish the trip, please email info@minnesotafriends.org and let us know. 

Newsletters will be published quarterly and these will be automatically emailed to you. In addition, you will receive notices of member open houses or other special events.  

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