Eastern Jackson County Mainliners
HO Module Railroad Club
Module & Member Quality Standards

The following is a list of standards, which must be met by all members of EJCM Mainliners who wish to display a module and operate trains with the club. Club members upon request; will help you to meet these standards. The purpose of these standards is to encourage high-quality, visually pleasing models. If you are unsure or think you have an exception to any of the rules that follow, please talk to an officer about it and we will try to oblige you. In some instances, the membership may need to be asked for their opinion concerning your question.

Code of Ethics: All members of The EJCM's should adhere to this code of ethics. Members will have free access to other members work and equipment at many times. Members must not abuse this privilege.

A. Do not touch or otherwise alter the modeling work of others at any time without their express consent.

B. Do not borrow, without specific permission, another member's tools or equipment.

C. The safety of all members' property should be carefully guarded by every member, particularly in the form of interaction with the public.

D. It is each members responsibility to make sure they secure any Club facility at all times unless present in the room. Violation may result in revocation of key privileges or expulsion from the Club upon majority vote of the membership.

1. This set of Club rules supersedes any previous version, and may not be changed except by approval of the membership. (See Section 3-C)

2. Membership Fees and Requirements:

A. The fee for individual membership (18 years and older) is $50.00 per year. There is no charge in price for family membership which includes spouse and children under 18.

C. No one under the age of 16 can join as an individual member.

D. All fees for new members are pro-rated on a monthly basis deducting $4.00 per month passed ($2.00 if initial fee is $25.00)

E. Fees for active members are due in the month of January. Delinquent members will be assessed a $1.00 per month late charge. (See section 8)

F. Children under the age of 13 years must be under direct parental supervision at all times. Children 13 to 15 years are the parent's responsibility, but may be present under general Club supervision if the parent is in the general area.

G..FIRST YEAR MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT
All members are required to have an operational module built to meet module standards set by the club within 1 year of joining the club. This module must be a minimum of 4 feet long. Maximum length is your choice. This module is to be present and available for large shows, such as the Great American Train Show. Failure to comply with this 1 year requirement will prohibit club members from operating trains on the club layout. (Unless given an extension for special circumstances by the membership)

If a membership should lapse and the member chooses to rejoin the club as a later date, the one year requirement for display of a module will be taken from the time of initial membership less the lapsed membership time, unless given special dispensation by the club membership.

H. TRACKAGE MEMBER ONLY (TMO)

Membership will be granted to anyone who desires to join our club, but not to build a module as required under other rules previously outlined by other provisions of the club by-laws. Upon the application for club membership and the payment of monthly dues and utility fees as specified by other rules stated, herein, a member may express his/her desire to become a TMO and not build a module. An additional fee of $300.00 will be required from the TMO, payable in equal installments of $150.00 each, beginning with the seventh month of membership and the balance payable in the one year anniversary month of thier application for membership or decision to do so.

The TMO will have full membership rights equal to all other club members. A key granting access to the building will be available to the TMO after six months of membership and the payment of at least one-half of the TMO membership fee and being current with monthly dues and utility fees. At anytime should the TMO change his/her mind and decide to build or purchase a pre-existing module, they would then become a regular member. Under no circumstance will all or any part of the TMO fee of $300.00 be refunded to the individual.

UTILITY FEE

A monthly utility fee will be assessed to all members of the age of 21 or older, beginning with the seventh month of membership. The amount of the fee will be determined by a vote of the club members. The monthly utility fee will not be assessed to any member under the age of 21.

ACCESS KEY

A granting access to the building will be available to all members current in thier monthly dues, beginning with the seventh month of membership and payment of the monthly utility fee.

I. Key Privileges

1) Each adult member shall have access to a key to the building, from which they may make a copy, after they have built and displayed a module or have been a member of the club for 6 months. Please also refer to the code of ethics, above
2) Members not making their modules available for shows for a period of 18 months will have key privileges suspended

3. Officer Requirements and Duties:

A. To become an officer, one must have displayed a module with the club for 18 months.

B. To become Treasurer, a member must be 21 years of age or older. If the treasurer cannot
fulfill his duties, those duties shall be taken over by the treasurer from the previous term
until a new election is held.

C. Officers will receive and review all proposals for revisions of the Club rules and present such revisions, as they deem appropriate for Club approval.

D. Officers cannot be affiliated with a business that might profit from the club so that no conflict of interest can occur.

Special Notice ANY purchases made for the club need membership approval PRIOR to the purchase. Also, if a member desires reimbursement for a club expense, he must present a bonafide receipt or other proof of purchase to the treasurer within 30 days of purchase.

4. Appearance of Modules:

A. Visual Appearance. Your module needs o be sceniced to the best possible level according to your ability and should have a finished, natural appearance. There will be NO items that are severely unrealistic or out of scale. All building material should be thoroughly covered with well-secured foams, ground coverings, or natural material such as stones. Water may be modeled by an array of lacquers, acrylics, paints and mediums. Any operating accessories must be manufactured or installed so that they do not interfere with train operations.

B. Ballast. The ballast work on your track must be of non-metallic materials; earth and sand are NOT PERMITTED! It must be thoroughly glued down so that there is no chance of it working its way onto the track or any other working part, especially at the switches and at the end of your module.

C. Fastening Requirements. Please attach at least 2 (two) cup hooks to your module. These are to be placed on the rear of the module facing out to facilitate the inner skirting.

D. Skirting. The skirting used on the modules is of one standard color of broadcloth, Forest Green. Stores do not necessarily use the same color codes so we would be happy to lend you a swatch for matching. The skirting must thoroughly cover the front of the module and shall NOT be pleated. The skirting, when mounted, should extend to the bottom of the wooden legs and 1 (one) inch off of each end for overlap.

E. Lexan. There shall be installed on all modules, in a competent, sturdy, and attractive manner, a piece of clear Lexan no less than 10 hundredths and no more than 15 hundredths of an inch thick. This Lexan guard should be at a height of exactly 4 (four) inches from the top or the railhead and should be exactly perpendicular to the front. The skirting must be placed IN FRONT of the Lexan.

F. Backdrop. The top of the backdrop shall never be less than 14 inches above the railhead and shall be exactly 14 inches above the railhead at the end of the modular scene. In the interest of uniformity, the club stocks Sky Blue paint, which it encourages you to use on your backdrop so that it will blend in with the other backdrops. However, commercially available or fully painted backdrops are acceptable for the front of your backdrop if they meet the proper criteria. The back ¬side of ALL backdrops must be painted the same sky blue as the front.

5. Train and Rolling Stock Standards. When we run trains, we work by a system in which each member wanting to run a train must bring his or her own train to the club, set it up, and monitor it while the train traverses the line. The club has established no guidelines by which your locomotives and rolling stock must adhere to except that they are HO scale, of standard gauge, and not so protrusive as to hit any tunnels or passes through which the mainlines run, or other passing trains. We do, however, recommend that your train be of good quality and utilize Kadee couplers for smooth operation. The only time that the club would enforce the standard is when your train is having so many problems that it is severely detracting from our display. The club owns one or more track cleaning cars; these should be used in your train whenever possible. Locomotive and rolling stock wheels must be kept clean.

6. General Practices. Your module must be manufactured to specific size and in a competent manner. This includes the electrical work, which must be safe and well hidden. All general construction should be "glued and screwed", capable of standing on it's own without wobbling. Parts that interface with other modules should be able to do so easily. Your module MUST be maintained. Dust, broken plaster, broken scenery, mis-alligned track, poor electrical joints, chipped backdrops, chipped or broken Lexan and dirty skirting are all regular occurrences and MUST be taken care of before each show.

7. Club Trailer. The club has purchased a trailer to transport the entire club owned modules and accessories to show events. The trailer is NOT to be borrowed by members for their personal use. We are NOT responsible for taking YOUR modules to the various shows that we attend. Therefore, it would be wise to build your module to fit a vehicle or trailer that you will always have access to.

8. Operations. Delinquent members may not participate in club events. Children under 15 years of age may operate trains during public outing under DIRECT parental supervision. The parent/member is considered the responsible member.

9. Module options. Be advised that building a module or modular scene incorporating one or more of these options may have an impact on the ability of the club to incorporate your module into a given show space. While every effort will be made to fit in all modules that are made available for shows, the club will leave out modules if necessary due to space limitations or other arrangement constraints.

Option A – Rear Extension of Module. Modules may extend to the rear beyond the standard 24-inch depth, but not beyond a point 44 inches from the centerline of the first mainline track. Since this track is centered at 4 inches from the front of the modules, this creates a 48-inch depth. At the ends of the module or multi-module scene, the backdrop must be brought forward to a point 20 inches from the center of the first mainline track. This may be done with the use of sidewalls or by curving or angling the backdrop as necessary to bring it into conformity.

Option B – Front Extension of Module. Modules may extend to the front, but the front edge of the module may not be more than 16 inches from the center of the first mainline track. This allows for a maximum forward projection of 12 inches from the standard modular alignment. Front extensions are additional depth; in NO case shall the back edge of the module and associated backdrop be less than 20 inches from the centerline of the first mainline track. At the ends of the module or modular scene the Lexan guard must return to a point 4 inches from the centerline of the first mainline track. This may be done either with the use of end pieces or by curving or angling the Lexan as necessary to bring it into proper alignment.

Option C -- Night Scenes. Standards for night scenes are under consideration. Persons wishing to build such modules should consult with the officers to ascertain the status of these standards. While we believe that this type of module has much to offer, we request that the night modules not be constructed until final standards are developed and approved.

10. Election of Officers. Nominations for officers will be taken during the last meeting in November and the first meeting in December. The elections will be held during the first meeting in December.

11. On-Track Etiquette. The implementation of the Digital Command Control system as our operating system has necessitated the construction of guidelines and rules to use while operating trains on the club layout. We now have the ability to put more trains on the tracks at the same time and to perform a variety of realistic operations with our trains. Because of this ability, we are also forced to pay more attention to what is going on around us to avoid damage to equipment... either ours or that of the other members...and to avoid undue delays during the run sessions. This section outlines these rules and guidelines.

1. During scheduled run sessions, the person assigned to run on a certain track at a certain time "owns" that track for the scheduled time. Any other person wishing to use or foul that track MUST get the permission of the "owner" BEFORE fouling or occupying the track.

2. ALL persons operating trains MUST be wearing functioning headsets prior to moving onto ANY main line or operating any switch that could cause another train on the layout to derail and at ALL times during their run. With more and more activity taking place on the layout, it is very important to know what is going on around you at all times.

3. When switching into or out of a "yard" or siding, keep the foul time to a minimum. When you are fouling the main lines, you are stopping other people that are entitled to run at that given time. If you are not switching during a "scheduled" run time, clear the main as the scheduled trains approach so that they can enjoy running their trains also.

4. When scheduled to run at a specific time, be sure to get your train set up and ready to run PRIOR to those run times so that you can move onto the track at the specified time.

5. At the end of your scheduled run time, clear the track in a timely manner so that you are not delaying others that wish to run trains. If you are running a train that is especially long or one that requires special handling to get off of the track, begin removing it from the track in enough time that the next scheduled person can run their trains at the scheduled time.

6. Stay with your train! It is easy to get distracted by talking to other members or the public. Ask them to walk with you so that you can stay with your train. Remember that there are other people running on the layout too, and you need to be aware of what is happening around you.

7. Keep chatter on the radios to a minimum. We all like to talk on the headsets, but pay attention to what is being said and if you hear someone asking for train information or telling about a problem, stop the unnecessary conversation so that the operators involved can communicate with each other.

8. When running trains, it is necessary to "tweak" the throttle every few seconds to keep it active. This is necessary so that you don't find yourself in the situation of coming around a corner and having a train derailed or crossing in front of you and THEN you find out that your throttle is inactive.

9. We want to encourage our younger members to operate trains, but as stated in section 8, they MUST be under DIRECT parental supervision. That means that if your child is running a train, you must be with them at all times, not running another train on the opposite side of the layout. By staying with them and teaching them the proper way to handle trains and how to interact with the other members, you will be improving their experience at the show and getting them ready to be successful members of our club when they are old enough to join on their own.

2009 Club Officers

President: Sam Freel
Vice President: Richard Stiles
Treasurer: Rick Ryken
Secretary: Joseph Clark