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Policies and Procedures

  1. OFFICERS
  2. RESPONSIBILITIES OF VOLUNTEERS
  3. MEETINGS
  4. DUES & MEMBERSHIP
  5. SHOWS
  6. SCENERY STANDARDS
  7. ROLLING STOCK STANDARDS



  1. OFFICERS


    1. The group will not elect regular officers. Two volunteer positions will exist which consist of the following:
      1. Run Chief
      2. Official Contact Person
    2. Office terms are volunteer and as such last indefinitely.


  2. RESPONSIBILITIES OF VOLUNTEERS


    1. Run Chief
      1. Volunteers to be the official representative of the group for a specific show or set-up.
      2. Coordinates participation of module owners and plans the layout.
      3. Makes layout plan available to participants prior to set-up and supervises as the set-up as needed.
      4. At the discretion of the Run Chief, responsibilities may be delegated as needed.
    2. Official Contact Person:
      1. Serves as official representative of the club.
      2. Their name and contact information shall be used on all non show information and advertisements.
      3. Forwards questions and inquires on to appropriate group members.
      4. Keeps a list of group members and maintains the phone tree.
      5. At the discretion of the Contact, responsibilities may be delegated as needed.


  3. MEETINGS


    1. There will be no regular monthly meeting held. All meetings will be called and organized by individual group members. Meetings will be held in a round robin fashion.


  4. DUES AND MEMBERSHIP

    1. There are NO membership dues.
    2. There is to be no money kept in the name of the group or club owned property. Stipends shall be distributed among the participating group members after the show or donated to a charity agreed upon by those participants.
    3. Membership in the group is based on a tiered system. Refer to the Membership Guidelines for additional information and criteria.


  5. SHOWS

    1. All modules must be tested and checked to insure the meet Free-Mo standards before they will be considered for display in a show. This shall be the responsibility of the individual module owner with the exception of new modules built by Associate Members which should be checked by their mentor/sponsor.
    2. Completion of Modules:
      To participate in the layout, modules must meet ALL standards for interface and operation. Additionally, modules should meet the following guidelines.

      1. Ballast laid.
      2. No bare wood. Module must be painted with club colors.
      3. Skirts in place.
      4. All rail joints to be soldered (except bridge pieces between modules).
      5. Frogs on turnouts are to be wired and live.
      6. New modules should be tested before entering a show.
    3. Operation of the layout at shows will be coordinated through the Run Chief or a Dispatcher if needed.
    4. A roster of all members' motive power and DCC addresses to be used on the club layout shall be maintained by the run chief. This roster shall include the following: Owner's name, owner's identification mark, locomotive type, color, road name, road number, and DCC address.
    5. DCC Addresses used are avialble on a first come first serve basis. No two locomotives with the same address may be on the layout at the same time. Address 03 shall not be used by any club member as a permanent address. Address 00 shall be used for testing non DCC equiped locomotives only. Locomtives without decoders shall not be left on the layout after thier testing is complete.
    6. Members with modules in a show must make arrangements to get their modules to the show at the time agreed upon and be there for set up and tear down, unless other arrangements have been made. Members who do not have modules in a show should assist in the set up and tear down of the layout.
    7. Members are responsible for their own module skirts & rope stands (one stand per 4'of straight module or two per comer module.

  6. SCENERY STANDARDS

    1. For all public shows and displays, a module's scenery should be basically complete. The skill and detail level will be the modeling level of proficiency that the member is capable of. At a minimum, no bare wood or other bare foundation material is allowed unless the module has received a variance from the Run Chief. Bare foundation material includes: framing supports, scenery supports, plaster, cardboard, foam or plywood.
    2. Scenery should be realistic. It is understood that model railroad scenery is a much compressed version of the real world, but care should be taken to see that scenic exaggerations be kept to a minimum. All colors used for rock, water, uses and shrubbery, etc. should be realistic. Dirt, ground cover, track ballast, etc. should not look out of scale.
    3. Structures may be kit built or scratch built out of plastic, paper, wood, metal, glass, stone, plaster or any other material that gives a realistic appearance. All structures should be complete, painted and weathered appropriately. The structures must be of the appropriate scale, (HO), and be consistent with the time period and location modeled.
    4. Figures of people and animals must be painted and weathered if necessary. Figures should be consistent with the time period and location modeled. An figures should be in good taste and appear realistic.
    5. Module framing members and/or fascia visible to the public must be painted the appropriate color of brown approved by the group. This brown is commonly known as Toffee Crunch.
    6. Vehicles should be chosen based on: time period modeled, realism and quality. Vehicles should be painted and weathered as needed. Vehicles that are designed as toys or not of the proper scale or design should not be displayed.
    7. Signs and lettering should be consistent with the time period modeled and must be in good taste. Humor is welcome, but should fit in with the theme of the module.
    8. It is suggested that members should complete the module(s) they are working on before starting other modules.


  7. ROLLING STOCK STANDARDS

    1. All wheel sets shall conform to NMRA standard S-4. A Type 1, Mark IV NMRA HO Standards Gauge shall be used to determine proper wheel set conformance.
    2. It is recommended that car weight should conform to NMRA recommended practice RP 20. 1. The optimum car weight (W) shall be an initial weight of one (1) ounce plus additional weight of one-half (½) ounce per inch of car body length (L). Formula: W = 1 + (0.5L). This standard shall be applied to all unpowered rolling stock with a tolerance of plus or minus ½ ounce.
    3. Kadee or compatible couplers shall be the standard coupler. Coupler and trip pin height shall match those respective heights on a Kadee HO Coupler Height Gauge. All couplers shall have sufficient lateral movement within their coupler pockets to permit smooth train operation on curves.
    4. All rolling stock shall carry an owner's identification mark on the underside of the car body. Such marks are to be affixed in a permanent manner.
    5. Group members wishing to use rolling stock in "pool service" for switching purposes during an operating session shall prepare a car card for each unit. Standard car cards will be used and shall include the following: Owner's name, owner's identification mark, car type, length in scale feet, car color, road name, serial or other identification number.
    6. Rolling stock and loads should be chosen based on: time period modeled, realism and quality. Rolling stock and loads should be painted and weathered as needed. Rolling stock and loads be in good taste and appear realistic, those that are designed as toys or not of the proper scale or design should not be displayed.

Revised 12 December 2004



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© Utah Free-MONovember 2004