Joining the Black Swamp is easy! Membership can be purchased through the NMRA website. Individual membership prices range from $19.95 for a new member to $74 per year for a Premium Member. A complete breakdown of all Classes of NMRA Membership are listed below. All NMRA members within the area of the Black Swamp Division are automatically a member of the Black Swamp.
If you have never been a member before, we suggest you sign up for our 9-month Rail Pass trial membership for only $19.95! This Includes 9 months of the Digital NMRA Magazine.
Did you know, being a member of the NMRA can save you money when making purchases with members of the NMRA Partnership Program? An NMRA membership could save you cash and pay for itself!
Classes of NMRA Membership
Rail Pass Trial Membership (with Print Magazine Subscription)
All Rights and Benefits; Includes the printed NMRA Magazine and digital access.
Cost – $19.95 (US) for first 9 months. Offer only good for new NMRA memberships who have never been a member before. This membership allows you to test drive the NMRA with full rights and the printed magazine.
Premium Member (with Print Magazine Subscription)
All Rights and Benefits; Includes the printed NMRA Magazine and digital access.
Cost – $74.00 (US) per year, 2 years for $148.00 (US)
Basic Member (No Print Subscription)
All Rights and Benefits; Does include the Digital NMRA Magazine access.
Cost – $50.00 (US) per year, 2 years for $100.00 (US)
Family Member
The spouse or minor child of above member in good standing. Family Members have no vote and cannot hold an office at any level of the NMRA, and do not receive NMRA Magazine. Family Members receive their own annual renewal notice and membership card.
Provide Family Member’s name and date of birth in the comments box.
Cost – $10.00 (US) per year per family member.
Student Member
Any person 18 yrs and under or student between the ages of 19 – 25 yrs possessing valid student ID. All Rights and Benefits and the Digital NMRA Magazine. (date of birth mandatory on the application).
Cost $40.00 (US) per year.
Sustaining Member
Any individual may support the NMRA as a sustaining member in which $28 of the cost of membership is eligible as a tax-deductible donation. A sustainng membership is mandatory for all group memberships such as Clubs, Associations, Corporations or other Businesses. Sustaining membership includes all the rights and privileges of membership including the NMRA Magazine in digital and print forms The NMRA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization and your professional association as a sustaining member is tax deductible.
Cost – $120.00 (US) per year.
Why Join? What is the Value?
We often hear people ask, what is the value of the NMRA? Why should I join? What is in it for me? The NMRA represents many different things to many different people. Its value to each person can be very different. The following is one persons thoughts on the value of the NMRA.
I have been an on-and-off member of the NMRA for the last dozen years or so. I had some less than desirable experiences with NMRA members and was put off by my own division a few times. Even so, I finally realized that these (in most cases) were mistakes by the members and not intentional. I decided to take someone else’s advice and stop complaining and try to make a difference. Sometimes I feel the NMRA itself forgets what its value is or should be! Here is my take on the value of the NMRA.
The goal on the website of the NMRA is “The National Model Railroad Association, Inc. advances the global scale model railroading community through education, advocacy, standards, and social interaction.” So, in this statement we have the following core values:
- Education
- Advocacy
- Standards
- Social interaction
I think these are spot on and the following is how I see the NMRA fulfilling each of these values.
Education
If you think you know everything you will ever need in Model Railroading, I guess you should skip this core value but if you are like most, and value learning new things, the NMRA promotes education, learning new skills and sharing knowledge.
The NMRA promotes education with the many clinics available on the website for members. Divisions also promote education by hosting clinics and seminars. Then there are all the regional and national conventions where the program centers around clinics and education. Let’s also not forget as a member you get access to the NMRA library and the prototype information available there.
The AP program is not just an award program, it’s there to encourage people to do more and try new things. The program promotes learning the advanced skills that many of us wish we had. Also, those who attain MMR are encouraged to serve as instructors to teach others the skills they have learned.
Advocacy
Advocacy takes many forms and can also be defined as support, encouragement, and promotion. The NMRA supports its members with the website, the monthly magazine, division level in-person meetings and regional/national conventions. The NMRA also works with retailers, publishers, manufactures and members to advertise model railroading as the “World’s Greatest Hobby”. Making the hobby “popular” benefits us all with more products sold, creating higher volumes with better prices and with greater variety.
Standards
Today we take for granted that all manufactured HO, N, O and many other scale products will all run on the same track without issue. We can thank the NMRA for that but what about moving forward? If all the standards are set, why should we promote/value standards? The writing of new standards and the maintenance of the old standards continues and needs the support of a majority of the people in the hobby. If not, new products will end up proprietary and not “play nice” with other products. A case in point is all the new electronic products coming to the market. The NMRA has already set a DCC standard but new products/ideas continue to improve our hobby. Did you know there are several Bluetooth products in the market, and more being developed? Should these all be to one standard so multiple apps are not required? Your membership supports this type of thinking and action!
Social interaction
One of the biggest advantages is the social interaction. Many model railroaders start off as lone wolf modelers. Attending the local division meetings allows interaction with other modelers that you probably didn’t know existed in your area. The skill levels are all over the place and that is a plus. Each person brings a skill/knowledge that is shared with each other. The best part is meeting new friends while visiting and operated on the many layouts of different scales and abilities. This type of interaction increases the appreciation and enjoyment of the hobby.
Conclusion
The value of the NMRA is what you choose to get out of it. Some divisions run better than others and there is always a certain level of grief with politics, difference of opinions and participation but that is part of being different as human beings. Could the NMRA do more? Well yes it can, and it needs more participants with new ideas like you to make those things a reality. You also need to keep in mind, change comes slowly, and new ideas take a while to take root. Everyone in the NMRA is a volunteer so the level of commitment varies. All I can recommend, is if you do not like what is going on, join/volunteer/participate and change it from within. If you do not join and do not participate, then the NMRA will be of no value to you.