Become a member

At Nelson Society of Modellers we are always happy to have new members. You don’t need to know how trains work or anything about modelling and engineering to get involved. Everybody is welcome, regardless of experience or skill.

While many members of the club build or own their own models, it is certainly not expected or required. The club owns diesel and electric locomotives that members can learn and drive on. We have several different small-scale layouts in the clubrooms, as well as many stationary engines, glowplug engines, RC boats, and other static displays that members can use and maintain.

We operate every Sunday (weather dependent) and have a club meeting on the fourth Tuesday of each month. We have regular working bees, in addition to major upgrade and maintenance works being done a few times a year as required.

All members are volunteers and all activities are done on a purely voluntary basis.

If you are interested in joining the club you can email us through or contact page or come along when we are open on Sunday afternoons and introduce yourself. We like prospective members to attend a few run days, work bees or other club activities before formalizing membership.

Due to the complexity of what we do, the inherent safety concerns and because we deal with members of the public regularly, we reserve the right to turn down membership should we feel the need to.