How to join NARCOA

The list below details the steps that you can follow to join NARCOA and to be ready to operate your rail vehicle on excursions sponsored by NARCOA affiliates.

You may wish to read A Primer on the Motorcar Hobby, by Jeremy Winkworth

Joining NARCOA

Complete and mail the NARCOA Membership Form.

The cost is $30 per year.

Do not send an additional $5 for a rulebook. Do not send the NARCOA agreement.

Processing is usually completed within one month.

You will receive a rule book and insurance information. There is no membership card issued.

The NARCOA magazine, the Set Off, is published 6 times per year. You will start with the next issue. Thus you may wait up to 2 months before your first issue of The Setoff arrives.

If you indicate that your name and address can go into the NARCOA roster, it will be added. This roster is published at the beginning of each year in paper book format.

You can add information about your rail vehicle into the roster or add your name, street address, phone and email address to the NARCOA members email listing by completing and mailing the NARCOA Roster Information Form.

Getting an Operator Certification Card

To operate your car on a NARCOA excursion you must pass an operator’s test and receive a certification card.

There is no cost other than a stamped, self-addressed business size envelope.

Learn the rule book that you received when you joined NARCOA.

Follow the process listed in the NARCOA Operator Certification Card document.

Processing is usually completed within 2 weeks.

GettingLiability Insurance

To operate your car on a NARCOA excursion you must buy NARCOA liability insurance.

To get NARCOA liability insurance you must have a current operator certification card (see above)

Download an insurance application from the NARCOA Documents page

Getting Ready for an Excursion

To operate your car on an excursion sponsored by a NARCOA affiliate, you must have a current operator certification card and NARCOA liability insurance (see above).

Read the rule book. Your vehicle must meet the standards that are detailed in the rule book. Until it does, you will not be allowed to operate it on a NARCOA-sponsored excursion.

To operate your car on an excursion sponsored by a NARCOA affiliate, you must have a current operator certification card and NARCOA liability insurance (see above).

If you have questions, ask them on one of the online forums such as the NARCOA forum. Alternatively, call your NARCOA Area Director, who name is listed in the Setoff, or an officer of your local NARCOA Affiliate.

If you have never operated rail vehicles before, you need practice and mentoring before your first excursion. Many NARCOA affiliates offer some form of mentoring. Contact an officer of your local NARCOA Affiliate.

You will find excursions listed in The Setoff and on the NARCOA website. It is a requirement that all excursions sponsored by NARCOA affiliates be open to all members. There are no closed or private NARCOA sponsored excursion.

Updated 09/29/07

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