National Model Railroad Association
The National Model Railroad Association or NMRA is an association of model railroaders, primarily in the US and Canada but with some other "regions" overseas. It has been around since the 1930s.
It is active in promoting standards and best practices in the model railroad hobby, some of which (for example DCC) have impact on LEGO trains.
The NMRA sponsors the annual National Train Show the largest exhibition of MR hobby manufacturers extant, which is held at the annual NMRA national convention.
The NMRA and ILTCO as of this writing (August 2005), are exploring ways to effectively work together for the furtherance of the hobby. The NMRA is not precisely a fan group since the vast majority of members do not work with LEGO but rather work in scale or tinplate. The NMRA officers recognize LEGO trains as a legitimate modeling technique or branch of the overall hobby, though.
External References
- NMRA website